Why this ride
Highlight: a ferry crossing to Nanaimo, about 4 km of water - check the timetable and book ahead in summer.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Sunshine Coast Ferry Ride · part 2
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 255 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 38
- 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
Sunshine Coast Ferry Ride photo pull-off → Sunshine Coast Ferry Ride c
Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did. Water arrives beside the road and stays for 78 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 104 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Food stop near Squamish
Planning note
Food stop near Squamish is where the day begins. Next is Photo stop near Nanaimo.
2. Photo stop near Nanaimo
Ask a Canadian about Nanaimo and the first thing you will hear about is the Nanaimo bar, a no-bake square of crumb base, custard buttercream and chocolate that turns up in cafes across the country and is unapologetically sweet. The city itself, with about eighty-five thousand people, is the second largest on Vancouver Island and the main ferry hub to the mainland, with boats to Horseshoe Bay and Tsawwassen near Vancouver. For many riders it is where the island begins or ends.
Read the complete Nanaimo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Photo stop near Nanaimo comes up about 151 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sunshine Coast Ferry Ride checkpoint 8.
3. Near Richmond
The point lies on the western edge of Richmond, out where the city gives way to the mudflats and marshes of the Fraser River delta. Richmond is built almost entirely on flat delta land, protected by dykes from the river and the sea, and the western shore, along Sturgeon Bank, is a wide expanse of mud, eelgrass and tidal channels, important for migrating birds. On a clear day, the view across the Strait of Georgia to the mountains of Vancouver Island is wide and calming, and the sunsets are often spectacular.
Read the complete Fuel stop near Richmond 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 255 km.
Leg by leg
Food stop near Squamish to Photo stop near Nanaimo
Food stop near Squamish → Photo stop near Nanaimo is 151 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Photo stop near Nanaimo to Near Richmond
Photo stop near Nanaimo → Near Richmond is 104 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Duffy Lake Road Loop · part 1 · 114 km
- Sea-to-Sky Highway (138 km) · 127 km
- Mount Baker Cross-Border Loop · part 1 · 106 km