Road Trip from Stewart to Burns Lake, BC
Greetings,
The last few days have been some heavy driving relative to this trip. We’ve made our way south from Stewart to Burns Lake, British Columbia. To get here we’ve made stops in Hazelton and Smithers and covered quite a few scenic kilometers. The minute you leave the coastal region, the weather spikes along with the temperature. It’s gone from a coastal climate to a warm interior feel and the hooded sweatshirts are now a thing of the past, hello sandals and shorts! Luckily we got to see Bear Glacier on a clear day on the way out and ran into a bear on the side of the road…
Hazelton had a cool historical district but it’s a small town and by small town I mean everyone shuts on Sunday except these 3 Chinese restaurants on the highway. That said the area has also been home to the Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en people for centuries and while there we had the pleasure of visiting Ksan Historical Village and joining a group for a tour of the facilities which explains the history of the people via several clever exhibits. Naturally, cameras were not allowed so can’t report much more than you can find on their website here. After that it was back on the road to Smithers.
Smithers is supposedly like a less well known Whistler, much less well known. They have some great skiing and stunning scenery but no real hype or lines. We didn’t spend much time in the city itself as we were staying at the Logpile Lodge just outside the city limits. I really loved that hotel as it had a very personal feel and was basically a massive log cabin, hence the name. It was so peaceful I fell asleep at 9pm and in the morning they had one of the best breakfasts I’ve had on the trip or ever maybe, it was that good.
Yesterday we did the Francois Lake Loop or the really long and scenic way to Burns Lake. It’s recommended you take the trail which involves its fair share of orienteering on a weekend as during the week it’s logging truck central. If you’re not a very comfortable driver, don’t bother as the logging trucks are bombing this gravel road like it’s nobodies business and you’ll be left in large clouds of dust while braking, seriously. That said, it offers some beautiful views and really leaves one alone to their devices in the thick of the bush. We made a few stops along the way and then it was off to Burns Lake. Do pack a lunch as there are countless places to enjoy it along the way and certainly no stores…
There is not a lot going on in Burns Lake from what I can gather and we’re here to do some mountain biking today. It’s been a while since I’ve really ridden a bike after the whole needless head injury I had the pleasure of experiencing in Hoi An, Vietnam. That said, I used to race mountain bikes so it should be fun and I most certainly won’t be racing. I will note this though, Burns Lake had the best northern lights I’ve ever seen last night. You have to stay up until about 12:30-1pm to catch them but the sky is literally dancing and exploding these color patterns unlike anything I’ve seen. Photos to come on that as they only showed up on SLR camera hence my trusty iPhone was outclassed on such an occasion.
This trip is quickly coming to an end, where does time go!? After biking we’re off to Prince George aka “PG”!
I’m here with the Explore BC Project, to learn more visit the Tourism BC Facebook Page and look up #ExploreBC on Twitter.
Tips hat,
P.S: Golfing in “PG” and very much looking forward to it.
