July 2020 – In this post, I present my trip to British Columbia, a roadtrip to discover some of the wonders of our country! This trip had been planned for quite some time, before the current pandemic. Many of my planned plans fell through because some parks were closed. Instead of replacing the activities, we just decided to take it cool and see day by day what we were going to do. My boyfriend’s introduction to camping in the mountains in Garibaldi Park will therefore be postponed, to my great sadness. I don’t think he was that disappointed! Ahahah!
This trip was made possible by milesopedia and the community members! I saved a lot of money for this trip by helping me master credit card points. At the end of the article, I share with you all the savings I was able to benefit from during this trip thanks to the points.
Even though I’m not a beginner traveller, I’ve made a few mistakes… beginner mistakes! That could have cost us. The worst mistake was on our last day when we missed our return flight! We did well despite everything, details will follow in this article!
We arrive in Vancouver at 10:00 a.m. which gives us plenty of time to get our rental car and enjoy our day.
For car rental, I really like the company Routes car rental. Prices are often very reasonable. However, they do not have a counter directly at the airport. You must call to follow shuttle instructions.
This beginning of the trip was a bit of a shock. We followed the instructions on the recorded message, but we couldn’t find the location. We were going in circles. There are no signs in the airport to indicate the shuttle area. We really didn’t have as much trouble finding the Calgary airport when we first experienced them.
It was on my first day of travel that I made my first mistake. Everything is fine at the rental counter until they ask for my insurance papers. I forgot my insurance papers!
After this monetary fiasco, we go shopping and then head to Chilliwack where we have a small tiny house reserved on the Airbnb platform, located only 1 hour and a half drive from the Vancouver airport.
We spend a nice afternoon lounging in the yard before heading out for a tour of Chilliwack Provincial Park, located 30 minutes from our accommodation.
Here, even though you are in the owners’ yard, your privacy is respected. They’re available if you need them for anything. Everything is designed to make you feel at home. I would go back without hesitation!
Hammocks are set up in the backyard and in the evening you can even build a fire in the designated area.
At the end of the day, I felt like stretching my legs with a short hike in the Chilliwack Provincial Park, specifically to get to Lindeman Lake. Let’s say that when I saw the camping platform at the lake, I enthroughis those who would spend the night there. It’s definitely an amazing spot!
The sun sets late in the west and rises early. It’s very nice because it leaves a lot of time in a day. It doesn’t feel too jet-lagged.
We have lunch and before we leave for our hike, we’ll take a little trip to the Chilliwack River. It is not accessible from our accommodation, but the owner told us how to get there by a small wooded path.
Chilliwack was a nice surprise on my trip and I would have stayed longer. If you’re a nature lover, there are plenty of beautiful spots and activities to do in this part of British Columbia.
The colour of the western water still impresses me. Small beach for a nice late evening fire!
We then leave for the Fraser Valley region via the village of Hope. A planned stop in this nice little village (which reminds me a bit of Jackson Hole) to buy a bear repellent for our future hikes. From the main street, you can admire the Fraser River surrounded by mountains.
We were supposed to stop visiting Othello Tunnels near Hope, but it’s closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
From our accommodation in Chilliwack, it’s a 1 hour 45 minute drive to the Coquihalla Summit recreation area.
Zoa peak was our first hike of this trip in Western Canada. There are countless hikes available in the area and it was very difficult to choose.
Before making a choice to hike around British Columbia, there are a few things you need to know:
According to AllTrails the departure is from Fraser Valley B. From this point, you have to continue on the dirt road to the parking lot. So from the green/black point to the parking lot don’t walk!
Plotting complete:
The gain in elevation is mainly in the first 3 kilometres of the trail. Through the forest, we come across many beautiful little flowers and lots and lots of mosquitoes! Besides, it was the most unpleasant part! Unable to take a 5-minute break! You must have a bug repellent with a slightly higher concentration of DEET than usual if you don’t want to be the feast of the day!
After having walked through the forest, it tends to disappear to give a glimpse of the magnificent mountain scenery!
We stop for a moment near Zoa subpeak to observe this beautiful view. We don’t stay long, we get eaten by mosquitoes! In the picture, I’m sweeping flies with my hand! It was terrible!
We keep finding the landscape sublime as we go along. The snow is still not melted in some places.
We get to the end point and eat in 2 seconds. We take the time to take some aerial photos. We don’t have time to contemplate for a long time unfortunately, it’s unbearable with these flies!
Do you see us in the picture?
After this beautiful day, we are heading to the city of Lillooet where we booked accommodation on the platform Airbnb. Nothing fancy here. There was a little bit of love lost on the terrace, but everything was clean inside with a very comfortable bed.
