cuteoldgal1

We are making plans to go from Kelowna to Whistler but see two routes, one going North from Merritt and one going through Hope, Vancouver etc. does anyone have adivice on best route? Thank hou

sludick

Take the northern route, is my suggestion.

It's a beautiful, scenic drive, so if you can plan to spend the day and stop along the way as you like, it would be perfect. And you wouldn't have to drive through city traffic in Vancouver.

sunbum1944

What time of year? I did the drive last Sept and it had snowed overnight and roads were iced up- it was rather scary

sludick

sunbum1944, we may have been there at the same time - for us, it was end of September/early October. We actually drove from Wells Gray Provincial Park to Bella Coola and subsequently down to Vancouver.

sunbum1944

I was there the end of Sept too. Wish I had known you were out there on the road with me- I was pretty white knuckled - then the light that shows my tire pressure is unequal came on and I worried I was going to have a flat but made it into Merritt and had tires checked and all was OK

I was not really able to enjoy the ride as I was too concentrated on just driving but little Subaru came through for me. Now I need to do it again earlier in the season so I can enjoy the scenery.

It looked spectacular- I did see a moose at the side of the road

sludick

What a coincidence - we had the same thing happen, going down a mountain! We pulled off, looked (nothing apparent), waited just a bit, and the light went out. It was COLD that morning, for sure.

sunbum1944

The tire store said the tire pressure changed due to the cold temps - so the light came on.

I was SO happy to drive into Merritt and one of the first stores I saw was a tire store!

sludick

sunbum1944 - Well, that certainly explains things. By the way, we stopped overnight once in Merritt after having made a last minute driving decision that left us seeking a hotel after dark. As you know, there's not a whole lot there, and we got the last room in one place. It had 3 queen beds, never saw that before. To this day we refer to Merritt as "The 3 Queens."

cuteoldgal, by now you are probably wondering what possessed me to recommend the north route. Our growsing about the weather aside, it's normally quite nice that time of year. There is some spectacular scenery, and if the weather is good you'll want to stop often to enjoy it and take pictures.

Yes, the area of Manning Provincial Park (Hope) is also splendid on the southern route, but after that it flattens out. Then you begin to come into the outskirts of Vancouver with all its traffic. You'll end up driving through all that to get to North Vancouver and then up to Whistler. And it can be quite foggy on the Coquihalla as well, so you might get some dicey driving either way.

sunbum1944

cuteoldgal- hope we didn't scare you. I think the snow and ice was a freak thing- I think the scenery was beautiful what I saw of it- afraid to take my eyes off the road.

Can't imagine spending an a night in 3 Queens- is there even a restaurant there? I only got as far as the tire store.

sludick

Oh, even better - the floor sloped. So getting up in the night was interesting - downhill to the bathroom, uphill back to whichever of the 3 queens we were in.

There was a restaurant next door - nothing to recommend, but it was somewhat edible.