B.C. roadside attractions go head-to

B.C. roadside attractions go head-to-head in summer bracket

CBC's search for B.C.'s best roadside attraction starts Monday

A battle of B.C.'s best roadside attractions is approaching.

CBC News will host the Search for B.C.'s Best Roadside Attraction starting Monday. It runs until Aug. 31.

Readers can vote on 32 unique entrants that pique the attraction of tourists, motorists, and residents moseying their way through the province.

From big players like Mr. PG in Prince George and the Enchanted Forest in Revelstoke, to beloved local legends like those featured below, you'll get to choose your favourite in a contest of roadside tourist landmarks.

The Search for B.C.'s Best Roadside Attraction

Here's four of the 32 entrants to be voted on in the contest.

If you drive along Wallace Street in Hope, B.C., a small town in the Fraser Canyon, you'll come upon the wooden likeness of Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo in the 1981 classic action film Rambo: First Blood.

The movie was shot in Hope and has Canadian roots: directed by Canadian Ted Kotcheff and adapted from a novel written by Canadian author David Morrell.

Edmonton chainsaw carver Ryan Villiers created the sculpture and crafted it out of a large piece of western red cedar.

The finished product stands about two metres high with the base, and Rambo's body is to scale at about 1.8 metres.

Mayor Victor Smith said more filming came to Hope after Rambo, well, drew first blood.

"Rambo set the level for us," Smith said.

Is the Rambo carving in Hope, B.C., the province’s best roadside attraction?

The B.C. Forest Discovery Centre in Duncan

On Vancouver Island, in Duncan, the B.C. Forest Discovery Centre celebrates all things forestry.

With more than 100 acres to explore, the open-air museum features an operational railway, forest and marsh trails, and logging artifacts.

You can stroll through the history of chainsaws — and take a look at some of the early chainsaws from the 1930s.

Canada has historically been on the cutting edge of chainsaw manufacturing, according to the discovery centre's curator, Owen Cook.

"The timber hog is my favourite. I think it's a terrible chainsaw, but I think it represents a fun point in time for Canadian chainsaws," Cook said.

What makes Cowichan’s B.C. Forest Discovery Centre one of the province's best roadside attractions?

Driving the length of Highway 3 through southern B.C., motorists can find what is billed as the "Fruit Stand Capital of Canada" in the village of Keremeos.

In the hot, arid Similkameen Valley, Keremeos is nestled amongst hundreds of acres of orchards that produce a range of delicious offerings from peaches to cherries to plums and apricots.

The Similkameen Country Development Association has created the "Similkameen Valley Farm Trail" to make it easy for visitors to find growers and producers.

Mom and Pop's Fruit Market on Seventh Avenue has been growing food and connecting with customers for more than 20 years.

Sarbjit Uppal, Mom and Pop's Farm Market owner, greets guests with a smile.

"We work hard. My husband, he works really hard," Uppal said.

What makes fruit stands in Keremeos B.C.'s best roadside attraction?

Dinosaur discoveries at Tumbler Ridge geopark

Hiking through the sweeping Rocky Mountains near Tumbler Ridge in northeastern B.C, wandering past waterfalls and other wonders — it's possible you could find a dinosaur fossil.

Roy Rule, resident geoscientist at Tumbler Ridge Global Geopark, said many regular people have found ancient tracks, skeletons and sea shells, and shared their discoveries with experts.

"People bring stuff to me all the time, be it photos or samples, and want the history and the story behind it — because that's one of the fun things about this place, is just constantly finding new stuff."

The U.N. took notice of the area's geological richness and declared it a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2015.

The nearby Tumbler Ridge Museum is also home to a fossil collection spanning more than 500 million years of biodiversity.

Dinosaur discoveries draw visitors to Tumbler Ridge geological park