Britannia Mine Museum

The Britannia Mine dug copper out of the mountains above Howe Sound from 1904 to 1974, and the museum says it was once the largest copper mine in the British Commonwealth. At its peak in the late 1920s and early 1930s it supplied 17% of the world's copper, and by the time it closed its tunnels ran to 210 km. More than 60,000 people from over 50 countries lived and worked here over those 70 years. The Britannia Beach Historical Society founded the museum in 1971 on land in the territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation).

General admission starts with a 75-minute guided visit. You board the mine train the way miners did in 1914 and ride into an early haulage tunnel, where interpreters run the drills and switch off the lights for a moment to show how dark the work was. After about 35 minutes underground you move to Mill No. 3 for 15 minutes of BOOM!, which ends with 30 seconds of loud noise. Then you're free to pan for gold and gemstones, and whatever you find you keep.

Seventeen original buildings stand on the 10-acre site, and the museum describes Mill No. 3 as a National Historic Site. The Terra Lab tells the story of the clean-up that started in 2002 and brought salmon and trout back to the local creeks. From 2 November 2026 to 28 February 2027 it hosts a temporary exhibit called Ore & Orcas about copper contamination in Howe Sound's food chain, and the display includes a killer whale skeleton. Admission covers it.

Coming by car from Vancouver takes 45 minutes by the museum's count, and a 20-foot WABCO haul truck beside Highway 99 marks the turn to the free lot. Without a car, the Squamish Connector stops in the museum lot northbound, arriving at 10:40 am and 12:25 pm on winter weekdays. Southbound it picks up on Highway 99 just past Copper Drive at 3:10 pm on weekdays, and both Britannia stops need an advance reservation. The museum advises against a taxi or ride-hail, because getting a ride back is hard.