Vancouver · Sea to Sky and Duffey Lake

Coast mountains, fast weather and a proper Canadian day.

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Why this ride

Coast mountains, fast weather and a proper Canadian day. Out of Squamish and back again: 321 km, roughly 5 h 32 in the saddle. The stops in between: Whistler, Pemberton and Duffey Lake Road. The highest point is about 1,600 m. Back roads rather than main roads, where the map allows.

Roadbook

1. Squamish fuel fuel

   Squamish sits at the head of Howe Sound, where the fjord ends against a wall of granite, and the first thing it shows you is the Stawamus Chief, a monolith of rock rising some seven hundred metres straight out of the forest. It is one of the largest free-standing granite faces in the world, and on any good day the white specks on its walls are climbers, which has turned this small town into a minor capital of the sport. Beside it Shannon Falls drops in a long white thread, easily seen from the highway.

   For riders, Squamish is the honest start or finish of the Sea to Sky Highway, the road between Vancouver and Whistler. The southern section from West Vancouver hugs the fjord, a series of fast, flowing bends cut into the cliff above the water, with views across to Anvil Island and the Britannia Beach mining museum on the way. The road was thoroughly rebuilt before the 2010 Winter Olympics, so the surface is generally excellent and passing lanes are frequent, but weekends in summer bring heavy traffic and speed enforcement, and you should assume the limits are watched. North of Squamish the road lifts toward Whistler through forested valleys beneath the glaciers of Garibaldi Provincial Park.

   The town has a population of around seventeen thousand, which means everything you need: fuel on the highway, coffee shops, breweries, gear shops and a gondola that carries you up into the high country. The wind is the other defining thing. In summer a reliable afternoon breeze blows up the sound, and kiteboarders and windsurfers line up on the Spit to use it. Riders get a bit of it too, as a sideways push on exposed sections.

   Squamish takes its name from the Skwxwú7mesh people, whose territory it is. In winter there is something else worth seeing: thousands of bald eagles come to feed on spawning salmon in the Brackendale area, a few kilometres north, from about December to February. It is a different season for riding, with ice at altitude, but anyone who happens to be here then should pull over and see them.

2. Whistler food food

   Whistler is a village built for pleasure in an old logging valley, and it knows it. The pedestrian village at the foot of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, with its cobbled lanes, hotels and rows of restaurants, was planned in the late 1970s and took off when the two ski areas were developed, and then hit the world stage when the Winter Olympics came here in 2010. The Peak 2 Peak gondola, which links the two mountains across a deep valley, opened in 2008 and holds records for its span and height. In summer the ski slopes become mountain bike parks, and in winter the village is packed with skiers from around the world.

   The food is the reason to pause. Whistler has a good reputation for its restaurants, from cheap noodle bars to expensive tasting menus, and a rider coming from Vancouver or Pemberton will have no trouble finding a plate. Bakeries and coffee shops line the village stroll, and the local craft breweries, such as the ones in the village, are a popular stop at the end of the day. The village's atmosphere is lively and international, with young people from around the world working a season. Prices are high, so it is not the cheapest meal on the route.

   For a rider, Whistler is the midpoint of the Sea to Sky Highway, about a hundred and twenty kilometres from Vancouver, and the pivot of the ride. North of the village, the highway runs through the Pemberton valley, flat and fertile, with farms and potato fields, and then, at Pemberton, the road to Duffey Lake turns east and climbs into the mountains. The valley is also home to several lakes, including Green Lake and Alta Lake, where people swim and paddle in summer. The Whistler area has dozens of kilometres of paved lakeside trail, which is closed to motor vehicles.

   Black bears are common around the village, particularly in spring and autumn, and they can be seen in the meadows or even on the roadside, so keep a distance. Fuel is available at several stations on the highway at Function Junction and in the village area, but the best time to fill the tank is before heading north toward Pemberton. The best months are June to September, when the roads are dry and the sun is warm, though thunderstorms can come in the afternoon. Winter brings snow and heavy traffic on the highway.

3. Pemberton sight

   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.

   The valley is the traditional territory of the Lil'wat Nation, who have lived here for thousands of years, and their cultural centre in nearby Mount Currie is worth visiting. The area was opened to settlement in the nineteenth century when a trail was built for gold seekers heading to the Cariboo, and Pemberton became a farming community. Today, outdoor recreation brings in most of the visitors: climbing, hiking, cycling and skiing.

   For riders, Pemberton is the gateway to one of the best roads in British Columbia. Highway 99 north climbs steeply out of the valley, with tight bends and switchbacks, through dense forest, and over the Cayoosh Pass before dropping to the shores of Duffey Lake. The lake, a deep turquoise, sits beneath glaciated peaks, and the road continues down the dry side of the mountains toward Lillooet through a landscape that changes from wet forest to open, sunburned hills. The surface is generally good, but gradients are steep, and there are sections with rock fall and logging trucks. The pass is typically open all year, but winter conditions can be severe.

   The climate on the far side is hot and dry, in contrast to the damp coast, and the temperature can rise by ten degrees in a few kilometres. Fill the tank in Pemberton, since fuel is limited on the road ahead, and carry water. A coffee and a pastry at a cafe in town are a nice way to start the morning. Spring and autumn are quieter, and summer has the best weather but also the most traffic.

4. Duffey Lake Road scenic

   The Duffey Lake Road is the part of British Columbia's Highway 99 that nobody forgets. It leaves Pemberton, in a flat green valley of farms and potato fields, and in less than an hour climbs into the Coast Mountains and drops into the dry interior, one of the sharpest changes of landscape in Canada. The road crosses Cayoosh Pass, a little over a thousand metres, and passes the shores of Duffey Lake, a long, green, glacier-fed water beneath towering peaks, and the trailheads for Joffre Lakes, three tiers of turquoise lakes beneath a glacier that have become some of the most popular walks in the province.

   The riding is serious. From Pemberton the road rises through dense rainforest along the Lillooet River in a series of bends and straights, then climbs steeply in hairpins over Mount Currie, with gradients up to thirteen per cent in places. The descent on the east side, down Cayoosh Creek toward Lillooet, is even more demanding, with tight bends, loose gravel in places and long drops without guardrails. The road is paved but narrow, and logging trucks, RVs and tour coaches share it, so overtaking is hard and the pace is set by the slowest vehicle. Braking is the thing to watch on the long downhill, so use engine braking. The pavement can be damp or icy in shaded corners, even in summer in the early morning.

   The scenery changes as you cross. West of the pass the forest is wet, with ferns and moss, while the east side is dry, with ponderosa pine, sagebrush and red rock, a rain-shadow landscape. Lillooet, at the end of the road, was the starting point, Mile 0, of the Cariboo Wagon Road in the gold-rush years of the 1860s, and the dry hills above the Fraser River hold some of the hottest weather in Canada in summer.

   Fuel is the point to plan. There are no stations between Pemberton and Lillooet, a distance of around a hundred and thirty kilometres, and the road is slow, so fill the tank in Pemberton. Black bears and mountain goats are often seen, and there are few places to stop. The road can close for snow or slides in winter, and the pass can be icy from October. The best time is July to September, when the road is dry, but go early to avoid the crowds at Joffre Lakes.

5. Back to Squamish fuel finish

   Back at Squamish fuel. That is the ride.

Where this sits

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