I'll be taking my truck and travel trailer from Bellingham to Prince Rupert along with my buddy who's taking his RV and our boat. We're getting on the ferry in PR to Ketchikan then onto the inter island ferry to POW. We're doing this in March or April. My question is how are the roads/terrain and anything else I should know. I'll fill up in B-ham and bring 20 gallons in cans hoping to make Prince George before buying many litres of petrol (hopefully). I'd like to relax on the ferry out of Bellingham instead of driving but it's $2600 to get on in B-ham versus $292 in Prince Rupert so driving it'll be. We're leaving the vehicles at my place on POW and flying home.
Thanks in advance and a Happy New Year to my favorite neighbors.
�Politicians are the lowest form of life on earth. Liberal Democrats are the lowest form of politician.� �General George S. Patton, Jr.
There will still likely be a fair bit of snow over the passes in late March/early April, but usually they keep on top of the roads as much as possible. Again it doesn't hurt to check the highway conditions before heading up over a pass.
Oh, if it's an issue with your vehicle, we're required to have on either snow rated - snow flake symbol - tires or M & S tires until March 31st.
If you've never been up across the Chilcotin and Cariboo country before you're in for a treat as we think it's really pretty country - more open than a lot of our province - more like Montana around Ennis I'd say.
Fuel prices are stupid here, but do vary a fair bit, so if you are so inclined a link to a fuel price site.
Anyway sir, that's what I can think of off the top of my head tonight. By all means if I can be of assistance please feel free to give me a shout and I'll do my best to help out.
Good luck on your journey and all the best to you this year.
There are a couple of long hills on either side of Houston but they aren't too steep. West of Terrace (where I live) has some narrow spots but you'll be fine with reasonable care. If it snows you'll need to take it easy so give yourself some extra time.
Gentleman, Thank you all for your input. I look forward to the trip and seeing what I imagine is beautiful country. I always find Canada to be clean and full of nice people.
Thanks again.
�Politicians are the lowest form of life on earth. Liberal Democrats are the lowest form of politician.� �General George S. Patton, Jr.
AcesNeights: Six of us wanted to go fishing in SE Alaska a few years back - 4 of us flew to our destination and two of us (including me!) were designated drivers from Seattle to the Prince Rupert ferry with our "fishing gear" in tow. What a wonderful trip that was! We rented a house for a week there in Alaska and fished every day having good luck on King Salmon from two rented boats. We also did crabbing and bought fresh shrimp off of the deck of shrimp boats in the harbor. The ferry trip north out of Prince Rupert was amazing! Be sure and take your cameras and binoculars. What a fun adventure for the six of us retired gentleman fishers. I would LOVE to do it again. Be sure and pay close attention to the amazing number of sawmills, lumbermills and plywood plants in British Columbia! All of the lumber industries that were put out of business by the liberals in Washington state (and other states!) were replaced by the capitalists in Canada. Sad that. We saw 20 or 30 Bears on the drive to Prince Rupert from Seattle. My travel mate had a new "hottie" girlfriend back in Seattle and he mistakenly assumed that phone calls from Canada to Seattle would be "inexpensive" if not free on his Verizon account. NOT! He ran up a $220.00 bill calling her on the up trip and the back trip alone. Verizon got free again once in Alaska we later found out. The border people were VERY thorough and swabbed our hands for drugs and explosives - carry NO contraband! Be prepared to unload EVERYTHING from your vehicles for the border agents - we saw that going up and coming home. The roads were pretty smooth but narrow and at times windy (sp?). Yes fuel in Canada when we went was expensive not sure how it compares now? Canadian folks were very friendly and we stopped at two great restaurants of which I will try to remember (research) their names/whereabouts. Have fun and drive careful with good up to date insurance. Hold into the wind VarmintGuy P.S.: I assume you will have reservations for the vehicles on the Alaskan ferry - DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT miss your reserved time!
It has already been well covered, but winter notwithstanding is a beautiful drive. To break it up a bit, Smithers is about halfway between Prince George and Prince Rupert. Beautiful little town. Be sure to eat at Chatters bistro.
On the way through Houston, stop and check out the grizzly bear mount in the museum there. As I recall it's basically across the road from the A&W. One of two soaker bears taken between Houston and Smithers a few years ago.
