Duffy Lake Road Loop · short arc

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Fuel stop near Anmore

   Anmore is a small, wooded village in the hills above Port Moody, just east of Indian Arm, the steep fjord that runs north off Burrard Inlet. It is a quiet, semi-rural place, with large lots, forest and a strong sense of being on the edge of the wilderness, despite being only half an hour from downtown Vancouver.

   Read the complete Fuel stop near Anmore write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Duffy Lake Road Loop is where the day begins. Next is Vancouver / British Columbia return.

2. 2. Vancouver / British Columbia return

   The nearest town of any size is Squamish, twenty-odd kilometres to the north-east, and Lions Bay, a small village clinging to the opposite shore, is more than thirty kilometres away. What lies between is steep forested slope, small lakes and rock, with the Tantalus Range showing its white shoulders to the east.

   Read the complete Vancouver / British Columbia return write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   You top out here; the road stops climbing. Next is Duffy Lake Road Loop food stop.

3. 3. Sechelt

   The Sunshine Coast is not an island, but it might as well be. Although it is part of the mainland of British Columbia, no road connects it to Vancouver; you have to take a ferry from Horseshoe Bay across Howe Sound to Langdale, and the forty-minute crossing, through a fjord of forested mountains, sets the tone for a place that feels removed from the rush of the city. Sechelt, the main town, sits on a narrow isthmus between the Strait of Georgia and the long, sheltered Sechelt Inlet.

   Read the complete Sechelt write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   A break here. Next is Photo stop near Ganges.

4. 4. Photo stop near Ganges

   Planning note

   Photo stop near Ganges, about halfway. Next is Duffy Lake Road Loop checkpoint 8.

5. 5. Richmond

   Richmond is built on mud, and proud of it. The city occupies Lulu Island and neighbouring islands in the delta of the Fraser River, just south of Vancouver, land so flat and so low that much of it sits barely above sea level behind a ring of dykes. Vancouver's airport takes up Sea Island to the west, the North Shore mountains rise beyond the city skyline, and on a clear day Mount Baker floats above the delta to the southeast, a white volcano across the border in Washington.

   Read the complete Richmond write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Finish at Duffy Lake Road Loop checkpoint 8. That is the ride. Next is High point near Langley.

6. 6. High point near Langley

   Langley spreads across the Fraser Valley east of Vancouver, a mix of suburbs, horse farms, berry fields and wineries under a wide sky. It is not high in any alpine sense, but the gentle uplands here lift you just enough to see the Coast Mountains to the north and, on a clear day, the white cone of Mount Baker floating across the border to the south-east.

   Read the complete High point near Langley write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   High point near Langley comes up about 288 km into the recorded legs. Next is Scenic stretch near Pitt Meadows.

7. 7. Scenic stretch near Pitt Meadows

   Pitt Meadows lies on the flat delta land where the Pitt River meets the Fraser, east of Vancouver. Dykes hold back the rivers, and behind them stretch blueberry and cranberry fields, wetlands and farmland, with the steep, forested peaks of the Golden Ears rising dramatically to the north. On a clear evening, with the sun catching the mountains and the fields glowing, it is a beautiful place to end a ride.

   Read the complete Scenic stretch near Pitt Meadows write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Scenic stretch near Pitt Meadows closes the day.