Road trip through BC, Canada – where should I stop?

[1990 Pioneer 4x4]

Going to take a ferry from Washington up to Ketchikan, AK; then another over to Prince Rupert, BC.

 

Going to spend a few days in Prince Rupert then begin to make my way driving south through BC. Can anyone suggest any cool places/things that I should stop and see?

[kastein]

don't stop... this is BAT COUNTRY

[1990 Pioneer 4x4]

don't stop... this is BAT COUNTRY

 

what does that even mean? :huh???:

[Darren]

The bar. Score some weed up there, it's cheap, easy to get, and from my experience very good. Just don't try to bring any home. :chillin:

[MancheKid86]

haha stop by my house if needed XD :yes: :chillin:

[tazjeeper]

I have not been in BC sence I lived their in 97 so I know alot has changed.... sorry can't help much...

I can tell you this...

just drive and keep your eyes open their is cool stuff everywhere...

Have a safe trip

[johnnyc]

If you're into mountain biking at all, the greatest mountain bike park in the world is in Whistler. Rent a bike and take a few runs down the mountain. Great fun. Even better if it's muddy. Whistler Village is really cool too.

[kastein]

don't stop... this is BAT COUNTRY

 

what does that even mean? :huh???:

sorry... fear and loathing in las vegas quote. I had to :nuts:

[Comanche County]

I've taken that ferry ride twice. Once we slept out on the back deck of the ship, it has green house like walls and ceiling so its relatively warm. They call it a Solarium.

 

From their website:

 

The other time we got a room, but it didn't have any windows and there was a lot of engine noise. Either way was really fun. There's a really hiking trail in Sitka that is absolutely beautiful. However, most of the stops we didn't have much time to see a lot of places. Saw some Orcas, Dolphins, even Siberian pink Egrets that reportedly got lost in an El Nino and set up camp in SE Alaska. In a few of the towns I saw flyers about Bigfoot sightings in the area, hmmm. Also, I wish they had gambling on those boats.

[1990 Pioneer 4x4]

Thanks for all the green suggestions, but I’ll be roll’n with the wife and I don’t think she’d be down with that. Maybe some other time MancheKid86

 

 

Whistler and a Village sounds like a likely stop. Wonder if the ski lifts are shuttling folks to the top?

 

Thanks for the tip on the noisy rooms CC, but already booked a cabin... I do hope to see Bigfoot though.

[dakal]

I do hope to see Bigfoot though.

 

when i was hiking on victoria island i thought someone was following me. i almost got shot. you see a have a size 21 foot. and i like walking barefoot.

 

so wear small boots!

[xjrev10]

I do hope to see Bigfoot though.

 

when i was hiking on victoria island i thought someone was following me. i almost got shot. you see a have a size 21 foot. and i like walking barefoot.

 

so wear small boots!

you must have a auto mj then. hard to drive my manual mj with my size 10 work boots on.

[Sir Sam]

I just got back from that area.

 

A little ways up the road from prince rupert is stewart BC and Hyder alaska. If you take the road through hyder you go on up to a really pretty road by a glacier and then up to some BIG older gold mines.

[carnuck]

Looking at the map got me missing my parents again. We used to go fishing up at Nimpo lake, Paradise lakes and many other places up there. I used to ride the Williams Lake stampede, Cloverdale rodeo, and Calgary Stampede.

 

PS: Get through there quick before the snow hits! (any day now)

[DirtyComanche]

I just got back from that area.

 

A little ways up the road from prince rupert is stewart BC and Hyder alaska. If you take the road through hyder you go on up to a really pretty road by a glacier and then up to some BIG older gold mines.

 

 

Agreed. Stewart and Hyder are a must. It's about 80Km from the Meziadin junction to Stewart, the road winds a bit but isn't bad (driven it lots). You'll see the Bear Glacier on the way down, watch for a white/green/yellow helicopter slinging loads up the glacier, there's 2 rock drills on the cliffs up a little farther. The whole drive into Stewart is very pretty if the weather cooperates. Hyder is a bit of a time warp, hit up the Sealaska for some pizza and beer, and the other one and get Hyderized (I forget the name of the other pub, damn alcohol, but it's cool with money all over the walls). Go walk out on the pier, or drive on it if you've got the balls. If you go up the dirt road on the other side of the town, there is a place that you can view bears eating fish, it's pretty and kinda neat if you're into tourist stuff. The road continues and you can see the Salmon Glacier, and some mine stuff, and eventually you can get to a small airstrip with a big pile of junk on it. The airstrip is active, be cautious. Again, watch for helicopters slinging loads up the glacier, there's about 8 drills up near the top of the Salmon, but I don't know if they've shut down for the winter yet (the weather gets harry there). The King Edward hotel in Stewart is decent and not terribly pricey, and you can get kitchenette units.

