Watson Lake Price Survey
| October 2003 | Whitehorse = 100 |
|---|---|
| Total Survey Items | 106.5 |
| Meat | 82.4 |
| Dairy/Eggs | n.a. |
| Fruit/Veg. | 88.7 |
| Bread/Cereal | 86.2 |
| Other Foods | 127.5 |
| Household Operations | 113.6 |
| Health & Personal Care | 123.1 |
| Gasoline | 108.0 |
| Cigarettes | n.a. |
Watson Lake is a very active community. Its recreational facilities surpass anything in southern communities of the same size. It has a heated swimming pool for summer use, tennis courts, waterslide, skateboard park, golf course, and a ski hill with 10 runs, two T-bars and night skiing. There are 96 kilometres of multipurpose trails around the town. The numerous parks include Wye Lake Park in the city centre; Lucky Lake, just outside of town; and the Sign Post Forest, a major tourist attraction. A new recreation complex was completed by 2000. It houses a three-lane bowling alley, hockey arena and curling rink with artificial ice, a weight room, squash courts, saunas and showers, meeting rooms, and a community hall capable of seating 500 people. The community has more than 75 organizations, which provide activities and services to its citizens from preschoolers to seniors. Watson Lake also has two daycare facilities.
Wye Lake Park is a beautiful 26-hectare park in downtown Watson Lake. A three-km trail surrounds the park, which has a picnic area, playground and band shell/gazebo. Interpretive signs on plants and vegetation are placed along the pathways throughout the park, which is also an excellent place to view birds. The Town of Watson Lake hosts the Discovery Day and Halloween Night festivities there.
Lucky Lake Recreational Park boasts the only outdoor waterslide north of 60.A sandy beach, a ball diamond and hiking trails make this a favourite spot where residents and visitors swim and have picnics. The Town of Watson Lake hosts Canada Day Celebrations there as well. A three-km trail to picturesque Liard Canyon starts at the west end of the park. Across the Liard River is a small cement cairn with a brass plaque where George Dawson marked the BC/Yukon border in 1887.
A new town administration office opened in early 2000. It houses the Watson Lake Public Library collection and the community's Toy Lending Library, as well as the building inspector, council chambers and town administration offices. The Northern Lights Centre is a tourist attraction in the summer and is used for movies, laser shows, presentations, and an animation school in winter. And even in the long days of summer it is possible to enjoy the Aurora Borealis - or at least a high-tech representation of them - at the theatre.
In 1999, Canadian astronaut Julie Payette took two artifacts from the Town into space with her. They are on display at the centre, along with other mementos of the space program.
Watson Lake is renowned for its Sign Post Forest, a collection of signs from all over the world. It is said to be the largest collection of "stolen" property in the world. Each year tourists visiting the community leave behind a small memory of themselves by placing a sign from their hometown in the forest. A collection of equipment used in the building of the Alaska Highway is also located in the park.
The Department of Tourism and Culture operates the Visitor Reception Centre (VRC). An audio-visual presentation, shown in the 60-seat theatre, brings to life the hardships and adventure of the building of the Alaska Highway. The VRC is open from mid-May to mid-September.
