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Riding the Chilcotin Region of BC

nakwakto00

Adventurist
Does anyone have any suggestions, tips or pointers on riding the Chilcotin Region of British Columbia, Canada? Such as off-road routes, campsites, great places to eat, things to see/do, etc. Internet research shows you can cross through the area from Williams Lake (inland) to Bella Coola on the coast on BC Hwy 20. Goes through some impressive remote country - Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, Chilko Lake and more. Any info or previous experience that could be shared would be appreciated.

Also, thinking about taking the BC Ferries "Coastal Connector" from Port Hardy to Bella Coola this would create a "circle trip." Has anyone done this?
 
Does anyone have any suggestions, tips or pointers on riding the Chilcotin Region of British Columbia, Canada? Such as off-road routes, campsites, great places to eat, things to see/do, etc. Internet research shows you can cross through the area from Williams Lake (inland) to Bella Coola on the coast on BC Hwy 20. Goes through some impressive remote country - Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, Chilko Lake and more. Any info or previous experience that could be shared would be appreciated.

Also, thinking about taking the BC Ferries "Coastal Connector" from Port Hardy to Bella Coola this would create a "circle trip." Has anyone done this?

I haven't done the circle trip, but my parents have in their camper. The road down to Bella Coola is pretty hairy!

Vancouver-Whistler-Pemberton-Lilloet-Clinton-100 mile house is pretty nice. The pemberton-lilloet stretch is really nice. It's also known as the Duffey Lake road.

There's other ways to get there, depending on your sense of adventure/ability. Reaction ferries, forestry roads, etc.
 
Does anyone have any suggestions, tips or pointers on riding the Chilcotin Region of British Columbia, Canada? Such as off-road routes, campsites, great places to eat, things to see/do, etc. Internet research shows you can cross through the area from Williams Lake (inland) to Bella Coola on the coast on BC Hwy 20. Goes through some impressive remote country - Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, Chilko Lake and more. Any info or previous experience that could be shared would be appreciated.

Also, thinking about taking the BC Ferries "Coastal Connector" from Port Hardy to Bella Coola this would create a "circle trip." Has anyone done this?

Hi Don,

I you are doing a circle trip, you might consider Anacortes to Victoria, spend a day or two in Victoria then head north (of course this route could be reversed...). then take Port Hardy to Bella Coola. The road into Bella Coola (from the top of the hill going travelling West - as if you were coming from Williams Lake) is a wild one, you may have more sphincter action going downhill then up (that means you are heading west from Williams Lake versus east - uphill - Bella Coola to Williams Lake).

I used to live in the Chilcotin (a little place called Chezacut). It is remote country, but the roads are paved from the top of the hill from Bella Coola to Williams Lake (travelling east).

Top of the hill (travelling west) into Bella Coola the road, I believe is still gravel. Williams Lake to the top of the hill is paved.

Whatever route you choose in BC, and there are many good ones, I personally would make it over to Oliver BC, and head back through the Northern Cascades route, it is such a great road.

These books might help you in planning the best MC roads and routes. http://www.destinationhighways.com

Another option, going north (or reverse for southerly route), is to take the Vancouver via Whistler to Pemberton to Lillooet route, nice drive on the Duffy Lake Road.

BC has lots of great scenery. Stop and fish in the Chilcotin, it doesn't get any better for Rainbow trout and other tasty fish (dolly varden...)
 
Hi Don,

I you are doing a circle trip, you might consider Anacortes to Victoria, spend a day or two in Victoria then head north (of course this route could be reversed...). then take Port Hardy to Bella Coola. The road into Bella Coola (from the top of the hill going travelling West - as if you were coming from Williams Lake) is a wild one, you may have more sphincter action going downhill then up (that means you are heading west from Williams Lake versus east - uphill - Bella Coola to Williams Lake).

...
Another option, going north (or reverse for southerly route), is to take the Vancouver via Whistler to Pemberton to Lillooet route, nice drive on the Duffy Lake Road.

BC has lots of great scenery. Stop and fish in the Chilcotin, it doesn't get any better for Rainbow trout and other tasty fish (dolly varden...)