The view from the lounge was really superb. For me, Lillooet is not a charming city in itself. What’s great is to feel surrounded by mountains. One night was enough in our case. We ran out of time to go and taste some wine at the vineyard of Fort Berens which probably would have deserved a stop.
At first we were supposed to go camping at Seton Lake, but in the end we didn’t carry our camping gear with us and the facilities were closed due to VIDOC-19.
The Seton Lake Recreation Area is part of BC Hydro’s Bridge River Hydroelectric Complex. There is one campground and three day-use / picnic areas that offer a range of activities including boating, canoeing, hiking and fishing, as well as a view of the Seton Lake Reservoir.
You will find all the information on the page Seton Lake Recreation Area
Depart for the Whistler area in the morning and our first planned stop is just 10 minutes after we hit the road.
Only 6 km from Lillooet, an easy stop to stretch your legs!
On this 3rd day of roadtrip, we were supposed to go spend the day in the provincial park of Joffre lake.
I had put a damper on this park because it’s too popular. If you do some research on the internet, you will see that there is a tree trunk on the lake shore and it has become an instagram popularity to take a picture of it.
I was ready to make a cross on this park, but reading about it, most of the herd stops only for 1 picture. Then I would have gone hiking without stopping at this place to take a picture. There are still three lakes to see on a hike in this park!
To this day, the Joffre lake provincial park is still closed to visitors. Make sure to check the website of BCparks and this for all the parks you want to visit, because each one can have its own rules like bear alerts, closed roads, presence of snow in altitude for example.
The drive from Vancouver was nice, but I couldn’t wait to get to the glaciers!
Highway 99 between Lillooet and Whistler is full of hills to climb and descend. Your brakes will be under tremendous strain. I particularly liked this day’s drive under a radiant sun!
This park was designed from the ground up to provide lakeside camping and other recreational experiences for travellers between Whistler and Lillooet. It was in this park that we decided to spend our day before arriving in Whistler. 2h30 drive from Lillooet and the last 30 kms are on a gravel road.
I had no idea what to expect as a park and we had a real surprise! We were looking for a place to take a short hike and relax by a lake and we were well served!
For all information about this park, please visit the Birkenhead lake.official Birkenhead lake website.
Finding the beginning of this path is not so easy. There are no signs and the beginning is located in the campsite area. There is no parking at the beginning of the trail. We still parked there because there was no indication that it was forbidden. On the way back, we had a paper in our windshield that if we had a campsite we had to leave the car there or park at the lake.
In red, the place where the trail begins. The P being, of course, the parking lot near the lake.
A little treasure on this trail, like what to travel and decide the day an activity, can be a surprise in itself!
You arrive at the beginning in a lush forest. You’re going to hike this fabulous trail through the great cedars trees.
At the top, you will have a view of Birkenhead Lake.
Now we can’t wait to relax at the lake! There is still a lot of space and a lot of families gather here and we understand why! You can settle down in the grass or on the sand.
Batteries recharged, we’re off to Whistler with an hour and a half to go. There was a scheduled stop at Nairn Falls, but it was closed. Today, it is now open to tourism!
Of course, Whistler was eagerly awaited! A place of predilection for tourism. From lake and glaciers to boutiques, art galleries and great restaurants, Whistler has it all!
I’m very glad I came here at a time of pandemic. A lot fewer tourists, no line-ups. I think I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed my experience so much during the high summer season. I’m definitely a girl by nature and this kind of village doesn’t hold me any more than it should.
So we booked a loft-style condo in the village of Whistler at the Executive Inn. Clean room with a small kitchenette. No great views, but it suited us completely.
The day seemed to be rainy and we had planned to go hiking on the Blackcomb mountain peaks accessible from Peak 2 Peak gondola. My big uncertainty was to pay for the gondola and end up having an ordinary day. In the mountains, things change so quickly that we tried our luck despite the dreariness!
We could have chosen another hike in the area without taking the gondola, but the accessible ones were at least 15 km long and we didn’t want to make such a big one. Most of the trails in the area are located in Garibaldi Park, which was closed. I had hoped until the last minute for a reopening, but it didn’t happen.
Another fact that has slowed us down in our choice of hikes is that in some places you have to have a 4×4. Probably if I come back on a trip around here, I’ll rent one of these.
Once again, check out the open trails, they were almost all closed except for this one.
The path is not very difficult. Slowly you will be transported through the beautiful wildflowers with a partial view of the Rocky Mountains.
You’ll cross a beautiful clearing and who knows, you might even get a chance to meet the marmots of Western Canada!
If you don’t want to go to the end of the Overlord Trail, I suggest you only go to the lake on the Lakeside Loop portion. From this lake, you will have a breathtaking view of the mountains. And what about that lake with its crystal-clear water?