 

Also, Bob Quinn airstrip, which is 200km~ north of the Meziadin junction (or 150km south of Dease Lake, if I remember my distances right) might have a young guy from Lakelse Air sitting there with a helicopter. He's changing $100 for about 10 minutes of flying (sounds expensive, but it isn't, split it over 4 people and it isn't much at all). I think his name is Jarret. Anyways, there's some really neat glaciers out there that you can get a better view of.

 

What else? Prince Rupert has a nice waterfront. The casino serves decent food, and there's another good one down in the bay there that I forget the name of (been a while since I was in Rupert last). There's an old cannery in Port Edward (just out of Rupert) that you can tour, never done it but apparently it's interesting. Can't comment on hotels, never stayed in one there.

 

Smithers is a decent place to stop and spend the night if it works out. The Sandman is decent, and there's a couple more expensive places that are nice. I don't know what there is to do there, I normally just drive through it. The next big bump on the road is basically Prince George. It's a mess, but another place to stop if you want a hotel. I live there, I guess I can admit that.

 

I could ramble on... Anything specific?

[2360]

If you're looking for a touristee thing,Barkerville Historic Town might interest you and your wife.

 

There are various commercialized hot springs in BC. If you can find one that isn't commercialized, bonus.

 

If you're going near the coast I think the salmon runs are happening this time of year, that might be worth a look see.

 

Taking the ferry from Vancouver to Victoria (tourist town) and then taking the Coho ferry from Victoria back to Port Angeles USA might be a good route. The ferry rides are a few hours.

[DirtyComanche]

I forgot about Barkerville. It's great if you have kids.

 

And if you want to go through Whistler (Hwy 99), I don't advise driving that road at night. It's fairly curvy, has steep drop offs, a couple single lane bridges (might all be gone, they were upgrading a lot of them in the summer of 2009), and very few guard rails. Throw in that the natives don't keep their cattle, horses and dogs off the road... However, if you do go that way, you can get a ferry from Horseshoe bay to Nanaimo, then drive south to Victoria, and then to Port Angeles by ferry. This skirts the massive disaster that is Vancouver (which I also refer to as being "Beyond Hope").

 

On the side of Hwy 99 there is a couple BC Hydro rec sites (dams) which are nice to stop at and walk around. Whistler should have a gondola or two running, and there is always a places to eat/stay in the town.

[carnuck]

I forgot about Barkerville. It's great if you have kids.

 

And if you want to go through Whistler (Hwy 99), I don't advise driving that road at night. It's fairly curvy, has steep drop offs, a couple single lane bridges (might all be gone, they were upgrading a lot of them in the summer of 2009), and very few guard rails. Throw in that the natives don't keep their cattle, horses and dogs off the road... However, if you do go that way, you can get a ferry from Horseshoe bay to Nanaimo, then drive south to Victoria, and then to Port Angeles by ferry. This skirts the massive disaster that is Vancouver (which I also refer to as being "Beyond Hope").

 

On the side of Hwy 99 there is a couple BC Hydro rec sites (dams) which are nice to stop at and walk around. Whistler should have a gondola or two running, and there is always a places to eat/stay in the town.

 

 

You mean Hongcouver? Or Little India (Surrey)

If you detour to Aggasiz and go down old Hwy 7 to Mission then the back way to Stave Lake dam on Dewdney Trunk rd the view is AWESOME! (I lived up there and drove that stretch as often as possible) The dam has been used in several movies

 

http://www.google.com/search?q=STave+La ... d875d403c4

 

 

$#!&! NM. They changed all the old rustic stuff (probably for the Olympics although the old dam was getting pretty tired)

 

The rest of the old highway should still be cool.

[DirtyComanche]

You mean Hongcouver? Or Little India (Surrey)

 

All of it. If I'm driving into Vancouver, 99% of the time I'm either going to the airport (Richmond) or the ferry terminal (Tsawwassen, if I spelled that correctly) and I'll be coming in via the #1. Once I pass Hope, I consider it all to be "Beyond Hope". I have no idea why anyone would want to live there, but apparently people must want to based on how many are there.

 

I'll confess I've actually never taken the route through Stave... But I have been up to Stave to wheel (not actually at the lake, I'm not into mud).

[carnuck]

I used to live on the corner of Hwy 7 and Davies Lake rd.

[Jerry]

Get a BC Backroads Mapbook. Shows all the good stuff like undeveloped hot springs and logging roads to interesting spots

 

[1990 Pioneer 4x4]

Thanks for all the feedback. It's nice to get the low-down from the locals. Let me know if you ever travel in my area and i'll tell you where not to go...

 

Ketchikan was a GIANT tourest trap but had some cool stuff, PR was kinda quiet, and today i'm off to Barkerville. I'll post some cool photos after i get done with Whistler.