Why this ride
155 km one way from West End - plan on about 2 h 37 of riding. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,400 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Sea to Sky to Duffey Loop: Vancouver to Pemberton
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 155 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 37
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Sea-to-Sky Highway
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 33 km this is Sea-to-Sky Highway, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 33 km
- Named road
- Sea-to-Sky Highway
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Vancouver
Vancouver is a city that sits between mountains and sea, so closely that you can ski in the morning and sail in the afternoon, as the local line goes. Glass towers crowd a peninsula with the North Shore peaks rising directly behind, and Stanley Park, a huge, forested park on the tip of the peninsula, wraps around the downtown with a seawall path and old-growth cedar. Gastown, the historic quarter, takes its name from a talkative saloon keeper, Gassy Jack Deighton, whose statue stands in the square.
Read the complete Vancouver write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Vancouver is where the day begins. Next is Whistler.
2. Whistler
Whistler began as an idea in the 1960s, when a group of Vancouver businessmen decided that a mountain north of the city might host an Olympic ski area, and it ended as one of the largest winter resorts in North America. The village itself is purpose built, a pedestrian maze of shops, bars and hotels at the foot of two mountains, Whistler and Blackcomb, joined by a gondola called Peak 2 Peak that spans a huge gap between the summits. The name comes from the hoary marmots that whistle from the rockfalls, and the surrounding land is the shared territory of the Squamish and Lil'wat peoples, whose cultural centre in the village is worth an hour.
Read the complete Whistler write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Whistler comes up about 122 km into the recorded legs. Next is Pemberton.
3. Pemberton
Pemberton sits in a flat, green valley surrounded by high, jagged mountains, a short distance north of Whistler, and it feels like a different world from the resort next door. Mount Currie, a rugged peak with a grey crest, towers over the farmland, and the Lillooet River winds across the valley floor. Farmers here grow seed potatoes, which are prized for their disease-free quality, and the fields with their neat rows are the first thing you see on arrival. The town has about two thousand people, a few cafes, a brewery and a laid-back air.
Read the complete Pemberton write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 155 km.
Leg by leg
Vancouver to Whistler
Vancouver → Whistler is 122 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Whistler to Pemberton
Whistler → Pemberton is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Sea-to-Sky Highway (123 km) · 160 km
- Vancouver · Sea to Sky and Duffey Lake · 253 km
- Sea to Sky to Duffey Loop: Vancouver to Lillooet · 254 km
- Sea to Sky and Whistler · 251 km