Lots to see you on the way, take your time, take an extra day and enjoy the drive.
Anybody who seriously concerns themselves with the adequacy of a Big 7mm for anything we hunt here short of brown bear, is a dufus. They are mostly making shidt up. Crunch! Nite-nite!
That grizzly at Houston is a real 1000+ lb interior grizzly, it was weighed by the game warden's who shot it. Eating cattle on a regular basis and access to salmon in the fall is good for growth apparently........
Google the Hungry Hill bears. Thats one of the big hills between Houston and Smithers mentioned earlier.
Two brothers, the other is at the airport in Smithers.
Anybody who seriously concerns themselves with the adequacy of a Big 7mm for anything we hunt here short of brown bear, is a dufus. They are mostly making shidt up. Crunch! Nite-nite!
Anybody who seriously concerns themselves with the adequacy of a Big 7mm for anything we hunt here short of brown bear, is a dufus. They are mostly making shidt up. Crunch! Nite-nite!
I will be making a very similar route, but in June.
I'll be driving from Banff, AB to Prince Rupert, and taking that same ferry to Ketchikan.
I expect to spend two nights on the road between those locations. Any recommendations on where we should stop?
I dont expect to have a BUNCH of time, but would like to do a little sightseeing along the way.
recommendations on stopover destinations?
thanks all,
shane
First teach a child to love God, second teach him to love family, third teach him to fish and hunt and by the time he is in his teens no dope dealer under the sun can teach him anything. Cotton Cordell
I would look at staying around Houston or Smithers on a trip like that. It is beautiful country, around Houston you start to get back into the mountains. Terrace is great too but by then you are less than 2 hours from Prince Rupert. I would avoid Prince George and some of the places in the interior, Vanderhoof is pretty good. Not sure what to recommend on the other side of Prince George.
gerrygoat; Good morning to you sir, my goodness it's frosty down here - for the sunny south anyway - so I hope you're enjoying being warmer than us and keeping well.
I'm going off of a faulty memory here as the last time we camped in Prince George was in the early '90's, but from what I hear I do believe there are better spots to stop overnight along the way.
If one's vehicle is a tad thirsty then I would suggest that Ace's practice of having a few 5 gallon cans of fuel along would make me feel better as it's a bit of a stretch sometimes between fuel ups.
For the folks who've not traveled here across the medicine line a whole lot, cell service can be spotty between towns still, but our Garmin GPS works everywhere we've driven in BC for the last 3 years since we bought it.
Lastly while there are exceptions, in general our diesel fuel is very good up here - based on taking our Cummins powered pickup down the Oregon coast a few years back, I would stack our low sulfur pump diesel against anything we found in Washington or Oregon.
Gasoline is a bit of a matter of what your motor likes, but a few of ours don't like the Husky lower octane gas - maybe it's the 10% ethanol - but for instance my wife's Forester detests it in summer as did a '99 F150.
Anyway sir, again that's all I can think of right now until the coffee kicks in and the house heats up.... -14° C right now here and we're not used to that!
It's -4 right now Dwayne with some snow but it is supposed to cool off again today. I don't mind the cooler weather since it means sun when we get snow for days on end it gets old quick.
There being too many people in Prince George for my liking and some undesirable characters these days, that is my reason for not wanting to stay there. Lots of friendly people in the smaller towns, of course there are some good people in P.G. as well
Billy Goat, if you have not seen it before the parkway between Banff (Lake Louise) and Jasper is worth the time. Campgrounds around Jasper (in the park) are fine, you would want reservations in the summer for sure. Hotels there are very pricey though. From there you can head west thru Prince George and stay somewhere west (perhaps Smithers area) before heading thru to Prince Rupert. Lots of pretty country to see in BC.
Billy Goat, if you have not seen it before the parkway between Banff (Lake Louise) and Jasper is worth the time. Campgrounds around Jasper (in the park) are fine, you would want reservations in the summer for sure. Hotels there are very pricey though. From there you can head west thru Prince George and stay somewhere west (perhaps Smithers area) before heading thru to Prince Rupert. Lots of pretty country to see in BC.
Amen to the Banff/Jasper statement. Some of the prettiest country I have ever seen.
Shane, Googlemaps will break this down for you, but from Banff you are looking at roughly 3+ easy hours to Jasper. Assuming reasonable traffic. Then you turn west, four hours to Prince George, then four hours to Smithers and then four more hours to Prince Rupert. 15-16 hours of driving give or take.
