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British Columbia Road Trip: Places Worth the Drive
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items British Columbia is more than Vancouver and Whistler. Gold rush towns, a lake covered in spots, goats on a market roof, a free ferry across Kootenay Lake and hot springs at the end of the Alaska Highway. These are the stops worth slowing down for, fr...
Map
Sections
6
Vancouver Island & the Islands
West Coast & Sea to Sky
Okanagan & Kootenays
The Rockies
Cariboo Country
Northern BC
Vancouver Island & the Islands
Old-growth forest, Pacific beaches, gardens and island towns, from Victoria to Haida Gwaii.
Miles of open Pacific beach, rainforest boardwalks and winter storm watching. Bring rain gear and stay a few days.
Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
A worn-out limestone quarry turned into one of the world's great gardens, starting in 1904. Go in the evening when the lights come on.
Butchart Gardens
Yes, there really are goats grazing on the roof. Good bakery, odd imports and a fun stop on the way to Tofino.
Coombs Old Country Market
Islands off the north coast, home of the Haida Nation. Totem poles, old-growth forest and Gwaii Haanas, one of the most remote parks in the country.
Haida Gwaii
Giant old-growth Douglas firs, some around 800 years old, right beside Highway 4 between Parksville and Port Alberni. Short, easy trails on both sides of the road, and right on the way to Tofino.
Cathedral Grove
West Coast & Sea to Sky
Waterfalls, canyons, hot springs and mountain lakes within a day's drive of Vancouver.
The drive from Horseshoe Bay to Squamish hugs Howe Sound the whole way. Stop at Shannon Falls, a short walk from the parking lot.
Sea to Sky Highway & Shannon Falls
A cable car drops you into the narrowest part of the Fraser River canyon. The water through the gorge is something to see.
Hell's Gate Airtram
An easy, flat walk along the old Kettle Valley Railway bed through tunnels blasted into the Coquihalla River gorge, with bridges over the rushing water between them. Just outside Hope. Usually open spring to fall, so check BC Parks before you go.
Othello Tunnels (Coquihalla Canyon, Hope)
I camped here a few times in the late '80s and stopped again with the RV in 2021. A cold, glacier-fed lake right beside the highway between Pemberton and Lillooet, and one of the peaks looks like a Sasquatch to me. Parking is tight since the highway ...
Duffey Lake Provincial Park
A quiet lakeside village with a public hot pool fed by mineral springs. An easy getaway from the Fraser Valley.
Harrison Hot Springs
Okanagan & Kootenays
Lakes, old railway trestles, hot springs and heritage towns in BC's warm southern valleys.
Walk or bike the old Kettle Valley Railway bed over 18 wooden trestles and through two tunnels, high above the canyon. Flat and easy.
Myra Canyon Trestle Restoration Society
In summer the water evaporates and leaves dozens of coloured mineral pools. It's sacred to the Syilx Okanagan people, so view it from the roadside pullout.
Spotted Lake
A lakeside heritage town with more than 350 restored old buildings, good coffee and an easy walking downtown.
Nelson (West Kootenay)
Hot springs in a horseshoe-shaped cave with a cold plunge pool and a view across the lake.
Ainsworth Hot Springs Resort
A free car ferry across Kootenay Lake, about 35 minutes each way, and often called the longest free ferry ride in the world. Mountains on both sides the whole way. Pairs well with Nelson and Ainsworth Hot Springs.
Balfour Terminal
A restored 1890s boomtown with steam train rides, horse-drawn wagons and a working blacksmith, set below the Rockies.
Fort Steele Heritage Town
The Rockies
Emerald lakes, big peaks and a hot soak on the BC side of the Rockies.
Emerald Lake and Takakkaw Falls are both short walks from the road. Smaller and quieter than Banff, just over the border.
Emerald Lake
The highest peak in the Canadian Rockies at 3,954 metres. On a clear day you can see it right from the visitor centre on Highway 16 near Valemount, a good stop between Jasper and Prince George.
Mount Robson Welcome Centre
Hot pools set below the cliffs of Sinclair Canyon in Kootenay National Park, right off Highway 93. A good soak after a day of driving the Rockies.
Radium Hot Springs
Cariboo Country
Gold rush towns, ranch country and waterfalls along the old Cariboo Wagon Road.
A real 1860s Cariboo gold rush town with costumed interpreters, stagecoach rides and gold panning. Plan a full day.
Barkerville Historic Town & Park
Waterfall country. Helmcken Falls drops 141 metres into a huge bowl and is one of the tallest falls in Canada.
Wells Gray Provincial Park (Helmcken Falls)
An original roadhouse from the Cariboo Wagon Road gold rush days, right where Highways 97 and 99 meet north of Cache Creek. Old ranch buildings, guided tours and a good place to stretch your legs on the way north. Open in the summer season.
Historic Hat Creek Ranch
Northern BC
The Alaska Highway, glaciers, ancient cedars and fur trade history in the wide-open north.
A boardwalk through the boreal forest leads to one of the largest natural hot springs in Canada. The best stop on the whole Alaska Highway.
Liard River Hot Springs
Where the Alaska Highway starts. The highway was built in 1942, and the Mile 0 post and the big arch sign in downtown Dawson Creek are the classic photo stop before you head north.
Mile 0, Alaska Highway (Dawson Creek)
A rare inland rainforest east of Prince George on Highway 16, with western red cedars over 1,000 years old. A boardwalk loop takes you right in among the giants, and the first stretch is flat and wheelchair friendly.
Ancient Forest / Chun T'oh Whudujut (near Prince George)
Two waterfalls pour side by side off Hudson Bay Mountain, a short walk from the parking area just outside Smithers. Strong hikers can keep climbing the Glacier Gulch trail for a closer look at the glacier.
Twin Falls (Smithers)
Simon Fraser founded this fur trade post on Stuart Lake in 1806. The restored Hudson's Bay Company buildings and costumed staff take you back to the 1890s. Worth the side trip north of Vanderhoof. Open in summer.
Fort St. James National Historic Site
This big dam on the Peace River at Hudson's Hope holds back Williston Lake, the largest lake in BC. The visitor centre has exhibits and dam tours in the summer season, and the canyon views on the way in are worth the drive. An easy run from Dawson Cr...
W.A.C. Bennett Dam (Peace River, Hudson's Hope)
One of the biggest glaciers in the world you can reach by road. The gravel road from Stewart runs through tiny Hyder, Alaska, then climbs to a viewpoint right above the ice. Go in summer, and bring your passport for the trip back into Canada.
Salmon Glacier Summit Viewpoint
A long, jade-green lake right beside the Alaska Highway in the northern Rockies. Watch for stone sheep on the road, and stop for the colour of the water alone.
Muncho Lake Provincial Park