Proposed route from Creston BC to Prince George BC

BC_Explorer wrote:
Once in Prince George, this is the last big city before venturing further north and is a good place to stock up on reasonable (for Canada) priced groceries etc. In Prince George and at the junction of Highway 97 and Highway 16 West, turn onto Highway 16 West. Just a very short distance and to the right is a Superstore (national grocery chain) Costco and other stores conglomerated in the immediate area. A few minutes further along Highway 16 West and up the hill is a Home Depot, Walmart and Canadian Tire (national home, hardware and auto store.)

I think we hit every one of those Prince George stores last year to comparison shop and stock up. That was our first visit to both Superstore and Canadian Tire, but not our last. We also bought gas, got an oil change and lube, washed the truck and trailer, and did a weeks worth of laundry in Prince George. Between Prince George and Watson Lake, the only groceries we bought were at the very nice Safeway in Smithers.

Your in my back yard when you enter at Creston we live just west of Creston 1 hr. Whe you get to Creston on the east side of town there are many many fruit stands I highly recomend a side trip of a few miles to stop there and load up with fruit and veggies that are in season.
That's a great trip plan, however don't go over Kootenay Pass, take hwy 3-A up the the Kootenay lake ferry which is the longest free ferry ride in the world. You won't have any issues getting on and off with a rig at any of the two ferries on this route. Try not and stay at Kokanee provincial park, to many Mosquitos. Take a day trip down to Nelson if you wan to go if you want see it. There is a nice community campground in Riondal just a few miles up the lake from the Crawford bay side of the ferry. Or up towards Kaslo there s few more. Stop in Kaslo and see the dry docked paddle wheeler Moyie. Going over the hump between Kaslo and New Denver is slow and windy but a very beautiful trip. When you drive up this valley just I akin that two different trains went up this valley in the 1890's heading to the mining Ghost town of Sandon.
There is a beautiful campground on the shores of Slocan lake when you get to New Denver. It is across the bridge and about 2 blocks to the left when you get to the stop sign where you join up with Hwy 6.
My DW and I now have our 5th wheel parked seasonally up at Summit lake which is about a 20 minute drive past New Denver on the way to Nakusp. There is the provincial campground at the lake Nd the private campground that we stay at. Both very nice and right on the lake as well.
Also there is a ice Provincial campground 5 miles south of Nakusp on the upper Arrow lakes called McDonald creek provincial campground. There is a private one right in town, however I have never stayed there and it doesn't look all that clean from the road.
There is also a campground at Haylson hot springs which is a few miles south of the Galena Bay / Shelter Bay ferry. On the other side of the Ferry there is also another campground about 1/2 way to Revelstoke called Blanket Creek Provincial camp ground I haven't stayed there in years, but last time down the hill to the campground it was nice and clean and beside the upper arrow lakes as well.
Enjoy the trip and if you would like any more info send me a note
Soup

I have driven the Kamloops to Cache Creek to Prince George route more times then I want to think about. It is about 525 kms (325 miles) which can easily be done in one day.

If you wish to split the drive into 2 days, once north of Cache Creek, consider staying at Lac La Hache Provincial Park just north of 100 Mile House. Alternatively, Ten Mile Lake Provincial Park just north of Quesnel. From here, Prince George is an hour away.

Note that neither park has hookups but have have bathrooms and I also know that Ten Mile Lake has showers (for a $1.00 cost though) and require our Loonie ($1.00 coin) to pay for the showers.

If you are looking for full hookups, there are number of private campgrounds along the way but have no experience with them but others here might.

Once in Prince George, this is the last big city before venturing further north and is a good place to stock up on reasonable (for Canada) priced groceries etc. In Prince George and at the junction of Highway 97 and Highway 16 West, turn onto Highway 16 West. Just a very short distance and to the right is a Superstore (national grocery chain) Costco and other stores conglomerated in the immediate area. A few minutes further along Highway 16 West and up the hill is a Home Depot, Walmart and Canadian Tire (national home, hardware and auto store.)

We will be leaving Wyoming mid June and back by the end of August. Thanks to all who have provided insights to this route.

^Great suggestions, I hadn't thought of the Okanagan (even though we camped there last summer), it's really a beautiful and unique spot.

What month/s will you be travelling?

Wind River wrote:
We are planning this route on our way to Alaska.

We have never taken your exact route, but have been in the Castlegar-Trail-Rossland area to the west and the Cranbrook-Windermere-Radium Hot Springs area to the east. And, last summer, we used Hwy. 97 from Kamloops to Prince George.

The only problem with Hwy 97 is that most of it is up on a plateau that is not particularly scenic. The first part, from Kamloops to Chasm is interesting, especially to a geologist. And, you are close enough to the Fraser River to have some real topography at Williams Lake and Quesnel. But the rest is mostly slightly rolling, tree-covered glacial till interspersed with a few small, shallow ponds. If you have time to burn, Hwy 5 from Kamloops to Valemount might be more interesting. But, never having been on that route, I'll have to leave it to the local experts for a comparison of the two routes.