Then we continued on our way to the end of the Overlord Trail. We were alone! What a pleasure to dine in the Rockies, completely away from the crowds! Full sun in the face, zenitude and calm!
After the hike, we take the Peak 2 Peak to go to the mountain on the other side. You can go back down to Blackcomb mountain but it would be a shame not to cross the air in gondola! The view is breathtaking!
It was starting to get cold in the late afternoon, so we went inside the restaurant on the Whistler Mountain side to get a drink. Since alcohol was a bit expensive (a $9 beer is a bit expensive for me!), I decided to warm myself up with a hot chocolate. Too sweet, this hot chocolate tastes like chemical. Have a coffee instead! The view from the platform is very beautiful!
We end the day in a restaurant, we spoil ourselves! We don’t go to restaurants very much because of cost savings and also because my boyfriend has a lot of dietary restrictions.
Our choice stopped at the Earls restaurant. I had spotted the lobster ravioli and it was a real treat!
Head for Squamish!
If I have a place to recommend near Vancouver, it’s this fabulous city that is attractive, unpretentious, warm and where you feel good from the start! A variety of activities are offered in the area.
It is a favourite place for climbing enthusiasts among others. You’ll understand why when you set foot in this town and see the huge Stawamus Chief, a huge granite dome. It’s one of the largest monoliths in the world.
After trying to reach two trails in the Callaghan Country area, why not stop and see this waterfall. At a height of 43 meters, it is sublime. Not having done any research before, I didn’t know we could get to the bottom of the waterfall! I found that out when I was researching information while writing this article…!
For those who are interested, check this page of Outdoor project. Only a mile loop to get there. This waterfall is located right next to the Olympic Village.
We first stop at Brandywine Falls (finally something very touristy and open…!), a 70 meters high waterfall. A short walk to get there is enough. If you wish, a longer hike is possible in this park. Only 15 minutes south of Whistler.
A small park accessible from the highway, arrive early!! The parking lot isn’t very big. We were very lucky to have the last parking space. Don’t park illegally, the police often come around. We’ve passed by a few times and it’s always full.
Located 15 minutes north of Squamish, a great place to spend family time. Swimming seems to be the main attraction of this place. This is clearly a very nice place!
As you may have noticed, I love hiking! So we took the trail that goes around the lake, accessible from the parking lot. The trail is very enchanting with huge ferns and green moss covering the ground and rocks.
*AllTrails data
If your heart tells you to, I suggest you take a little bit of the path that you will cross on your way. The trail’s called the Tantalus Trail. This part is steeper than just going around the lake, but I liked this little extra. You will have a beautiful view of the mountain range.
Since it is too early to take possession of our accommodation, we go to Shannon Falls Provincial Park.
Shannon Falls consists of a series of cliffs, rising to 335 metres, making it the third highest waterfall in the province, behind Della Falls at 481 metres in Strathcona Provincial Park on Vancouver Island and Hunlen Falls at 396 metres in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park near Bella Coola.
At the end of the day, we’ll take a little trip to the cider house Cliffside Cider to discover good local ciders. If you like a particular flavour, they offer the canning service in 1 litre version! We brought to Quebec the pineapple one that reminds me of my trips to Hawaii!
Rental Airbnb with private entrance, full kitchen and laundry room, we were really good at this place. From the lounge you have a view of the Stawamus Chief!
Rainy day, we take advantage of this grey weather to do our wash and listen to a series on Netflix.
At the end of the day, the rain stops and we leave for the Murrin pProvincial Park for a short hike of about 2 km. It is said that this is the most beautiful sunsets on the blue lake. We did not have that privilege because it was cloudy. Climbing is also practiced in this park, because there are really beautiful rock faces.
Here is the view, I imagine that when the sun sets, the moment must be quite sublime!
Note that as of November 2020, the Sea to Sky Gondola is closed due to an act of vandalism. Someone cut the cable car cable (no comment…)
Squamish was the highlight of our trip to Western Canada and I was very happy that the rainy day was replaced by a perfectly sunny one!
It’s hard to miss the urge to go for a walk from the heights from the Sea to Sky Gondola. We let ourselves be tempted and we didn’t regret it at all. After a rainy day, we were very happy that the sun was present during this exceptional day!
I recommend that you don’t arrive too late during the day, especially if you go on weekends. Parking is limited. You will start with a nice ride on a gondola! The view is really superb and it leaves us with a beautiful glimpse of the day ahead.
When you arrive there, you will be directly at the Sea to Sky Lodge. From there you can take nice pictures from the platform and cross the suspension bridge.
You will start the trail in the forest, and then you will be on a trail of rocky headlands. Turn around once in a while to see the mountains.
