Hat Creek Ranch is a Pioneer homestead and First Nation Village nestled in the historic Bonaparte Valley located east of the Coast Range Mountains and north of the community of Cache Creek, British Columbia, Canada. The Hat Creek Ranch is a popular attraction today and has been since 1861.

In the mid to late 1800's trappers, miners and fur traders traveled the Cariboo Trail on foot and wagon. The Hat Creek Ranch was a major stop along the trail popular with travelers for the good meals and hospitality. The Gold Rush in 1863 opened the area up even more with the construction of the Cariboo Wagon Road.

Donald McLean, a former Hudson Bay Company trader, built the first log home in the Hat Creek area two years prior to the Cariboo Wagon Road. He was already serving meals to weary travelers from his log home road house. The new road brought more business tot he ranch enabling Donald McLean to expand and provide more services like rooms, whiskey and horse lodging. But in 1864 it all ended as Mclean was shot dead while riding with a posse. Ops.

Today, the site is a popular tourist attraction with 20 historic buildings on the Hat Creek property including a working blacksmith shop, freight horse barn, teepees, Kekuli Pit House, pioneer residences, old saloon, and more. On display in amongst the buildings is a wide variety of historic artifacts and farm equipment used during the pioneer era.

Some of the highlights at the ranch worth experiencing include the stagecoach tour riding the original Cariboo Wagon Road route; any of the many events with period costumes; the walking tour exploring the many historic buildings and visiting with some of the livestock.

Viewed easily from the highway is the large RV friendly Hat Creek Ranch parking lot. Here there is some picnic tables, washrooms and many interpretive signs explaining the history of Hat Creek Ranch. The parking lot fronts the main Visitor Centre where there is a gift shop, tea room, cafeteria and an upstairs meeting room for workshops and seminars.

How to Get to Hat Creek Ranch: Travel north 10 kilometres on Highway 97 from the community of Cache Creek, BC to the junction of Hwy 97 and Hwy 99. From the junction travel 1 more kilometre west on Highway 99 to the Hat Creek Ranch parking lot.