Duffy Lake Road Loop
A 346 km loop
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Why this ride
Scenery first, traffic last, with checkpoints that make sense on a bike. 346 km round from Anmore - plan on about 6 h 18 of riding. The stops in between: Sechelt, near Ganges and Richmond. Vancouver / British Columbia is the high point. It tops out at about 1,100 m. Much of it runs through woodland.
Roadbook
- Fuel stop near Anmore
fuel
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.
The area's main attractions are its lakes. Buntzen Lake, a reservoir surrounded by forest and mountains, is a popular spot for swimming, paddling and hiking. Sasamat Lake, in Belcarra Regional Park, is one of the warmest lakes in the region in summer, with a floating dock and beaches. Both can get very busy on hot weekends, so arrive early.
The roads around Anmore are narrow and winding, climbing through forest from Port Moody. They are pleasant to ride, but watch for cyclists, pedestrians and wildlife, including bears, which are common in the area. Surfaces can be damp and slippery under the trees, especially in the wet months.
These towns also offer plenty of food and coffee options. From here, the route north towards the Sea-to-Sky Highway and the Duffey Lake Road offers some of the finest riding in British Columbia.
It is worth lingering a moment on Indian Arm itself if you get a glimpse of it. The fjord cuts deep into the Coast Mountains, its walls rising almost straight from the water, and for much of its length there is no road at all; boats and floatplanes reach the cabins along its shore. Standing among the cedars and firs above Port Moody, with the smell of wet bark and the sound of nothing much, it is hard to believe a city of millions lies just over the hill.
- Vancouver / British Columbia return
pass
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.
What you can ride is the Sea to Sky Highway, number 99, along the far shore of the sound. It begins at Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver and runs north past Lions Bay, Porteau Cove, Britannia Beach and Shannon Falls, with the road sometimes only a few metres above the water and the mountains plunging straight down on the other side. It is the sort of road that makes people slow down simply to look, and that is the main hazard: drivers braking for views, and the odd rock fall on the cliff sections. The surface was widened and improved for the 2010 Winter Olympics, and the passing lanes are generous.
Porteau Cove is worth a stop. The old rail line runs along the shore, and the cove is a provincial park with a pebbled beach and a shipwreck that scuba divers visit. The sound itself was once badly polluted by the mine at Britannia, but in recent decades the water has recovered, and you can now see dolphins and even humpback whales some summers. The Gambier, Bowen and Anvil islands sit offshore, and BC Ferries run from Horseshoe Bay to Bowen, a short crossing with its own small, wooded loop of roads.
Fuel is available at Horseshoe Bay and at Squamish, but the long stretch between them has limited services, so start with a full tank. For a good day, begin early to beat the commuter crowd, and ride the highway northbound in the morning light, when the sound is still and the mountains are sharp.
- Sechelt
food
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.
Sechelt is the home of the shíshálh Nation, which in 1986 became the first Indigenous community in Canada to achieve self-government through federal legislation. The nation's cultural centre in town has exhibits about its history and traditions. The town itself is relaxed and friendly, with a waterfront promenade, galleries, cafés and restaurants, and it makes a good place for a meal at the end of a ride.
The Sunshine Coast Highway, Highway 101, runs along the coast from Langdale through Gibsons and Sechelt to Earls Cove, where another ferry crosses Jervis Inlet to the northern part of the coast. The road winds through forests and along the shore, with views of the water and the islands, and it is a pleasant, relaxed ride, though it can be busy in summer. Near Egmont, at the northern end of Sechelt Inlet, the Skookumchuck Narrows are a natural wonder, where the tidal currents create some of the fastest tidal rapids in the world, with whirlpools and standing waves. A walking trail through the forest leads to viewpoints.
Sechelt has fuel, supermarkets and plenty of places to eat, from fish and chips to more refined restaurants. The ferry schedule dictates the rhythm of travel on the coast, and in summer the ferries can be full, so reserve or arrive early. The weather is mild but often wet, though the coast lives up to its name more often than Vancouver does.
- Photo stop near Ganges
swim
Photo stop near Ganges, about halfway.
- Richmond
finish
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.
Two Richmonds coexist. The centre is one of the most Asian cities in North America, with huge malls, Chinese restaurants, bubble tea shops and a summer night market that draws crowds from all over the region, and the food is a very good reason to stop. At the southwest corner of the island lies Steveston, an old fishing village with wooden docks, boats selling fish straight from the deck and the Gulf of Georgia Cannery, a national historic site that tells the story of the salmon canning industry and the Japanese Canadian fishermen who worked here before their internment during the Second World War.
