Driving to Vancouver

[Yasa]

I've driven it once. My advice is; always speed. This is a race. You don't want to lose, do you?

Drive tired. It'll keep you on your toes, and your reflexes will be cat-like.

Pass cars whenever you want. If somebody in the on-coming lane doesn't want to get hit, they'll move. You're the boss of the road.

Forget windshield wiper fluid. Bugs are natures fluid.

Safety kits? Nobody needs those. Watch MacGyver, learn his techniques.

Finally, if you see a ramp; drive off it. Chicks dig stunts.

[Kybosh]

^^^ True, there are many trucking run-out roads just begging to be ramped off of.

[Jimmy Stang]

If you've a GPS unit (or can borrow one), you'll find that it'll help you get around Vancouver. Getting there it won't be much use to you, but once you get there, you'll love it. Pre-program a few destinations for when you get there and you'll save yourself lots of frustration.

[Locke]

Plus, I hear they have a tradition in Vancouver, if you see a guy in a Canucks jersey its customary to hit him with your car.

When in Rome...

[mesaywee]

Anyone know of a website I could look at to know the road conditions? I've heard the mountains are getting some snow soon.

[flylock shox]

www.drivebc.ca

[arloiginla]

I love this drive, it's one of the most beautiful in Canada IMO.

-It's good to stop every couple hours even if only real briefly - helps keep you alert and fresh, plus you get to enjoy some of the cool sites/food along the way.

-I usually leave at 6am, so stop in Golden at A&W for breakfast, it's right along the highway so you don't lose much time doing it. About two and a half hours from Calgary. But watch the 10km just before Golden, you'll need to slow down to around 50 to navigate some of those corners. Don't go over the edge.

-Don't stop in Revelstoke - the downtown is way too far from the highway. Just enjoy the suspension bridge and keep going.

-Stop in Sicamous at Dutchmen's Dairy for ice cream. It's the best...better than Mackay's in Cochrane, etc. It's that good. Also right off the highway - you'll see the signs...on your left.

-Skip Salmon Arm and go through to Kamloops - stop there if you really want to, there's a Tims by the highway...right after this you have the big decision to make. Either you take the Coquihalla highway or stay on the old No. 1. The former is a shorter journey and will cut at least an hour off your time, but the latter is a much more scenic drive. If you have the time, take the old No. 1. You need to turn off to do this IIRC (weird I know). You'll go through Cache Creek then the best part, down through Hell's Gate Canyon to Hope where the two highways meet again. Again don't go over the edge.

-From Hope it's pretty much downhill to Chilliwack, where you'll fight the traffic all the way through to Vancouver for the last hour.

-If you feel like sight-seeing, you can stop at the Spiral Tunnels (after Field, before Golden)...watch a train pass under itself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Hil...Spiral_Tunnels

-Also can after 3 Valley Gap and before Sicamous at Craigellachie...the Last Spike if that sort of thing interests you. At least you can take a piss there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craigel...itish_Columbia

Enjoy the trip. It's wonderful.

[mesaywee]

^^^ Awesome man thanks, i'm out of thanks but you deserve one.

[afc wimbledon]

Great pie at the Chilliwack airport diner, if you hit the valley before 6 or 7pm.

[Torture]

When I drove out to the Olympics my roommate offered me an axe and a machette because according to him the Coquihalla is so dangerous. /roll eyes.

I wish I was joking.


Just don't be stupid, it's really not that a bad drive.

[troutman]

Enchanted Forest

[mesaywee]

Originally Posted by troutman

Enchanted Forest

YES YES YES YES YES.

Forgot that thing existed. Pretty sure im terrified of it.

[Yasa]

Originally Posted by troutman

Enchanted Forest

I can go look at garden gnomes and a scary lady nextdoor. It's cheaper.

[C_of_Red28]

Highway 1
Calgary to Kamloops

Highway 5 (Coquihalla) - (Highway 1 at Kamloops becomes Highway 5 unless you exit off to Highway 1. Its quite simple. I live in Kamloops.. Lots of Signs that say Vancouver. )
Kamloops to Vancouver..

[Mad Mel]

Coquihalla is faster.

Highway 1 down the Fraser Canyon is awesomer.

[arloiginla]

Originally Posted by mesaywee

^^^ Awesome man thanks, i'm out of thanks but you deserve one.

Oh and if you're in no hurry, take the Bow Valley Parkway from Banff to Lake Louise. There's no traffic in the morning (especially past Johnston Canyon) and usually some elk or moose to see. The two lanes divide and meander through the forest several times - you can't go too fast but it's beautiful. Then you pass a cool old-style gas station with just one pump and some log cabins, then the best part: a 3km stretch or so where the road is dead straight and the tall trees on either side of the road are basically the same height so it's like an optical illusion as you drive through.

It beats the normal Banff to LL stretch which I find quite boring plus there's usually cops out (at Bourgeau Lake).

Make the trip as scenic as you can.

[Redliner]

If you do happen to take the Coquihalla and you're not in a hurry, stop at the Othello Tunnels provincial park. (about 20 Km east of Hope - you'll see the signs) A friend of mine recommended this to me and I stopped there last summer with my family. It's basically a hiking trail build on an old railway grade that goes down into the canyon and through 4 tunnels. To be honest I wasn't expecting much but it was really beautiful. It's only about 5 minutes off the road and to walk from the parking lot to the end of the tunnels and back takes about an hour. It's a nice break and surprisingly cool.

[arloiginla]

This is the straight part of the Bow Valley Parkway I was referring to. It looks way more spectacular in person:

Spoiler!

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by arloiginla

This is the straight part of the Bow Valley Parkway I was referring to. It looks way more spectacular in person:

Spoiler!

Please don't show me that. Now I want to go 200 down that on my new bike.

[arloiginla]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

Please don't show me that. Now I want to go 200 down that on my new bike.

It feels weird driving down it, no matter how fast you go it feels like you aren't going anywhere and that it doesn't end.

I wouldn't recommend 200 though, hitting a moose at that speed generally doesn't end well.