High above the town of Coalmont sits the ghost town of Blakeburn.   Coal was mined 6 kilometres up the Lodestone Mountain Road and the town grew to over 500 people at its peak.   It had a school, tennis courts, an ice ink, a community hall, two churches, homes, livestock, a bunkhouse, a company store, roads, and an aerial tramway system to ship the coal down to the river at Coalmont.

In August, 1930 during a lightning storm an explosion in No. 4 portal killed 45 men.   The mine was reopened in the next year and the town and coal operation continued until 1940 when everything closed down for economic reasons.   A few people stayed on over the years, but it is now mostly taken over by aspen growth.   A few derelict buildings can still be seen with some searching, coal seams are easy to spot, towers are still standing, and there are many hours of exploration open to explorers.   From Coalmont, take bridge Street across the Tulameen River, then follow the Blakeburn Forest Service Road past abandoned Granite City, up the hill past the working Basin Coal Mine and at 6.1 km watch for a side road to the left.

We roamed among the old buildings and mine operations, exploring remnants of the past.