As our time in Alaska drew to a close, it was time to head home. Of course the route home can be its own trip. Other than the British Columbia section of the Alaska Highway in the spring and our day trip to Yoho National Park, we had not travelled in British Columbia. Using our copy of the quintessential Alaska travel guide, “The Milepost”, We plotted a course down the Cassiar Highway, southeast on the Yellowhead Highway, south on the Cariboo Highway, and then drove Trans-Canadian Highway 1 to Surrey, just outside of Vancouver. Of course, every trip can use several stops for exploring and getting to experience the region. We chose: Iskut, Stewart/Hyder, Smithers, Quesnel, and Hope.
Driving south on the Cassiar Highway
Cassiar Highway from the Alaska Highway
The Cassiar Highway, also known as BC Highway 37, was built in 1972 and connects the Alaska Highway in Yukon to the Yellowhead Highway in British Columbia. The Cassiar is 450 miles long and is an excellent route for viewing the Cassiar Mountains and northern British Columbia. The route is generally narrower than most 2 lane highways, with the longest narrow stretches occurring in the north. The scenery is excellent throughout the highway with mountains, lakes, rivers, and small towns. There are stops for fuel and food but they are spread out, so plan your route and fuel stops in advance. The road surface quality was much nicer than the Alaska Highway and there was less traffic. There were some potholes and washboard sections, so pay attention. Many of the narrow sections also had no shoulder and drop-offs of at least several feet, so the driver’s attention needs to be focussed on the road and oncoming traffic. We had to pass numerous oncoming tractor trailers and other large rigs, which required both vehicles to slow down and get as far right as possible. In some northern stretches, it seemed to be only 1&1/2 lanes wide.
View along the Cassiar, note the lack of road shoulders
Cassiar fall foliage
Cassiar Mountains
We travelled down the Cassiar September 11-14 and were rewarded with great fall foliage. We found ourselves saying “wow” numerous times each day due to the magnificent colors and mountains. There were plenty of large rest areas to pull off the road for lunch in the RV or to have an outdoor picnic. On the first day we drove from the beginning of the Cassiar to Iskut BC where we stayed at the Mountain Shadow RV Park, a drive of 196 miles. Enroute we stopped in Jade City to check out the jade items for sale at the Cassiar Mountain Jade Store. We learned that the Cassiar Mountain range supplies 92% of the world’s jade! We spotted a black bear along the highway. At Mountain Shadow RV Park, we were able to stretch our legs and soak in the surrounding beauty. On the second day we travelled from Iskut to Stewart BC, a distance of about 157 miles on the Cassiar plus 38 miles to Stewart on the Glacier Highway. We spent 2 nights in Stewart BC/Hyder AK so that we could check out the Glacier Highway, including Bear and Salmon Glaciers and the Fish Creek Wildlife Viewing Platform in Tongass National Forest. We stayed at the Bear River RV Park. We recommend this stop, with the caveat that there are not many service options in either town.
Bear Glacier
Salmon in Fish Creek
On our final leg of the Cassiar, we drove from Stewart to the Yellowhead Highway and onto Smithers BC, a drive of about 246 miles. Near the junction of the Cassiar and Yellowhead highways, we spotted the St. Paul’s Anglican Church and its nearby bell tower in Gitwangak, BC.
St. Paul’s Anglican Church and Bell Tower
Yellowhead Highway
The Yellowhead Highway, also known as BC Highway 16, is a paved trans-Canada highway travels east-west from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Prince Rupert, British Columbia. This is a major highway and was in good repair with plenty of services and increasing traffic as we headed east. The route passes through mountains, forest and farmland. Our only stop on the Yellowhead Highway was in Smithers, BC. After our Smithers visit, we travelled an additional 218 miles on the Yellowhead to the Cariboo Highway.
Smithers
Smithers BC is a small town of 5,500 residents, with about 20,000 residents in the greater surrounding area. Smithers is surrounded by rugged mountains which is reflected in the alpine themed storefronts and murals in the downtown area. Smithers has every service available. There are many restaurants, all types of stores, lodging and fuel. They have the Suds n’ Bay truck/RV wash which is enclosed and has equipment(sprayers/ brushes) on both sides of the bays! The downtown area is very walkable and appealing. We stayed for 2 nights at the Riverside Municipal Campground and wished we had more time to visit longer. We really liked the Smithers area.
