trippingalong

Need help planning our (almost) last leg of a Calgary to Vancouver road trip
All our accommodations are reserved except between Revelstoke and Vancouver.
Our problem is choosing the route. We have at least 3 choices (Coquilla, Route 1, or over to Cache Creek (possibly stop in Whistler for a few hours - all but 1 of our group has already stayed been there) and then down).
Our other problem is getting accommodation at this late date for 2 couples (end of Sept).
It also occurred to me that there could still be wildfires affecting travel.

Please help!
Note: Prefer to spend only 3 hours 'travel time' in the car, so a midway point to stay is needed, as we are seniors our budget for accommodations can be up to $300 night (if necessary). We have even booked condos for this trip to share (but for 1 night that is likely not possible).
Thanks for any help whatsoever!

BC_Robyn

Are you from the UK? The reason I ask is because most folks from the UK put the artificial 3 hour time limit on their road trips here because they're basing it off of UK population density and UK road conditions/congestion, when it's often not recommended here because population density is so low in western Canada, there can often literally be nothing of any note within a three hour drive, and you will not be driving through villages and towns and congestion along the way. Usually you need to travel further than 3 hours to make a worthwhile stop. I liken it to trying to visit Stonehenge from London but spending the night in Slough first - totally unnecesssary.

I digress.

First, I'd scrap Whistler. Whistler isn't a whistle stop destination. If you just show up there for one night, it will just seem like a fancy shopping mall in the mountains. If you don't have the time to get out of Whistler Village and go hiking into the alpine or take the gondola into the alpine, you're not going to see the best of the scenery it has to offer. You will just see its mall-like village and you'll wonder what all the fuss is about. The Rockies (Banff, Jasper, etc.) are where you're going to get your dramatic alpine scenery from the road. In the Coast Mountains where Whistler is, the best scenery (the glaciers, the turquoise lakes) is up at the tops of the mountains, not down on the road.

I will give you another option. Have you considered Hwy 3?

From Revelstoke you would head south via Hwy 23 to the free Shelter Bay inland ferry (it crosses a lake) then you'd carry on to Nakusp on the Arrow Lakes. From Nakusp you take Hwy 6 through the scenic Slocan Valley to Nelson (gorgeous town, charming historic buildings, great restaurants, shops, breweries). Some nice hotels in Nelson. There are a lot of charming historic towns in the Slocan Valley too where you can stop and explore briefly - Nakusp (famous for hot springs), New Denver, and Silverton come to mind. The Winlaw Nature Park is also a worthwhile stop.

From Nelson, drive Hwy 3 to Osoyoos (winery/fruit orchard town with desert-like climate, Indigenous culture). This area has a lot of road-side fruit stands, so stock up on fresh peaches, apples, nectarines, plums, etc. From Osoyoos to Vancouver, you drive through the arid farmland of the Similkameen Valley - more fruit and wineries. Then you enter the Cascade Mountains and you drive through Manning Park - a vast wilderness with some great stops to take in the mountain air and scenery. It's about a 4 hour drive from Osoyoos to Vancouver, with plenty of places to stop along the way.

Here is the map: https://goo.gl/maps/HoWPXeos9P1oN2uv6

Each of the places I mention have their own tourism website if you Google (i.e. Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism, Slocan Valley, Destination Osoyoos, Similkameen Valley). Hope this helps!