Driving the Yellowhead Highway
Canadian Rockies Road Trip, Days 12-13 | Jasper, AB to Sheraton, BC | Mt. Robson Provincial Park | Ancient Forest Provincial Park | June 2023
We could have easily spent the majority of our vacation in the Canadian Rockies, being much more thorough with our visits to each national park. But for this trip, we really wanted to accomplish a goal we’ve had for our entire marriage, which is to drive to Alaska. Since we’re coming upon our 10 year wedding anniversary, this felt like the time to go all out and do it. From Jasper, it was 12 hours to the closest part of Alaska that we could drive to: Hyder, a tiny town across the border from Stewart, BC. We were giving ourselves 4 days to make that drive, which would then give us 3 weeks to go from Hyder, back through Canada, and across the US to where Curtis needed to be for work next. We’re generally trying to abide by that as we go about van life now — only driving between 3-6 hours a day, going slower than we’re used to and making a reasonable amount of stops to enjoy wherever we are, let Charlotte stretch her legs, and to make meals and have snacks.
For our first day’s drive, we went from Jasper, AB to LaSalle Lakes Recreation Area, BC. Our only stop (besides the things we had done that morning in Jasper) was at Mt. Robson Provincial Park, which is the highest mountain the Canadian Rockies and is exceptionally prominent. Coming to the park from the East is different than from the West, because you don’t really have a view of the peak until you turn into the park, unless you know to look for it…which I didn’t (the haze didn’t help). As we were entering the park, I looked up at the nearest rocky ridge and at the highest peak I could see. “Is that it?” I asked, but immediately after the words left my mouth, we turned, and there it was….hazy and mysterious because of the smoke, but still an incredible sight that dominates the landscape. Unfortunately the road up to the Berg Lake Trailhead was still closed for the season, so our best view today would be from the visitor center. But it was still worth the stop, and I’m sure hiking to the lake or any other lookouts of the peak would be much better on a clearer day. We got out at the visitor center and let Charlotte do exactly what she wanted: sniffing around a parking lot, then lying down in the grass.
We decided to go for a short hike across the highway just to say we did something here, so we drove to the Overlander Falls Trailhead and set off on the trail. It was shaded and cool, starting off flat before it switchbacked down to the viewpoint of the falls. Hiking to a waterfall really was the best choice for today, since the smoke doesn’t take away from the view at all! As usual, the hike took much longer for us with Charlotte than the trailhead sign indicated, but since this was our last hike for the day, it worked out fine.
After this, we continued on to find a campsite. We checked out a few free places on our way before ending up at LaSalle Lake Recreation Area. This was when we discovered that recreation areas might be the best thing about traveling and camping throughout BC — they are almost always free to camp in, and we never had trouble finding a spot; given, we were traveling right before ‘peak season’ and not near national parks or bigger cities. Here at LaSalle Lake, we found a great spot right next to the lake, and were able to put our kayak in right there for a peaceful float around the lake!
The next morning, the smoke was gone but the rain had returned. We packed up and left our site, and continued heading West. For our first stop of the day, we drove to the Ancient Forest/Chun T’oh Whudujut Provincial Park. This park exists to protect an old growth cedar forest, and has several trails going through the woods. It reminded me right away of the Redwoods in California, and I might have mentioned that a few too many times because by the end Curtis was saying we HAVE to go there next — not that I’d mind, I’d love to relive every part of that trip I took alone with Charlotte! Today, we started out on the boardwalk trail and walked it all the way to the end, talking loudly because we were all alone here and certain that we’d run into bears. It was still raining, but the trees high above us shielded us from most of it, and of course we carried our umbrellas. On our way back, we tried to get Charlotte to leave the boardwalk and take the loop trail through the rest of the park, but she really didn’t seem interested, so instead I walked her back to the car and let Curtis walk the loop, which allowed him to see more of the trees and a waterfall.
Back at the parking lot, the mosquitos were getting bad, so Charlotte and I waited inside the van for Curtis. When he returned, we continued our drive West. As we drove, the skies started to clear, and we were excited to finally see clear views and blue skies for the first time in several days!
About 30 minutes from Prince George, we came to a complete standstill on the highway. There had been an accident a ways up the road, and online reports told us that the road was closed with no detours for the next 2-ish hours. Maybe we could have gone back to find somewhere else to hang out, but this just felt like we were experiencing a real part of what it’s like to be in ‘rural’ Canada. We joined everyone else in shutting off our car, opening the windows, relaxing, and taking Charlotte for a little walk on the highway. We also learned that this is when van life really has its perks — we were able to grab our laptops and do some work, and get snacks from the fridge, and if we really wanted we could have even set up the bed and taken a nap?! We didn’t, but the possibilities were endless when we had our whole little home with us while waiting out the road closure.
When the road finally reopened, we, along with all our new friends, kept driving to Prince George. We stopped here to stock up on groceries and get gas, since we figured this was the last “big town” on our drive to Hyder. As it turned out, we drove through other towns with grocery stores like Safeway and plenty of gas stations, so these things were never a concern (we were more at risk of running out of gas driving across rural Manitoba and Saskatchewan than anywhere else we went).
Tonight’s campsite was at another recreation site, for Co-op Lake. It was a bit busier than the night before, but we had a nice secluded place to ourselves and enjoyed our stay here.
