Kelowna To Fraser Canyon, British Columbia

SAGE BRUSH, HOODOOS AND HELL’S GATE BACKDROP FOR SHEER RIDING JOY

by Julie V. Watson

Our explorations of British Columbia had taken us to Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley.  The high temperatures convinced us to pack up early and head for the coast, by a lesser  traveled route.  The next couple of days took us through some absolutely wonderful riding country. Be aware that you have to pay attention to these roads.  They twist and turn, go through tunnels, over rivers, beside canyons with sheer drop offs; but they are a joy if you like to drive a challenge.

We headed out of Kelowna on Rte 97c heading west to Merritt. It’s a pretty impressive climb out of the Okanagan Valley, but that applies no matter which route you take. This drive was as beautiful and stunningly different as one could imagine.  Arid, land quickly changes to green, treed mountains, then back to the sagebrush covered hills.  Its an ever changing landscape and fascinating.  Merritt,  which bills itself as country music capital and has murals of stars/singers all over town.  It’s a neat little town and a great coffee stop. 

Rolling out of town we cranked the throttle to head north on Rte 5 At Rte 1, we turned west and followed the shores of Kamloops Lake then the mighty Thompson River through more of the fascinating beige/brown landscape to Cache Creek, the entrance point to Fraser Canyon.  This is the type country often pictured in western movies;   ranches abound and you can understand how come each head of cattle needs 5 acres to survive. 

In these modern times many enterprising farmers and ranchers make it by irrigating.  The lush green fields stand out like emeralds in the almost-dessert landscape.  There are loads of hay farmers in these valleys thanks to the presence of the river which makes the irrigation possible.  The sprinkler or watering systems are huge.  In some places we got a real kick out of horses and cattle, happily standing in the sprinkling water.

Just past the hoodoos, mesas and rolling hills cut with small canyons, caves and eerie looking washouts, begin to change.  Fill your tanks at Cache Creek.  We indulged in Chinese, gassed up and headed south into canyon country  The road hugs the walls making for quite a challenging drive. We pulled over several times to take pictures and just enjoy the rushing river and the canyon without having to

This day we had booked a campsite, sight-unseen, just north of Hell’s Gate.  Called the Canyon Alpine RV Park it turned out to be the nicest place we have stayed this trip.  Large level sites, tiered up a hill, surrounded by big pines, log railings with vines growing along them.  The old fella looking after the place was super friendly, and the place spotless and well cared for.  What a treat.

Next morning we navigates the twisty, mountain  side road through tunnels, around switchbacks and over bridges to Hells’s Gate. . Here a gondola goes down into the canyon to a place that has a rich history going back to the gold rush days.  We’ve ridden beside or above The Fraser River for miles.  Its been flowing swiftly with rapids and turbulent waters, but here at Hell’s Gate the mountains close in and the river narrows.  It’s violent, over 100 ft deep and a marvel to see. 

In days past it was a huge challenge to get past Hell’s Gate because of the sheer rock walls and the turbulent waters.  Today there is a highway above, and rail lines have been cut into the hillside on both sides of the river.  Both have to utilize many tunnels to get through it all. 

So there we are down at the bottom where you can have coffee, go panning for gold, enjoy beautiful, if small gardens, and one of the things to do is to go out on a bridge to walk across the river.  This was my challenge.  I  dislike heights, and I really don’t like walking on grid things that you can see through, especially  when there are whirlpools, rapids and 100 feet of water below my feet.  It took some doing, with a good strong man on each side of me, but I did it.

We finished our run through the canyon, followed the Fraser River to Chilliwack where we had lunch then made the run into Vancouver. I would recommend hauling into Hope and exploring that area, but this trip we didn’t have time, and with family waiting we had lots of incentive to head for the big city.

This route from Kelowna to Merritt,  Cache Creek and through the Fraser Canyon is, to my mind far better than four laning over the Coquihalla Pass where traffic and speed prevent sightseeing and using your riding skills.  It isn’t however for the faint hearted rider, or passenger.  Nor is it for the individual who doesn’t stay focused on the road.  The Fraser Canyon road is narrow, with blind curves, and some knuckle-biting moments.  That, for us, is part of the joy!