Duffy Lake Road Loop · part 3

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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

   Duffy Lake Road Loop checkpoint 8 is where the day begins. Next is High point near Langley.

2. 2. 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 63 km into the recorded legs. Next is Scenic stretch near Pitt Meadows.

3. 3. 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

   about 99 km into the recorded legs you reach Scenic stretch near Pitt Meadows. Next is Back to Duffy Lake Road.

4. 4. Back to Duffy Lake Road

   Anmore is a small village in the forested hills above Burrard Inlet, a short ride from Port Moody and the eastern edge of Vancouver's urban area, and the dot sits here because the Duffy Lake Road loop ends back in this part of the Lower Mainland. The land is dense with hemlock and cedar, the air is damp and cool, and the roads wind between lakes and ridges with a sense of being close to wilderness while only a few kilometres from the shops.

   Read the complete Duffy Lake Road write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back to Duffy Lake Road closes the day.