Fort Langley sits quietly on the river's south bank, its wooden palisades reconstructed, its cannons pointing at nothing in particular. Here, in 1858, British Columbia was proclaimed a Crown Colony, hastily organized to assert sovereignty over land that gold seekers were flooding into from the south. The fort had operated as a Hudson's Bay Company trading post since 1827, swapping goods with the Kwantlen and other First Nations, but gold changed everything. Today the National Historic Site offers costumed interpreters and cooperage demonstrations, a pleasant afternoon for history buffs. The nearby town of Fort Langley has embraced its heritage with antique shops and tea rooms, though the franchise restaurants have found their way in too. History doesn't survive on atmosphere alone.

Pitt Lake claims a curious distinction: the only fresh-water tidal body in the world. Connected to the Fraser by the Pitt River, its levels rise and fall with the ocean's rhythm despite holding no salt. Small resorts dot its shores, and the adventurous paddle canoes up Widgeon Creek into genuine wilderness - a surprising pocket of solitude within commuting distance of a major city. The Fraser itself remains the economic and ecological spine of the valley. Salmon runs that once seemed inexhaustible now require careful management. Each fall, the third-largest gathering of bald eagles in North America descends on the river near Mission, feasting on spawned-out fish. The Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival celebrates this November congregation, drawing birders and photographers to witness hundreds of raptors in a single morning.

The Okanagan gets the glory, but the Fraser Valley has been making wine since 1966, when Domaine de Chaberton planted the first vines. The climate is cooler, the wines different - crisp whites, fruit wines, ice wines that benefit from the occasional hard freeze. Township 7, Blossom Winery, a dozen others scatter across the valley from Langley to Chilliwack, offering tasting rooms with less pretension and shorter lines than their Okanagan counterparts. The official Wine Map from Wines of British Columbia lists them all, though seasoned visitors recommend limiting yourself to three or four wineries per day. Beyond wine, the valley produces blueberries, raspberries, dairy, poultry - a cornucopia that appears in farmers markets and roadside stands throughout the growing season.

Everything moves through the Fraser Valley. Highway 1 funnels traffic between Vancouver and the interior. The railway follows the river. Even the pipeline that once caused so much controversy traces this route. Hope marks the eastern boundary, where the valley narrows and the mountains close in, where the river emerges from its canyon and travelers choose their direction - north toward Kamloops, east through the mountain passes, or south toward the United States. The Abbotsford International Airport offers an alternative to Vancouver's crowded YVR, though public transit hasn't quite caught up. For now, the car remains king, and the Highway 1 congestion grows worse each year, each new subdivision adding its load to the morning commute.