Hell's
Gate Airtram |
The wide, fertile
Fraser Valley is spread between the Coast and Cascade Mountains, parallel
to the US-Canada border. The valley runs for more than a hundred miles
inland from the Pacific Ocean to the small town of Hope at its eastern
end. You can drive from one end of the Fraser Valley to the other
in about two hours, but you can just as easily spend a lifetime exploring
the 150 kilometres (93 miles) between Vancouver and Hope. Almost all
of the fertile land is rural and supports a blend of farming, forestry,
and outdoor recreation.
The Fraser River flows down the middle of the Fraser Valley and by
the very nature of its broad, deep, muddy girth, forces road travellers
to choose between its north or south side. Two major highways cut
east-west routes through the Fraser Valley, and link Vancouver
with Hope. Highway 7 (the Lougheed Highway, or Broadway, in Vancouver)
traverses the North Fraser Valley parallel with the Fraser River.
As Highway 1 (the Trans-Canada Highway) heads east of Vancouver, it
crosses the Fraser River on the Port Mann Bridge and leads through
the South Fraser Valley. Whereas Highway 1 is a divided freeway designed
to deliver travellers to their destination as quickly as possible,
in most places Highway 7 is a conventional roadway and doubles as
the main street for the towns through which it passes.
Begin this scenic
journey of the Fraser Valley by following Highway 7 along the north
bank of the historic Fraser River. Visit Pitt Meadows and Maple
Ridge, and enjoy the mild climate while teeing off on championship
18-hole golf courses amid rolling tranquil countryside, with views
of mountain peaks and winding rivers.
Golden Ears Provincial Park in Maple
Ridge is a destination with many possibilities, and is a popular camping
venue. Once there, you can fan out through the park to explore on
foot, by boat, by bike, or on horseback. Keep your camera handy! Pitt
Lake, a superb location for paddlers searching for freshwater adventure,
serves as the gateway to several wilderness areas. The Pitt-Wildlife
Management Area is home to trumpeter swans, rare sandhill cranes,
hawks, eagles, herons, ospreys, and other wildlife.
The Fraser winds along to Mission, which is tied historically
to the Cariboo gold rush of the 1850s. There is still a strong Native
presence in the region, and each year in July, the Mission Powwow
draws drummers, singers, dancers, and spectators to a three-day festival.
The Xa:ytem Longhouse Interpretive Centre
bills itself as the oldest dwelling site in the province. The Sto:lo
Nation has erected a longhouse at the site where, between June to
September, visitors can learn more about traditional First Nations'
culture and history.
Westminster Abbey, home to a Benedictine monastery, crows the skyline
and occupies a ridge overlooking the Fraser River Valley. Kilby
Historic Store is adjacent to Kilby Provincial
Park - it's well worth visiting. Look through the restored boarding
house, post office, and general store to get a feel for life on the
Fraser River at the turn of the century, when sternwheelers linked
small towns like Harrison Mills with the docks downstream at Mission
and New Westminster.
After a hectic day of sightseeing, visit Harrison
Hot Springs. Called the "Spa of Canada," Harrison Hot Springs
is a resort town with recreation and health at the forefront. Take
the airtram for breathtaking views of the Fraser River as it roars
through this famous gorge. Continue along Hwy 1 to Hope, a
pretty little town with great appeal for outdoor adventurers - Kawkawa
Lake Provincial Park is nearby, as is Coquihalla
Canyon Provincial Park. Not far away is Manning
Provincial Park with more lakes and hiking trails. The local joke
here is that no matter which way you are going, the rest of B.C. is
"beyond Hope".
Interesting
spots for visitors to check out along the way include Minster Gardens,
which feature 11 themed gardens, designed to dazzle the senses with
fragrance and colour. Nestled at the base of Mount Cheam, Bridal
Falls offers panoramic views of the Fraser Valley. The warm waters
of Cultus Lake have attracted visitors to frolic and splash on its
beaches for decades. The water is so clear, that at midday, the gold
sand on the bottom on the lake perfectly complements the colour of
the summer sun. All the amenities of beach life are found here: barbeques,
a picnic gazebo, tennis courts, washroom facilities and even a boat
rental are close at hand.
Fort
Langley Historic Site |
Continue West along
Highway 1 through the lush Fraser Valley to Abbotsford, Langley,
Fort Langley, and Surrey. Each town has its distinctive
charm, history, colour characters to meet and things to do. The annual
Abbotsford International Airshow, held in August, features aerial
acrobatic teams, vintage aircraft and stunt flyers. Attracting 300,000
spectators, this is North America's largest aerial extravaganza. Throughout
British Columbia, several historic 19th-century forts have been preserved
as reminders of how the west was originally settled by Europeans.
Fort
Langley National Historic Site, a Hudson's Bay Company post
that has been preserved and restored, is open year-round. It, too,
is a delightful reminder of yesteryear. Nearby is the Fort Langley
Railway Museum, with a restored station from the 1920s era, a Canadian
National Railway caboose, and an operating model railway. It's well
worth a visit as you explore the town in the vicinity of the fort.
Complete this scenic circle tour with a stop in Vancouver.
To list even a portion of Vancouver's attractions is impossible
to do here. Suffice it to say, the real charm and advantage of Vancouver
is the range of entertaining options open to visitors. Urbanites
can eat at world-class restaurants, attend the symphony, shop at
exclusive boutiques along Robonstrasse and never cast so much as
a glance at the surrounding sea and skyscape. Those with an appreciation
of the outdoors can windsurf in the morning, golf at lunch, ski
at noon, and take in the city lights at night from atop a North
Shore mountain. The city itself is clean, colourful and friendly,
with a cosmopolitan vibrancy that Pacific West Coast cities are
known for.
Towns on or near this Route - Click on a town name to learn
more about that town.
|
Web
Design by Sage
Internet Solutions.
