Kitsault: The ghost town locked away in the rockies.
If you trace a map of Canada and mark the locations of our most well-known ghost towns, a common pattern emerges—most are (or were) remote in nature, built around supplying or distributing a resource. Kitsault checks all of these boxes.
But how did a town so far out in the Canadian Rockies come to have every modern amenity? What happened to it, and why is it abandoned? These were the questions I became obsessed with when I first heard about Kitsault. How could such a place sit forgotten for so long, flying under the radar of explorers? And better yet—how do I get there?
Like Anyox, Uranium City, and Alice Arm, access to Kitsault is limited—either by man (gated and watched) or by Mother Nature herself. The site has been fiercely protected and painstakingly preserved by a handful of caretakers for over 17 years.
The only way in is through one key figure—our guide Rob Bryce—who had built a relationship with the owner and caretaker for over a decade. As you’ll see in the photos to come, Kitsault stands as a perfect time capsule from the 1980s.
We explorers often find ourselves saying, “I wish this building could be saved,” or “I would have loved to see it in its glory days.” Kitsault is that rare exception—saved, preserved, and cared for with love and passion.
The photos i will be showcasing are an amalgamation from two different visits to Kitsault. My first time was in the early summer of 2019 - then a follow up more intimate explore in 2022 with my good friend and fellow explorer Wade.