Thanks "nelliott"!
Right now my plans are to take the ferry to Victoria from Port Angeles. Then ride up the island coast route to Port Hardy. I'll make a side trip to Raft Cove, Cape Scott & Winter Harbour. I know the east-side of the island pretty well (son played Junior hockey in Parksville) l but never made it out to the west coast. Then ride the ferry to Bella Coola. Do some side trips in the Bella Coola area - Purgatory & Gray Jay Lake. From Bella Coola visit various lakes on the Chilcotin Plateau - Tatlayoko, Chilko, etc. Yes, and do some fishing. Maybe try to see the rodeo at Anahim Lake if I time it right. Then down through Gang Ranch to Pavilion where I'll go on the Duffy Lake Road. Finish the trip off on the "Sea to Sky Highway." Then cut over to Anacortes area and take the ferry to Port Townsend then ride down through Bremerton. It'll be a great scenic loop, I believe. Last year I did a big RT ride this year is a GS ride.

Yes, I've read about "the Hill" and I'm more comfortable going up these type of challenges than down. I can better use the motor and gravity to my advantage. Also I've been to Williams Lake, Prince George and 100 Mile House before so I don't need to revisit them.

I've seen the "Destination Highways" book and found the "BC Mapbooks." However on other riding sites many BC GS riders refer to the BC Mapbook as "the book of lies." Its taking a long time to discover viable roads (gravel and dual track) from old discontinued Forest Roads which have turned into single track, rutted, rock-strewn, washed out, challenges that I'm not interested in. I'm not that macho anymore to tackle those routes.

Thanks again for your information. If you got any other tips let me know.
-don
 
Thanks "nelliott"!
Right now my plans are to take the ferry to Victoria from Port Angeles. Then ride up the island coast route to Port Hardy. I'll make a side trip to Raft Cove, Cape Scott & Winter Harbour. I know the east-side of the island pretty well (son played Junior hockey in Parksville) l but never made it out to the west coast. Then ride the ferry to Bella Coola. Do some side trips in the Bella Coola area - Purgatory & Gray Jay Lake. From Bella Coola visit various lakes on the Chilcotin Plateau - Tatlayoko, Chilko, etc. Yes, and do some fishing. Maybe try to see the rodeo at Anahim Lake if I time it right. Then down through Gang Ranch to Pavilion where I'll go on the Duffy Lake Road. Finish the trip off on the "Sea to Sky Highway." Then cut over to Anacortes area and take the ferry to Port Townsend then ride down through Bremerton. It'll be a great scenic loop, I believe. Last year I did a big RT ride this year is a GS ride.

Yes, I've read about "the Hill" and I'm more comfortable going up these type of challenges than down. I can better use the motor and gravity to my advantage. Also I've been to Williams Lake, Prince George and 100 Mile House before so I don't need to revisit them.

I've seen the "Destination Highways" book and found the "BC Mapbooks." However on other riding sites many BC GS riders refer to the BC Mapbook as "the book of lies." Its taking a long time to discover viable roads (gravel and dual track) from old discontinued Forest Roads which have turned into single track, rutted, rock-strewn, washed out, challenges that I'm not interested in. I'm not that macho anymore to tackle those routes.

Thanks again for your information. If you got any other tips let me know.
-don
That sounds like a fabulous trip. Drove lots of those areas in a one ton ford crew cab working fires, and always thought i need to go back there with a bike. The gravel road between Kelly Lake and Pavilion is epic but I believe easily ridden on a GS. Rode the Duffy lake and sea to sky on bikes in 2012. You will not be disappointed.
 
Riding the Chilcotin

Here's a link you should check out.

http://blog.conservancy.bc.ca/properties/northern-region/nimpo-lake/

They're fishing cabin is a great place to stay for a night or two. And the fishing is reputed to be world class. Rents are reasonable and your money goes to preserving some of BCs most spectacular landscapes and properties. They have other properties as well. Including a cabin on the Cowachin River on Vancouver Island. Lots of my friends have stayed there. Here's the Vancouver Island link.

http://blog.conservancy.bc.ca/properties/vancouver-island-region/

I'm not affiliated with the land conservatory in any way.

The road from Bella Colla is paved to the bottom of the hill. Have a great ride.
 
Did it last year.