The riding around Richmond is flat and urban, with traffic lights, busy roads and few curves, though the dyke roads by the river and the sea offer open views and the scent of salt and mud. Wind can blow strongly across the delta. The Mount Baker loop heads south across the border into Washington State. You will need a passport and the right documents for the bike, and waits at the crossings can be long at weekends. Once across, the Mount Baker Highway climbs east from Bellingham through forests along the Nooksack River toward the mountain, ending at Artist Point, usually open only in late summer when the snow has melted.
The weather is typical of the coast: mild, grey and wet from autumn to spring, and often bright and pleasant in summer. Fog sometimes hangs over the delta in the morning. In the mountains, snow can remain on the high roads until July.
Richmond has fuel, food and every service, and many locals cross the border to fill up in Washington, where fuel has often been cheaper. Keep receipts and know the duty-free limits if you bring anything back. Before or after the ride, a bowl of noodles in one of the city's many Asian restaurants is hard to beat.
- High point near Langley
swim
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.
The history is bigger than the landscape suggests. Fort Langley, on the Fraser River at the north end of the township, was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post, and in 1858 it was where the Colony of British Columbia was proclaimed. The reconstructed fort is now a national historic site, and the village around it has kept a pleasant small-town main street with cafés and antique shops.
For a hot day, there is water nearby. The Fraser itself is fast, cold and silty and not a place to swim, but lakes and pools in the wider valley draw locals in summer, and the river parks along the banks are good for a shaded rest. Check local signage before getting in anywhere; currents and water quality vary.
The roads here are rural grids with the occasional diagonal, mostly flat and straight with good surfaces, interrupted by roundabouts and the odd tractor. Glover Road and the routes towards Fort Langley have a pleasing country feel. Traffic around the Highway 1 interchanges can be heavy. Fuel and food are plentiful throughout Langley, so there is no need to plan ahead; just enjoy the farmland and the mountain views.
- Scenic stretch near Pitt Meadows
swim
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.
The dykes are a defining feature. Built to protect the low-lying land from flooding, they now carry walking and cycling trails and offer elevated views over the river and the farmland. The Pitt-Addington Marsh to the north is a haven for birds, including sandhill cranes and bald eagles. Pitt Lake, one of the largest tidal freshwater lakes in North America, lies just beyond.
For a swim, the options are nearby rather than right here. Golden Ears Provincial Park, reached through Maple Ridge, has Alouette Lake with beaches and picnic areas that are very popular in summer. The water is cold but refreshing after a hot day on the bike. Arrive early on weekends, as parking can fill up.
The roads around Pitt Meadows are flat and open, with long straights between the fields and some pleasant river-side stretches. Watch for farm vehicles and strong winds off the river. Fuel and food are available in Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge, and the Lougheed Highway provides a quick route back towards Vancouver.
- Back to Duffy Lake Road
finish
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.
Nearby, Buntzen Lake and Sasamat Lake offer swimming and paddling in water that is warm enough for a dip by midsummer, and Indian Arm, a long fjord that cuts north into the mountains, can be seen from several viewpoints. Port Moody, at the head of the inlet, was once the western terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway before the line was extended to Vancouver, and it has a pleasant waterfront and a number of craft breweries.
The Duffy Lake Road, which gives the ride its name, is one of British Columbia's finest mountain roads. It links Lillooet, in the dry interior, with Pemberton in the coastal rainforest, over Cayoosh Pass at about 1,250 metres, and in the course of fifty-odd kilometres, the landscape changes from desert hills to glaciers and wet forest. Steep gradients, tight bends and a few narrow sections require focus. Joffre Lakes, a trio of glacier-fed turquoise lakes, lie beside the road and can be reached by a steep trail. In winter, snow and ice can make the pass difficult, and snow tyres are required for cars.
The return to the coast follows the Sea to Sky highway past Squamish and through the fjord country of Howe Sound, one of the best roads in the province, though busy in summer. Speed cameras and police patrols are common, so keep to the limits.
Fuel and food are easy in Port Moody and Coquitlam, with large stations, supermarkets and cafes. The restaurants of Port Moody's Shoreline Trail serve good seafood, and a short walk by the inlet is a calm way to end the day. Rain is common in the Lower Mainland, even in summer, so carry waterproofs. The best months for riding are July to September.