When the Fraser River squeezes through the Coast Mountains between Hope and Lytton, it makes a canyon so narrow and steep that the railways, the highway and the river have to share it. This is the end of the ride, and it is a worthy one. The road clings to cliffs above the water, plunges through tunnels, and crosses the river on bridges with views straight down.
The canyon has a history of gold and hardship. In 1858, tens of thousands of prospectors came up the river after gold was found there, and the colony of British Columbia was created partly to control them. Miners built trails along the cliffs, and later the Cariboo Wagon Road was blasted into the walls, reaching Barkerville and the goldfields far to the north. The two transcontinental railways, the Canadian Pacific and the Canadian National, followed in the early twentieth century, one on each side of the river, and you can sometimes see long freight trains crawling through the tunnels on the far bank.
At Hell's Gate, a few kilometres south of Boston Bar, the river is forced into a channel only thirty-five metres wide, and the whole flow, which can be huge in the spring melt, thunders through it. An airtram carries visitors across the gorge. The narrows once blocked the passage of salmon, when a rockslide during railway construction in 1914 made it impassable, and fishways were built to help them. The salmon runs still pass through in late summer and autumn.
The highway has seven tunnels between Yale and Boston Bar, some of them narrow, with low ceilings, so check for dripping water and slippery patches inside. Rockfalls and landslides are a known risk, particularly in the wet season, and the road can close at short notice, so check DriveBC before you go. Summers are hot in the canyon, particularly near Lytton, which has set records for heat, and winter brings snow and ice. Fuel is found in Boston Bar and in Hope to the south, with Lytton to the north. The village has a few cafes and motels, and the view of the river from the road is worth a pause.