If you have already been to Banff and Jasper and are not coming back from Alaska through Alberta, your route sounds like a very scenic one. In that case, I would like to suggest a return to Wyoming through the Okanagan Valley--Vernon through Kelowna to Osoyoos. It has beautiful lakes, vineyard-covered hillsides, great food, and wonderful wine. Sort of a Canadian version of the Lake Como region of Italy . . . but they all speak English. We enjoyed it so much last summer that the Okanagan is now on our list of favorite places for a return visit. And, at Osoyoos, you can turn east on Hwy 3 to Castlegar if you want to revisit parts of the Kootenays that you missed on the way up.

If you haven't been to Banff and Jasper, forget all that I just said and go there, either going to Alaska or coming back. We had been there before, but we still saved it for last on our 2013 Alaska trip. That way we would have one more gorgeous, wildlife-filled area to look forward to before getting home from our RV "trip-of-a-lifetime." And we are glad we did because we got closer to, and took more photos of, wildlife in Jasper NP than we did in Alaska (with the possible exception of our Kenai Fjords cruise at Seward and the 125 photos my wife took of a mama grizzly and her 4 cubs in Valdez).

Whichever route you decide on, you can't really go wrong. Every route has some pros and cons but BC is so scenic, you can't help but enjoy the trip!

As pointed out by others, the route you asked about is a scenic and interesting route to follow. It is probably the route that will take the most time. As for the ferry crossings, depending on how you decide to go, there will be either one or two crossings. If you go from Creston to Salmo, you will miss the Kootenay Lake ferry. If you have the time, I would suggest you go north from Creston along Kootenay Lake and take the ferry. This is a route that requires time, as it is quite winding and slow. You will end up coming off the ferry at Balfour, and then turn north to Kaslo. Again if you have time, a side trip into Nelson would be worthwhile. Kaslo has a decent town campsite if you want to spend time there. Also, there is a city campsite in Nelson, and a great Provincial Park and campsite at Kokanee Creek between Balfour and Nelson. Reservations recommended there from June 15 to Sept. From Kaslo to Nakusp is an easy drive. Great campsite at Summit Lake between New Denver and Nakusp. Choice of either a Provincial Park, or a full-service private campsite.
At Nakusp, the best choice is to continue north along the Arrow Lakes to Galena Bay for the second ferry crossing, then north to the Trans Canada at Revelstoke. Another alternative at Nakusp is to go south a bit along Arrow Lake and cross at Needles and then into Vernon in the Okanagan Valley. Then continue north until you link up with the Trans Canada highway. The rest of the route to Prince George is pretty straight-forward. The Trans Canada can be very busy at times.
A second choice that is also very scenic is to go through Kootenay Park, Banff Park and Jasper then on to Prince George. Instead of going into Creston, head for Cranbrook, then north to Radium Hot Springs. From there go through Kootenay Park into Banff Park, then north through Banff Park and Jasper Park to Jasper townsite. From there you go west to Prince George.

It is a scenic route. Not one built for speed though, so don't plan to make time on it due to the twists and turns and hills.

The Salmo-Creston (Kootenay) Pass is the highest (1775 metre or 5824 feet) all-weather highway pass in B.C. and one of the highest paved highways in Canada. You'll be climbing about 3,300 feet from Creston to the summit before descending about the same to Hwy 6. Be sure your truck is good for pulling for a long while and then make sure your brakes are in good order too.

There's also been some talk on the news that "they" might start charging fees for the inland ferry routes. No decision yet but something to keep in back of your mind.

We've always enjoyed visiting the Kootenays. Especially enjoy the Nakusp area, with the hot springs there being one of our favourites for soaking.

We did the same basic route in 2011 except we started farther east and crossed at Roosville and north. The ferry rides are great as is the scenery. Nakusp has a nice hot springs with campground. Lots to see in that area and the ferries will be no problem with your rig.

Nakusp Hot Springs Campground



This was over one arm of Kootenay Lake. As you can see there is an 18 wheeler with three RVs parked behind him. Big free ferry.




This ferry was running on Galena Bay the day we crossed. Did 3 ferry rides that day as I remember.


The town of Kaslow is well worth a half day or more to explore. Great restored lake boat, many Victorian era homes and other buildings there. On our list of places to go back to spend more time in the future.
Roads are good as are most in BC.




My wife and I thought the lake was a bit chilly for swimming but the younger locals thought different that day. LOL



We have more photos and verbiage about this part of North America on our web site, if interested . This was our last trip north in 2011. http://www.pajbcooper.com/Alaska%20Trip%20Summer%202011.htm

3LittleDucks: I would appreciate campground recommendations. We are planning this route on our way to Alaska.