Driving Across the Cariboo Plateau

Canadian Rockies Road Trip, Days 15-17 | Stewart to Cariboo, BC | Kayaking Meziadin Lake | Camping at Bonus Lake Recreation Area & Chubb Lake | Pinnacles Provincial Park | Hiking Mount Begbie Lookout | June 2023

When we woke up at the Salmon Glacier lookout around 5:30am, it was already bright outside. We emerged from the van, had breakfast, and chatted with our neighbors some more. With great reluctance, we packed up and began our drive down the mountain, which was also the start of our drive back to the lower 48. We accepted the fact that this experience was where our vacation would ‘peak’ — and, quite frankly, it could be the best place we’ll ever camp. I’ll admit I’m worried that we hit that peak only 2 weeks into van life, but time will tell!

We drove back into Alaska, and then went through customs to re-enter British Columbia. The border agent was very friendly and crossing was easy. In Stewart, we returned to the park near the visitor center because Curtis had a meeting, so we hung out there, had snacks, and I walked Charlotte around the park again.

Once the meeting was over, we said goodbye to this area and started to retrace our route on 37A to the Stewart-Cassiar Highway. It was a bright and clear day, so we were able to enjoy the views more than we had the day before. When we came to Meziadin Junction, we stopped at the lake to go for a little kayak ride as our activity for the day. We set up and put in at the boat ramp next to the campground and started paddling West towards the best view. Not long into the ride, we realized how windy it was, which made the waters rough. We ended up cutting our ride short, and settled on paddling around a small island. The lake is huge though, so I’m not sure how far we could have made it anyway.

At this point, we had 3 weeks to make it back down through BC and across the US all the way to North Carolina where Curtis had to be for the month of July. A ridiculous distance for sure, but we decided we would go at it with 3-6 hour driving days and enjoy the drive as much as we could. Today we decided to drive just another hour South to Bonus Lake Recreation Area, a free campsite along highway 37.

When we arrived, we were the only ones there, so we got out to enjoy the lake and the campsite…only to realize it was infested with blood hungry mosquitoes. We retreated to the van to weigh our options. We didn’t want to return to Derrick Lake because the road there was so rough, and the next campsite we knew of along the Yellowhead highway had a fee. We ended up just deciding to stay here anyway, and only got out of the van when absolutely necessary. This is when we learned of another perk of van life: if we run into this type of situation, the only reason we need to get out of the van is to let Charlotte out. No need to spend time outside setting up a tent or cooking at the picnic table!

And so we spent the night there, opening the van door as little as possible. We knew that nothing could top camping at the Salmon Glacier lookout, but we didn’t expect our next campsite to be this bad!

The next morning, the bugs were just as bad as the night before so we left the site right away and drove to the Yellowhead Highway. We stopped at Seeley Lake Provincial Park to make breakfast and go for a short walk to make up for our quick departure. This was where we could have camped for a fee, and while we didn’t see the campground, we found the parking lot and short walk we did to be mosquito free and very pleasant.

This day was filled with more driving, repeating much of the Yellowhead Highway we had driven a few days prior. Unfortunately today the sky was hazy and the air smoky again, so we decided to skip hiking around Smithers today. Instead we enjoyed more Tim Hortons, ran a couple errands, and stopped for another short walk at Beaumont Provincial Park along Fraser Lake. When we came to Prince George, we turned off the Yellowhead Highway and began driving a new route South on 97. That evening, we camped at Chubb Lake Recreation Site. The weather was pleasant that afternoon, so we decided to jump in the lake to wash off (yes we have an outdoor shower in our van, but we like to conserve our water when we can).

As we were leaving Chubb Lake the next morning, we saw our 10th bear for this trip on the side of the road! Maybe someday we’ll have seen so many bears that we’ll lose count, but that probably won’t happen anytime soon.

Today’s drive took us from Chubb Lake to the Mount Begbie lookout, all along 97. We made one stop at Pinnacles Provincial Park where we went for a pleasant walk in the woods to a couple lookouts of the canyon. This region of British Columbia is called the Cariboo and is relatively flat in comparison to the other places we had been, so we were more ok with driving on through.

As we drove further South, the recreation areas that we had enjoyed camping at for free were becoming fewer. Thankfully tonight we found a spot along the highway where boondocking was allowed. Not only that, but there was a short hike to a lookout tower here, so that gave us another activity for the evening. We enjoyed the short hike up to Mount Begbie lookout, which gave us a good view of the Cariboo plateau surrounding us, the long, flat stretches of highway, and a sea of pines.