Thanks for the suggestions - they're great and helping me plan my ride. :thumb

We rode the Chilcotin last August. 8 Days. Started at the Last Spike on the CPR out side Sicamous, up over Adams Lake to Barkerville then West to Lilloette, Lyton and down to harrison Hot Springs.
Fantastic.
You can see some picks at http://waynecorley.smugmug.com/Motorcycle-Trips/2014-Motorcycle-Trips/August-2014-Bella-Coola/
Let me know what you need. I believe Wayne has it all on a GPS plot.
John
 
We rode the Chilcotin last August. 8 Days. Started at the Last Spike on the CPR out side Sicamous, up over Adams Lake to Barkerville then West to Lilloette, Lyton and down to harrison Hot Springs.
Fantastic.
You can see some picks at http://waynecorley.smugmug.com/Motorcycle-Trips/2014-Motorcycle-Trips/August-2014-Bella-Coola/
Let me know what you need. I believe Wayne has it all on a GPS plot.
John

Hi john, that's the adv blog I posted right above - too funny.
 
Completed Chilcotin Trip - Incredible Riding in British Columbia, Canada

Just finished riding my planned Chilcotin Trip. All I can say is that riding the Chilcotin country is awesome. Unfortunately it was the wettest summer in over 11 years so we had to deal with mud and bugs which caused us to change our route - a bit. I really enjoyed the remoteness and wilderness riding - wow!

Below is the trip route.
Chilcotin Trip Map.jpg

It started out with a ferry trip across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Port Angeles to Victoria, BC and a ride up Vancouver Island.
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Interesting, we were stopped by an RCMP road block which was stopping all motorcyclists to ensure they had the license endorsement. Two riders were seen pushing their bikes down the road. They had a long way to go as we were in a very remote section.
After getting to Port Hardy we road out to Cape Scott Provincial Park. The roads were gravel but the farther you got away from Port Hardy the rougher and muddier they got. We hiked out to the beach after our ride then rode back to town.
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The next day we boarded the BC Ferry MV Northern Explorer for the 16 hour ferry ride from Port Hardy to Bella Coola. We traveled on the big ferry to Bella Bella then switched to a smaller 16 car ferry to Bella Coola. The ferry trip was incredible in that we saw whales, killer whales and dolphins along with a lot of other wildlife and remote coastal scenery. At Port Hardy prior to boarding BC Ferries allowed us to wash all the mud off our bikes which accumulated from the Cape Scott ride.
 
Chilcotin Ride - More... part 2

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We left Port Hardy at 5:30 AM to catch the ferry at 5:45 AM then arrived in Bella Coola about 12:45 AM. It was a long day of ferry riding. The smaller ferry had only two passenger areas that seated about 35 people. Snacks were complimentary.

We stayed that night at a motel in Bella Coola. The next day we went to Hagensborg up the Bella Coola valley to camp. We did a day trip to Odegaard Falls which was about 25 miles on a rough, rocky and narrow gravel road. The view of the falls was incredible. As we rode toward the falls you would get glimpses of towering snow capped mountains. Our campsite was also incredible as we camped with views of towering mountains with waterfalls all around us. It was just magical
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The next day we had to conquer "the Bella Coola Hill". This is a 20% grade dirt/gravel road that steeply climbs out of the Bella Coola valley into Tweedsmuir Provincial Park and the Chilcotin Plateau. The road steeply switchbacks up the side of a mountain with a 1,000' near vertical drop on one side. When we rode up the grade a road grader was working the road which made it even more difficult with loose dirt and an 18" berm we had to cross. We finally made it to Heckman Pass and celebrated conquering this difficult hill. Fortunately for us there wasn't a lot of traffic. That would have made the ride even more interesting.
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Chilcotin Ride - More... part 3

Our first night was Charlotte Lake. As we approached the BC Forest Rec Site we saw large ominous signs saying, "Aggressive Bear Warning." We were told there was a sow Grizzly with two cubs in the area. We got to the lake and set up camp. We were the only ones there. We made a big camp fire and ensured that we had a clean camp. We had no problems with bears. The campsite was incredibly beautiful.
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On the way out of camp the next morning my wife and I saw the sow grizzly and two cubs run across the road about 2 miles from camp.