The Bulkley River borders the Riverside Municipal Campground
One of our favorite features of Smithers was the hiking/ walking/ biking available in and around town. From our Riverside Municipal Campground, we could leave on the Perimeter trail, which connected with numerous other trails and also provided access to downtown.
Smithers Perimeter Trail has several trails in/out of the campground
We also took a trip to the Provincial Park at Twin Falls which is a short 1 mile roundtrip hiking trail, with quite an elevation gain and excellent views of the falls. There are numerous other hiking opportunities in the greater Smithers region. We would definitely return to Smithers for another visit with easily a week’s worth of outdoor activities to keep us busy.
One of the Twin Falls near Smithers
Another waterfall from the hike
The top of the Twin Falls Trail
There are numerous picnic tables along the Twin Falls Hike
Hiking in the Smithers Region
List of hiking trails in Smithers Region by name
Cariboo Highway
After leaving Smithers, we travelled 218 miles east on the Yellowhead Highway to the Cariboo Highway, also known as BC Highway 97. We travelled south on the Cariboo Highway from Prince George to Cache Creek, located at the junction with Trans-Canada Highway 1. Enroute we had one stop in the town of Quesnel BC. This route had plenty of services and small towns and farmland.
The Tintangal Cairn along the Yellowhead Highway about 132 miles before Prince George contains a center stone that hails from the Norman Tintangel Castle, reputed birthplace of King Arthur
Quesnel
We do not recommend a stop in Quesnel. It is a small town of about 10,500. We stayed here so that we could take a day trip to Barkerville, a living history museum of a restored gold rush era town. We stayed at the Airport Inn Motel and RV Park, which did not have reliable electricity, being under voltage frequently. There is a grocery store and some fast food and restaurants, but the town was not as inviting as most we have visited this trip. It is a lumber processing town and was very noisy at our campground. We enjoyed Barkerville, but recommend staying there or near Prince George.
The nearby lumber processing plant
Fraser River Canyon
We joined Trans-Canada Highway 1 in Cache Creek. The route from Cache Creek to Hope is beautiful, especially the southern section which travels through the Fraser River Canyon. There are seven tunnels and lots of downgrades with twisty-turny sections. Nearer to Cache Creek, the terrain reminded us of parts of Colorado that are dry and have scrub brush and lots of terrain changes. As we headed south through the Fraser River Canyon, the vegetation became more lush.
Drier region that reminded us of parts of Colorado
One of the seven tunnels in the Fraser River Canyon
Hope
We had a 2 night stop in Hope BC where we stayed at the Emory Bar RV Park. We enjoyed our visit in Hope and would return to visit the area further. Hope is located in the Fraser River Canyon and is surrounded by mountains. We liked the downtown area, which was walkable. There are numerous stores and restaurants. We had a tasty dinner at the Blue Moose Coffee House.
Located in downtown Hope, Blue Moose is a great stop for lunch and dinner as well as having coffee and pastries
Downtown Hope in early evening
We drove our Jeep up Mt. Hope Forest Service Road, where there is a hike which provides an excellent view of town. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain and foggy during the two days we were in Hope, so we did not get the views.
The Mt. Hope Forest Service Road
Further up Mt. Hope Forest Service Road
Too much fog for views of town
Waterfall along Mt. Hope Forest Service Road
After visiting Hope, we headed southeast on Trans-Canada Highway 1 to the town of Surrey BC which made an excellent jumping off point for visiting Vancouver Island’s Butchart Gardens and Victoria via ferry, and downtown Vancouver. We stayed at the Peace Arch RV Park in Surrey.
The day we left Hope we had clear skies. View near Hope.
Our drive south through British Columbia could have easily been completed in 3 days, but we are glad that we stretched it out and got to visit several areas along the route. This region had many rainy days during our visit, which is typical as you near the coast. With the right gear and attitude, a little rain and fog won’t hide the beauty of the region. We will definitely return for a future visit.
