Best places in BC (1 Viewer)

[Cruising Canuck]

Good day, I'm going to be driving from Ontario to BC in September and I was hoping a few of you locals could give me some advice on amazing places.

I am going to be camping, so any information on amazing campsites would be appreciated. I don't mind light offroading, But my truck just has AT's and a light lift so no wheeling trails.

I also really like hotsprings, we don't have mountains or hotsprings in Ontario.

I also want to do some alpine hiking, so any epic hike suggestions.

Any and all advice will be appreciated,

Gary

 

[Scalp]

Whipsaw is good, and not too difficult in summer when the mud dries up.

 

[dkyuss]

Anywhere specific on the west coast?
Here is a start
http://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/search/search-location.aspx
I can recommend Wragge beach in the Kooteneys for camping. Love this spot.
http://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/search/search-result.aspx?site=REC5072&districtCode=RDKB&type=Site

Also been glamping at
Halcyon Hot Springs, British Columbia
and
Nakusp Hot Springs, Chalets, and Campground

We tried to find a rustic hot spring a couple years ago between Nakusp and Halcyon but the matrix didnt make it very far down the back roads. Some of the incentive for the Beast.

 

[Cruising Canuck]

Whipsaw is good, and not too difficult in summer when the mud dries up.

I'm going to be running solo with little off-road experience. I read the ride report and it sounds like it can be quite tricky with mud and a 60cm ledge.
Would you still recommend this? It looks gorgeous

 

[Cruising Canuck]

Anywhere specific on the west coast?
Here is a start
http://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/search/search-location.aspx
I can recommend Wragge beach in the Kooteneys for camping. Love this spot.
http://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/search/search-result.aspx?site=REC5072&districtCode=RDKB&type=Site

Also been glamping at
Halcyon Hot Springs, British Columbia
and
Nakusp Hot Springs, Chalets, and Campground

We tried to find a rustic hot spring a couple years ago between Nakusp and Halcyon but the matrix didnt make it very far down the back roads. Some of the incentive for the Beast.

Those hot springs look a bit too posh for me. I'm more or less thinking natural with very little build up.

That camping and trails website looks dynamite

 

[Scalp]

I'm going to be running solo with little off-road experience. I read the ride report and it sounds like it can be quite tricky with mud and a 60cm ledge.
Would you still recommend this? It looks gorgeous

I would suggest that you travel through Whipsaw with another vehicle in case you run into issues.
On the other hand, there are lots of vehicles traversing Whipsaw, so you could flag down help if
need be.

 

[BC40]

spend at least 2-3 days in the rockies. the road between Jasper and Banff is not to be missed. very much front country campsites and developed hotsprings, but the mountain hikes and views are worth it. And if planned right, you can camp in the woods outside park boundaries.

Edit - Really enjoyed this trip:
Rockies Roadtrip

 

[dkyuss]

Those hot springs look a bit too posh for me. I'm more or less thinking natural with very little build up.

That camping and trails website looks dynamite

Check http://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/search/search-result.aspx?site=REC2279&districtCode=RDKB&type=Site
Havent been there, hear it can be busy at times with local hippies..... I know there are other rustic hot springs around, just not sure where.
My favorite way to veiw the site is like this. These sites are more rustic, some have fees and amenities, others do not.
http://tinyurl.com/hoc3bnp


Unless you got $$$ to blow, avoid Banff and Jasper (as BJ40 says, definitely drive it and check out the scenery), while beautiful, it is way overpriced (yet September may get into offseason rates). Look for an alpine trail in Valhalla, Glacier, Wells grey or one of the other smaller provincial parks (many others as well).
http://tinyurl.com/z6pd56a

Waiparous creek/Ghost valley area in alberta is also Beautiful and worth checking out. I got married on the side of a mountain in here!
(the comment says only accessible at winter? maybe just this area.)
Hot area for rock climbing, which I used to do lots of but havent in a long time...
Devil's Head, Ghost River, Can Rockies : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost

You can do it! lol

 

[BC40]

^Yeah I'd agree with that, the towns themselves are overpriced like all resort areas. Depending on your travel route there are undeveloped hotsprings scattered around. I quite enjoyed ram creek on a drive between bull river and whiteswan park earlier this summer.
waiparous and the foothills to the rockies are nice. Recent reminder about stuff that can happen in bear country 'She was chewed up pretty bad': Grizzly bear attacks woman northwest of Calgary
Really the province is big and there are lots of great things to see in any region. Other than mountains I'd suggest you get to spend some time on the coast and see the open ocean west side of Vancouver island.

 

[dkyuss]

For sure^^! Check out Tofino area! Dense rain forest, Huge trees, beautiful pacific! Even go surfing! Gulf islands are also paradise. One day I will get out to haida gwaii but hasn't happened yet.

 

[AJAEbj42]

If you havne't already figured it out, I hope you've planned to be here for a couple of months.....just because there are SOOO many places to see and really, they are all worth it!

 

[Cruising Canuck]

^Yeah I'd agree with that, the towns themselves are overpriced like all resort areas. Depending on your travel route there are undeveloped hotsprings scattered around. I quite enjoyed ram creek on a drive between bull river and whiteswan park earlier this summer.
waiparous and the foothills to the rockies are nice. Recent reminder about stuff that can happen in bear country 'She was chewed up pretty bad': Grizzly bear attacks woman northwest of Calgary
Really the province is big and there are lots of great things to see in any region. Other than mountains I'd suggest you get to spend some time on the coast and see the open ocean west side of Vancouver island.

I'm going to do alot of hiking, I'll have 2 cans of bear spray. From what I have read, bear spray is very effective.

I'm going to check out everyone's suggestions tonight, and maybe throw out a few more.
Does anyone know of any ghost towns or old mines/logging places. I think that would be neat to check out

 

[dkyuss]

Three valley gap (heritage site still there) is a beautiful spot.

The Kootenays have many ghost towns
Ghost Towns - Kootenay Rockies Tourism

More touristy
About Us – Barkerville Historic Town & Park


I went here multiple times as a kid
Fort Langley National Historic Site | Facebook Parks Canada - Fort Langley National Historic Site - Visitor Information

This is also pretty cool, guess you guys have lots of hydro power as well so maybe not so exciting.
Revelstoke Dam Visitor Centre

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

Chilcotin

 

[toynut]

we just got back from 2 days in Revelstoke , its a cool little town with plenty to see you can continue on through Nakusp and there are hot springs there it would be a worth route for sure , make sure you go up to revelstoke mountain and hit up the mountain Coaster

 

[cruiserpilot]

I've always been interested in your truck, but I'm going north in Sept. Are you coming to Vancouver Island?
If so, keep in touch our schedules might line up.

 

[gatier]

bella coola, hunlen falls, salmon run... go and explore

 

[Wheelingnoob]

I would not recommend Whipsaw solo with little off road experience. It is doable but I feel it will be too much stress to make it enjoyable.

It's a great trail but I did it last month and ended up pulling a FJ on 33's and a Tacoma on 32" through a few of the more intresting obstacles.

 

[olija]

I would second that. I did Whipsaw in August and I wouldn't want to do it alone. The comment that there may be other vehicles passing through MAY be true, but by that time I think the trail has seen the bulk of through-traffic and you'd be more likely than not to be up s*** creek without a paddle if you run into issues.

Northern BC has alot of beautiful scenery and light/moderate wheeling but it is very big, with hours of driving between small towns. Snow usually comes toward the end of October, but it's already on the tops of the mountains and coming down rapidly!

 

[Antarctican]

I find that stance odd, I did it with a trailer when my FJ was on 33s, and even with the trailer it was easy as pie, and i often chose the more difficult bypasses