June 19: Sea to Sky - Top Ten Drive

Wow! Stunning! Words can hardly do justice to the Sea to Sky Highway running from Vancouver BC up through Whistler to the intersection of highway 97 just north of Cache Creek. This road, also known as highway 99, offers one thrilling view after another. From sound and valley views to mountain peaks to rolling countryside, there is a veritable smorgasbord of breathtaking vistas. It is no surprise to me that this route has been named one of the top ten drives in the world by several different organizations.

Leaving my host home in Surrey this morning, I had no idea the magnitude of the treat that I was in for today. After driving just a few miles through city streets on highway 1, I turned onto highway 99 and was immediately greeted with views of Howe Sound, a triangular body of water joining the straight of Georgia and the Squamish area. The highway gently winds its way along the edge of the water for miles as it offers beautiful views of wide expanses of water and three different islands – Bowen, Gambier, and Anvil.

After passing through Squamish, the highway proceeds to climb up through several different mountain ranges on its way to Whistler. I loved breathing in the fresh mountain air, winding through one mountainous region after another and seeing snow-covered peaks both in front of me and in my rear-view mirror as I passed Mt. Garibaldi, Castle Towers Mountain, and Whistler. I was surrounded by waterfalls as I sped down the road – cascading down the cliffs to my right and left and flowing down the crevices of the peaks in front of me.

I was having too much fun riding to stop in Whistler for lunch, so I continued past Lillooet Lake to enjoy some of the more twisty parts of the road as it climbs steeply in elevation up to Cayoosh Pass and then descends past Duffey Lake and Seton Lake on its way to Lillooet. From there the landscape becomes characterized by rolling hills and valleys with rich green meadows throughout.

Just when I thought there couldn’t be anything more left to gawk at, I arrived at my destination for the night – Lake Williams – and was greeted by a glistening mirror smooth deep blue lake nestled at the base of the foothills of the city. What a day to remember!