At Pat and Steelhead suggested, the Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper is incredible, and that scenery continues for about the first hour past Jasper when you head west.
To break the drive up some, I would suggest the first night that you stay at or near Mt Robson, which is roughly that hour west of Jasper just so it is somewhere closer to halfway. Especially if you are camping. That way you get to look at one of the most magnificent mountains a person can (Mt Robson). That also gives you a few extra hours the first day for sight-seeing in what is absolutely the most beautiful part of the trip if you like large mountains.
If you are hoteling it, there should be a small hotel another few minutes west of Mt Robson at Tete Jaune Cache. It is on the Fraser River and is a beautiful location. If it is not open or you want a nicer hotel and more amenities, from Tete Jaune you can drive south a few minutes to Valemount which has nicer hotels. A handful of miles out of your way however.
From there, I would pretty much push through 7 hours to Smithers for the second night. From Mt Robson, the scenery is very nice until you get to McBride, but then the two hours from McBride to PG is ... not so stimulating? Flattish land with trees and not much else.
PG will have the cheapest gas you will see in BC on your trip. Costco is there with their cheaper fuel, which forced the other gas stations to compete.
From PG, it's farm land through Vanderhoof and Burns Lake to Houston where that bear is in the window. Three hours plus a wee bit. Then you are getting back into the hills and the Bulkley Valley which is very pretty as well. 45 minutes from Houston to Smithers, where I suggest you stay the second night.
Then the last day you have an easy four hours to Prince Rupert, with Terrace about halfway.
One other thought. I will disagree slightly with Dwayne. You are never more than two hours between gas stations. Banff, Saskatchewan River Crossing, Jasper, McBride, Prince George, Vanderhoof, on and on. I wouldn't worry about taking Jerry cans. You will curse traffic on this trip more than you will worry about feeling isolated while looking at your gas gauge. The cheapest gas you will find is in Alberta and Prince George. I would fill up in Jasper and PG, then when you get to Smithers smile and bend over. Smithers gas prices will likely be 50 cents a gallon more than PG and Jasper.
Last edited by RickF; 01/07/17.
Anybody who seriously concerns themselves with the adequacy of a Big 7mm for anything we hunt here short of brown bear, is a dufus. They are mostly making shidt up. Crunch! Nite-nite!
this is exactly the sort of "local advice" I was hoping for.
you Canadians fail to disappoint. when we were in BC, we found the locals to be among the nicest folks I've ever met.
thanks!
shane
First teach a child to love God, second teach him to love family, third teach him to fish and hunt and by the time he is in his teens no dope dealer under the sun can teach him anything. Cotton Cordell
My first of 4 trips driving from lower 48 to AK I went up the Cassiar Hwy; unfortunately we were in the suds for the whole part from Kitwanga to where it hits the Alaska Hwy. Good reason to go back that way again.
Rick; Good afternoon to you sir and thanks for that in depth reply.
You are by the way sir, correct in disagreeing with me on the gas station thing. I do believe I was recalling the time we turned north at Kitwanga to head up to Telegraph Creek when I wrote that.
I should have said too that it's been two decades plus since we drove it last and no doubt things have changed - so I do appreciate the more recent information you've shared.
Anyway sir, if you're as cold as we are then by all means throw another log on the fire for me and I'll do likewise for you my cyber friend and fellow BCer.
Just made most of this trip last fall. From Missouri to Smithers. Banff and Jasper cannot be described with words. I found no shortage of fuel stops or Hotels. I stayed at Mcbride one night. Decent hotel no issues. Stayed in Smithers night before starting my hunt. Lots of decent lodging there. I wished I had taken the time and went on to the coast. You will enjoy the drive and the scenery is unreal.
I've always been different with one foot over the line.....
Dwayne, it is absolutely cold over here! We received a foot of snow the first week of December, then it went to -25, and since then has basically just stayed cold and snowed some more. We already have our allotment of white stuff for the winter here in the Kooteney's and then some!
It's ironic about the drive between Banff and Prince George. The better half and I have done that a bunch of times, but it's always just point A to point B. We say every year we are going to do it as tourists and enjoy the way, but never seem to take the time to do it.
