BRIDGING PAST PRESENT
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In addition to a build-your-own experience model, Big Bar Guest Ranch is a rich resource of First Nation information, culture and community – and, the first Indigenous guest ranch in British Columbia.
STORY BY ALEESHA HARRIS PHOTOS BY HANDOUT/BIG BAR GUEST RANCH
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ritish Columbia’s Southern Cariboo region is home to a historic destination known as Big Bar Guest Ranch. The outpost, located 85 kilometres southwest of Williams Lake, driven largely on a gravel road, has all the elements one might expect from a rustic getaway — horses, cabins, homecooked meals and the like. 30 WESTERN HORSE REVIEW JULY/AUGUST 2021
But there’s an underlying ambition of the tourist destination that goes beyond welcoming guests for an adventure that includes horseback riding and the opportunity to disconnect from omnipresent tech devices — an element of the guest experience that’s made possible, in large part to, a complete lack of cellular service. “We’re remote,” general manager Elyse
Godard says with a laugh. “It’s not for everybody. But for many, it’s a nice break.” The ranch’s focus, according to Godard, is to become known as a rich resource of Indigenous information, culture and community. Situated on 162 acres of the traditional territory of the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation, the ranch originated as a private homestead in 1936. Big Bar, once part of OK Cattle
