Living in the southwestern portion of British Columbia affords you a few things that you simply won’t find elsewhere in the country. Breathtaking road trip destinations are one of them, and the fact that you can enjoy them all year long is another.
Yes indeed, Greater Vancouver is the perfect jump off point for weekend excursions no matter the time of year. The moderate climate found around five hours heading east, west, or south (there’s nothing really north) makes it all viable with some gumption and the right set of wheels.
As a part of our mission to inspire you to get out there an explore the country (even if it’s within a few hundred kilometers of your Lower Mainland home) we’re taking a look at three top directions to point your vehicle towards in the year ahead. And as with any road trip worth taking, it’s not just about the destination, but the trek along the way.
1. Vancouver to Long Beach, Tofino (5 hours)
Photo Courtesy of Tourism Kelowna
This excursion is so much more than a road trip, and that’s not because you’ve got to park your car on the ferry for a good part of the way. The Vancouver to Tofino journey is a right of passage for every single adventurous soul and weekend warrior living in the 604. For many, it has become part of quarterly, monthly or even weekly routine, especially if you surf. In fact, we recently spoke with this local Vancouver Toyota dealer about their Best Cars for Action Sports Junkies article, and they summed it up for us:
“We get a lot of millennials kicking tires on our lot. This generation embraces the adventurous sprit, which is why they seem less interested in a vehicle that will get them to and from the office, but one that will usher them off-the-grid on the weekends. When we inquire about preferred destinations, Tofino is the named nine times out of ten”.
The uninitiated may ask, what’s the fuss is all about? Well, from the moment you disembark the Tsawwassen to Nanaimo ferry (keep an eye out for orcas on the way) the answer soon unfolds.
The challenging BC-4 W Pacific Rim Highway is Mother Nature’s (BC chapter) rollercoaster, but for many that’s a big part of the fun. If the winding up and down ride makes passengers queasy, fret not and pull over because the scenery will have you filling up your Instagram feeds for weeks. Depending on the time of the year you may even get to see bears along or crossing the road.
The best part of the trip however, is the coastal approach as you pass Kennedy Lake and take the right turn away from Ucluelet onto Highway 4 where you’ll drive through the pines towards your reward – one of the most awesome stretches of beach on the continent, Long Beach Tofino. Once there, have a look at our list of ten things to do in town and proceed accordingly.
2. Vancouver to the Okanagan Valley (5 hours)
The drive from Vancouver to and through the Okanagan Valley is loaded with opportunity. Prime destinations include Kelowna, Westbank, Penticton, and Osoyoos, with each best enjoyed in the spring and summer thanks to the bounty of beaches, lakes, wineries and festivals through prime season. Most people take the Coquihalla Highway, which has some incredible mountain views to enjoy along the way. This route also passes through Merritt, which you may get a kick out of if you and your passengers have a hankering for an authentic country music scene.
One overlooked road trip opportunity to the Okanagan is the BC-3 Highway route, which takes you on a windy well-forested journey passed ski resort Manning Park, through Princeton, and along quaint stops such as the old mining town of Hedley. There, you will find some pretty cool picker shops where you may uncover rusty treasures and antiques for your kitschy collections at home. We suggest taking the Coquihalla Hwy one way, and the BC-3 the other, if time allows.
3. Vancouver to Westport WA (5 hours+ border)
While Tofino and the Okanagan Valley are already very popular weekend road trip destinations from Vancouver BC, very few people know about one VERY amazing place found 5 hours away (or more, depending on the border) along the coast of Washington State. This place, is called Westport Beach. There may be a little beach bias on this list, but what better payoff when seeking to escape urban densification?
On the way, you can still hit your favorite shopping haunts, considering that the CAD isn’t too bad at the moment. Bellis Fair (Bellingham) and Seattle Premium Outlets (Tulalip) allow you to break up the trip, but it’s all pretty breezy considering that you can take the I-5 S all the way through Seattle until you bump into a town called Tumwater where you’ll veer right off the I-5 S briefly onto Highway 101 and then left onto WA 8W – uncharted territory for most of you. You drive passed the lush Capital State Forest and onto Highway 12 until you hit Aberdeen and then on to WA-105 S. It sounds like a lot, but it’s not, and regardless, you’ll soon find out why we’ve got you putting your integrated navigation system into overdrive.
Within minutes of the WA-105 turn you’ll find yourself approaching the quintessential fishing (and surfing) village of Westport, which is home to some epic places to eat, serving everything from fresh seafood to chili dogs. But the highlight is found just to the south of the West Haven State Park jetty. There, you will find a soft sand beach that stretches as far as the eye can see, with rolling waves being ridden by local surfers, sand dollars dotting the shore, and tall reeds containing the onshore winds, mimicking a scene more akin to the coastal Carolinas across the country. The only hard part about this road trip? Having to go home.