The gravel/dirt roads weren't too bad. When we came back onto Hwy 20 the road was now paved. We stopped in Tatla Lake to get gas. I met another rider who warned us of some really bad muddy roads. We would have to change our route. Here is where I learned that this was the wettest Chilcotin summer in 11 years. We made our way down a good gravel/dirt road to Tatlayoko Lake and our next camp. The campsite is right along the deep fjord like lake with towering mountains across the lake. Again the campground was empty. We decided to stay here for two nights and take some time to re-evaluate our plans.
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The next day we decided to do a 55 mile dirt/gravel road trip to see Chilko Lake and the Chilko River. Again, great riding through wilderness country with awesome mountain views. We met a Xeni Gwetin Land Ranger at the Chilko River who patrols the area for the tribal lands. He was a wealth of information and made us feel very welcome. We returned to camp and a strong evening thunderstorm.

The next day our destination was Chilko Lake, specifically the Provincial Park campground called Chugh Nu Beniz. We decided to travel to Lee's Corner to get gas and then travel the 50+ remote dirt/gravel miles to the campground. As we rode along we noticed a very dark and ominous thunderstorm ahead of us. The road became very muddy and challenging to keep our heavy laden bikes up. The road mud was between 4-8" deep and slick. Regrettably we decided to turn around and camp in a meadow back down the road. This meadow was beautiful but infested with hordes of hungry mosquitoes which challenged our patience and sanity.
Photo Jul 18, 5 23 56 PM.jpg

The next day one of our team members decided to call it quits because he wasn't feeling well. This now left us with three riders in our group. We still had over 250 miles of gravel/dirt/mud roads to travel.

We rode out to Lee's Corner again to get gas and have breakfast after the "Mosquito Hell Meadows Camp." Here we were looking to adjust our route again. A road maintenance worker encouraged us to visit Farwell Canyon. Excellent decision.
 
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Chilcotin Ride - More... part 4

Farwell Canyon is a place where the Chilcotin River tears its way through the earth forming a very deep canyon. The roads down into and up out of the canyon are steep, twisty, and have lots of switchbacks. Combine this with commercial log trucks and it makes for a memorable ride. We stopped at the base of the canyon and enjoyed the view. It was as many other places - simply incredible.
Photo Jul 19, 12 48 19 PM.jpg

As we left Farwell Canyon another ominous afternoon thunderstorm appeared on the horizon. We made it into Williams Lake just as it started raining. Instead of camping in the rain we all decided to stay in a motel that night. Taking a shower and sleeping in a bed was just wonderful. Not too mention that we didn't have to set up camp or tear it down.

It rained all through the night and the next morning the weather was wet. We decided to go on with our plans - 120 miles of gravel/dirt/mud roads. We left the comfort of paved roads and headed back into the wild and remote Chilcotin. The roads started out muddy but as we progressed they got better and better. We traveled through very remote country dotted with occasional native communities - Alkali Lake, Dog Creek, Canoe Creek. We traveled for hours not seeing another vehicle. We did see a lot of wild horses roaming about. As always the roads were twisty, steep and filled with switchbacks. Traveling along the upper reaches of the Fraser River gave a feeling of vast remote and wild country.
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We finally completed our 120 mile dirt/gravel/mud ride coming out onto Hwy 97 at the tiny native community of Pavilion. Our off road riding was complete. We rode to Lilooet for our next camp and celebrated with a dinner at a Greek Restaurant.

The next day we rode the Duffy Lake Road which in itself is a bucket list ride. It winds through deep canyons, forests, and lakes offering sweeping views of snow capped peaks and glaciers. We had an early lunch in Whistler and then proceeded down the Sea-To-Sky Highway to Vancouver. We didn't time it right arriving in Vancouver near or right at rush hour. The traffic was stifling as we were used to not seeing another vehicle for hours only now to be in with thousands of other vehicles all in a rush to get home. This was as challenging as any road we traveled on. We finally made it across the US-Canada border to our last campsite at Birch Bay State Park.
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The next day we rode our last ferry from Coupevdlle to Port Townsend to avoid the Interstate and driving through Seattle. We drove down through Bremerton and state highways back to Olympia. In all the trip was over 1,600 miles and had about 500 miles of dirt/gravel/mud roads. We very much enjoyed the remote and wilderness riding and appreciated that places like this still exist. It was a great bucket list ride.
 
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Chilcotin Ride - More... part 5

Riders were myself on a 2013 F800GS, my wife Kim on a 2016 R1200GSA, Milton "Butch" Farrand on a 2014 F800GSA and Bob Whitlock on a 2014 F800GSA.
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