Sunday, 29 November 2009

Proposed Route - Vancouver to Banff



This is my proposed route from Vancouver, BC through the Rocky Mountains to Banff, AB. It will be a mountain challenge to remember!

On a previous visit to British Columbia and Alberta, one of my favourite roads was the Icefields Parkway (#93) through the Jasper National Park and Banff National Park. I've decided I must travel this road again, even though it will add some extra distance to my cross country ride.

I was recently contacted by a Canadian, Bryan from New Westminister, BC who informed me of his very similar trip in 2009. Incidently, he also crossed Canada on a Rohloff hub geared bike! (His excellent journal is here). He's kindly been helping me with my routing options in BC and AB and his local knowledge and willingness to share that information has been invaluable to me. Thanks Bryan!

Elevation Profile

I've decided not to take the usual easterly route out of Vancouver (#7 to Hope, #1 to Kamloops, Revelstoke, Banff) and instead head off due north!

I will officially start my journey from Stanley Park in Vancouver, ride over Lions Gate Bridge and on to the Sea to Sky Highway. This will take me to Whistler (Winter Olympics 2010) and then through remoter areas to link up with the Cariboo Highway which I will follow north to Prince George.

From Prince George, I'll take another famous road, the Yellowhead Highway, and head east for a close up view of Mt. Robson (the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies), before reaching Jasper and the start of the world famous Icefields Parkway. I'll ride down #93 via the Athabasca Falls, the Columbia Icefield, Sunwapta Pass (2,035m), Bow Pass (2,068m) and Lake Louise to Banff.

Placename or POI Dir. Road Highway Name Next POI Total Km
Stanley Park, VANCOUVER N #99 Lions Gate Bridge 2 0
West Vancouver W
Marine Drive 16 2

Sea To Sky Highway #99

Horseshoe Bay N #99 Sea to Sky Hwy 43 18
Squamish


58 61
Whistler


32 119
Pemberton


98 151
Lillooet N #99
75 249

Cariboo Highway #97

#99 / #97 intersection N #97 Cariboo Hwy 29 324
Clinton


32 353
Seventy Mile House


41 385
One Hundred Mile House


90 425
Williams Lake N #97
118 516
Quesnel


121 634

Yellowhead Highway #16

PRINCE GEORGE E #16 Yellowhead Hwy 211 754
McBride


64 965
Tete Jaune Cache


17 1,029
Mt. Robson


84 1,046
British Columbia / Alberta Province Border

Icefields Parkway #93

JASPER SE #93 Icefields Parkway 230 1,130
Lake Louise SE #1A
57 1,360
BANFF



1,418

2 comments:

Martina said...

Remember that holiday well. Don't camp in the campsite at Mosquito Creek! And watch out for bears. I still have lots of photos from that holiday, I will dig them out for you. Enjoy your planning. Mx

Stuart said...

I've just been looking at your route on streetview on Googlemaps. I thought this view was rather nice!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jalicat/4345030175/sizes/o/