Regarding the gas station thing, this is a team effort to give our friend from the south as much information as we can before he heads in this direction.
I have done that drive north from Kitwanga a couple of times and absolutely agree on the dearth of gas stations in that direction. I believe just Bell 2, perhaps 100 miles north or so from Kitwanga is the only one on the highway. If nothing else a person should stop there so they can say they have had a cup of the world's absolute worst coffee!!
Hope you're doing well over there. Another log on the fire, and have a great year Dwayne.
Anybody who seriously concerns themselves with the adequacy of a Big 7mm for anything we hunt here short of brown bear, is a dufus. They are mostly making shidt up. Crunch! Nite-nite!
Rick; Thanks for the reply sir and yes we've been about the same - less snow, but more snow than "normal" on the first week of December and the cold set in and has stayed.
I'm back in construction these days and we're going through 300 liters of heater fuel every other day to try and keep the projects on track....
Anyway if I can be forgiven a quick trip down memory lane with you sir.
So back in '87 my brother in law taught up in Telegraph Creek and so he and my sister invited a buddy and I up to try goat hunting there.
We were working at a BC Fruit Grower's owned test orchard then and the boss said we could take all the odd ball variety apples we wanted to pick if we paid for the boxes. So we stayed late a couple days and picked enough to fill the back of my '80 Toyota 4x4 with just enough room for our camping gear in the canopy covered box.
The idea was to sell the apples to the folks up in Telegraph to help defray gas costs.
Things went pretty well on the first day - made Cache Creek I think it was after work, then day two past PG. Anyway on the third day we stopped at Kitwanga for gas and the gas jockey forgot to replace the fuel cap on the pickup. Remember gas jockeys?
Anyway we pulled into Meziadin Junction to top up and was not pleased to see no gas cap.... what to do?
Meziadin was a gas station and a handful of other buildings then - really small anyway. So the kid at the station says there's a box of gas caps by the till and if one fits help yourself. Wouldn't you know it we found one from a Datsun and it worked after a fashion.
We asked the young man what he needed for it - offered $20 which was more than 3 hours pay for me then - and he said no that's okay. We then offered a box of apples and he looked at us like we'd said we had a truck full of moon rocks! I don't think he believed us.
I want to say we left him with most of a box of apples Rick - can't recall how many now - but he was one happy camper.
Lastly, all the way up to Dease we were thinking we should have brought more apples. We hit the bottom of the first grade between Dease and Telegraph and stopped to let the brakes cool down. At that point we had a very serious discussion as to whether we should throw out a few boxes.....
Here's a video of the road for those who are interested.
Sorry to the OP for the drive into the weeds, but thanks for allowing an aging hunter to remember a hunt from what will be 30 year ago this fall.
I have done that drive north from Kitwanga a couple of times and absolutely agree on the dearth of gas stations in that direction. I believe just Bell 2, perhaps 100 miles north or so from Kitwanga is the only one on the highway. If nothing else a person should stop there so they can say they have had a cup of the world's absolute worst coffee!!
Although this isn't going to help the OP others turning north might benefit. From Kitwanga there is gas at Meziadin Lake and then Bell 2, next is Tatogga Lake and also Iskut and then Dease Lake. Farther north I can't remember since it has been a while. Topping up in Meziadin and Bell 2 is recommended and most gas stations close for the night so don't wait too long
Gentlemen, Thanks for all the great advice. One more question, how are the roads to PR right now and what's February like for driving. I may take one suburban and tools up there soon.
Thanks again.
�Politicians are the lowest form of life on earth. Liberal Democrats are the lowest form of politician.� �General George S. Patton, Jr.
It is snowing right now so you can expect compact snow and slippery sections. February can be the same although in general the weather starts to improve by then so there is usually less snow. In short expect slippery roads but there is a good chance it will be clear.
Drove it South twice last Fall. Once in a Tundra pulling a heavy glass boat, once with the Storm and Strife in her Saturn. Hit snow patches on a few summits. Really liked the area in fact will be back to hunt next year. A few kinks in the highway, Some curious weather events, but overall very enjoyable. Gas was I thought reasonable mainly because we did not burn much.
when we get snow for days on end it gets old quick. 
Flattish land with trees and not much else.
Smithers gas prices will likely be 50 cents a gallon more than PG and Jasper. 
