The next stage on our Pacific Northwest road trip was to relocate from Tofino on Vancouver Island to Whistler in the mountains. This involved taking a ferry from Vancouver Island to the Canadian mainland and picking up the Sea-to-Sky Highway (Highway 99) to Whistler, BC. The name Sea-to-Sky Highway sounded intriguing and promised to be quite a drive…
The Sea-to-Sky Highway is Highway 99, running north from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver to Whistler. It is around 100km and takes about an hour and a half without stops, which is not how to drive it. Allow half a day, stop at the Sea to Sky Gondola in Squamish and the Train Wreck walk near Whistler, and be aware that the road is twistier and more demanding than the views suggest.
Horseshoe Bay to Whistler: Around 100km, about 1 hour 30 minutes without stops.
Downtown Vancouver to Whistler: Around 125km, about 1 hour 45 minutes, adding the run out to Horseshoe Bay.
With the stops below: Half a day, comfortably.
We drove it having just come off the BC Ferries crossing from Nanaimo into Horseshoe Bay, which is the natural way to pick the highway up if you are arriving from Vancouver Island. If you are starting in Vancouver city, join Highway 99 heading north over the Lions Gate Bridge.
Tearing ourselves away from the treasure of Tofino, we first retraced our steps, driving south to the Ucluelet junction and then turning inland to cross Vancouver Island on Pacific Rim Highway 4. We stopped at the Old Country Market in Coombs again to pick up lunch supplies and say hello to the goats, as we had done on our drive to Tofino a few days earlier.
Just beyond Coombs is the coastal city of Nanaimo from where we picked up the ferry to Horseshoe Bay, Vancouver North. This ferry route is operated by BC Ferries and the crossing took 1.5 hours, so we sat on deck and just enjoyed the movement of the ferry gliding across the bay in the sun. For more information about ferry bookings and reservations with BC Ferries read my blog about travel planning a Pacific Northwest road trip.
Horseshoe Bay sits in West Vancouver at the mouth of Howe Sound, and it is where BC Ferries arrive from Nanaimo and from the Sunshine Coast. It is a small ferry town with a handful of places to eat while you wait, and it is where the Sea-to-Sky Highway properly begins. If you have come off the ferry you are on the highway within minutes of leaving the terminal.
From Horseshoe Bay in North Vancouver, we joined the Sea-to-Sky Highway (Highway 99) to Whistler, BC. From Horseshoe Bay the road follows the water of the Howe Sound before eventually heading up into the mountains towards Whistler. There are some lookout points on the Sea-to-Sky Highway where you can stop and admire the Howe Sound and its islands, which make a nice break from driving.
The Sea-to-Sky Highway was surprisingly twisty and undulating, so you had to have your wits about you when driving.
It is a beautiful drive and a demanding one. The highway is fast-moving, and it takes real concentration not to be distracted by the view, so use the marked pullouts rather than trying to look sideways at speed. There is no need for a four-wheel drive and the road is well maintained, but check conditions before you set off in winter, when it can carry snow.
The Sea to Sky Gondola climbs 900 meters up the side of Mount Habrich offering incredible views of the Howe Sound and the town of Squamish below. There are several walks at the top including the ‘panorama trail’ offering great views of the Stawamus Chief rock formation.
The surprise of this walk is finding a series of mangled train boxcars covered in graffiti in the middle of towering cedar and fir trees. You can park at the Interpretive Forest Parking off Cheakamus Lake Road on the east side of Highway 99. You can then walk out to the train wreck area via the Sea to Sky Trail which takes about half an hour each way.
B.C’s third largest waterfall at 335 metres. It is a five minute walk from the highway parking, and has picnic tables, toilets and a small snack kiosk.
The granite wall you already saw from the gondola. You can park next door and stare up at it, or start the steep trails to the three peaks if you want the view from the other side.
A flat 10 to 15 minute walk over a covered bridge and across the railway brings you to a fenced platform above a 70 metre single drop fall. Walk for a further minute and you are greeted by a lookout to Daisy Lake and Black Tusk.
A pebble beach and pier on Howe Sound, with picnic shelters, a boat launch, and (if you’re that way inclined) sunken ships just offshore for divers.
The 20 storey gravity mill hanging off the hillside is the landmark you see from the road; inside you can ride a mine train into an old tunnel, watch the BOOM! Show in the mill, and pan for gold you get to keep.
The Sea-to-Sky Highway delivers you into Whistler Village, which is where the mountain town takes over from the drive. There is plenty to fill three days there in summer, and we have written it up in things to do in Whistler in summer.
Highway 99 does not stop at Whistler. It carries on north to Pemberton and Lillooet if you are continuing rather than turning around, which is a very different and much emptier drive.
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