After this part, you will enter a beautiful lush forest before reaching the summit.
When you get to the top, I advise you to go up to the right. It’s a really steep rocky cape, but it’s definitely worth eating up there. It’s a huge rocky plateau, so it’s no problem to be several at the same time. The view of Squamish is exceptional!
After this beautiful day, you might want to enjoy the restaurant at the Sea to Sky Lodge? Or maybe you have fun at the Via Ferrata?
A great experience not to be missed in Squamish!
Head for Vancouver! Your walk through the most beautiful part of the Sea to the Sky highway! It’s beautiful at the end of the day when the sun sets. I find it disappointing that there are not many places along the roadside to stop and take the time to admire.
We decide to stop en route at Britannia Beach, a small village on the edge of the sunshine coast. There’s a small marina with a semblance of a beach. We’re hungry. A little snack in the name of Mountain Women calls out to us. It looks like nothing, but we’re lining up. One takes Fish & Chips, a small beer in the icebox. It was worth the wait. It’s delicious! Breaded shrimp are tasty!
Honestly, it doesn’t look like much here. This village seems very ordinary. But we found a secret spot behind a broken fence. A spot that can’t be more than two. A perfect spot with a crazy view! We like it so much that we’ll be back to spend our afternoons there in the next few days.
Things to do at Britannia Beach:
This museum and national historic site is packed with entertainment for all ages, including rock and mineral activities, gold panning, museum tours and an underground mining train that you can ride yourself. A great activity to do with your children!
Since we were arriving in Vancouver on a Saturday, I rented a room near English Bay. I found the perfect location for a walk from the hotel. So, it was on this beautiful Saturday night that I made the second stunt of my trip.
We arrive at the front desk of the hotel Best Western Plus Sands and the clerk tells me that I don’t have a reservation in my name. Uhhhh, okay, I’ll check my reservation. Then I realize I made a reservation for the night before…
Having booked my night with my Best Western points, she tells me that I can call Best Western Rewards to ask to have my reservation transferred for today’s date. Unfortunately, she cannot make that change. Honestly, I don’t really feel like it, it’s late. So I book a room at my own expense with my credit card MastercardMD Best Western RewardsMD.
When I got home, I requested through the customer service form explaining my mistake. I asked if it was possible to get my points back despite my mistake. Since I booked a night with them at my expense, they were kind enough to give me my 20,000 points! Excellent customer service.
I would also like to mention that when I started planning my trip, it was in December 2019. At that time, the hotel room was priced at $460 or 56,000 Best Western points. In my humble opinion, except for his situation, I would have been extremely disappointed to pay $460 for the room. Nice, clean and comfortable room, but nothing out of the ordinary. I didn’t have the 56,000 points to begin with, so I did a lot of research.
The pandemic arrived, and the price dropped to 28,000 points. At the end of June, the room was offered at 20,000 points.
In the evening, we went for a walk to discover the city. That’s just my opinion, but I think Montreal has nothing to envy Vancouver. Then I wouldn’t really be telling you about this town. I haven’t been to Victoria and the surrounding area, though. We stood on the corner of my hotel and Stanley park.
All tastes are in nature, but the mountains and Howe sounds bay in Squamish won my heart! Also because of the COVID-19 situation, I didn’t want to be in attractions where you have to wait in long lines like the Capilano Bridge.
Here’s a blog suggestion to give you some ideas of what to do in Vancouver for city lovers : Thirsty for Travel – My must-haves for visiting Vancouver in 3 days
What are we doing today? We’re going to Squamish again! Redundant, we probably missed a few things, but we were fine. In fact, most of the places I wanted to go to around Vancouver were not open because of the covid at Garibaldi provincial park.
This hike is not to be taken lightly despite its intermediate level. You will have to share the mountain with mountain bikes, so it is imperative to be vigilant and attentive.
Here it’s like a maze and I advise you to download the card on AllTrails before starting. You might get lost. There are several trails all over the mountain. You’ll also have to climb some places. It’s not so bad, but it’s good to know. For those who like small challenges, this is a beautiful mountain to have fun with several points of view.
I wouldn’t advise you to go there in a daytime running shoe. There are some steep places and it’s easy to slip into them. I didn’t even get to the top completely, I thought it was too steep. Yes, I’m a little soft! I didn’t feel comfortable and we had already seen some beautiful views.
Start the trail clockwise. The last part of the trail is just incredible. You’ll be in the jungle! I felt like I was in Costa Rica!
After this challenge, back to the secret spot with a pizza and local beer bought at Backcountry Brewing! Seriously, their sour beers are just amazing. Lime, mango and orange pie flavours. I never thought I’d like this kind of beer! They often have new flavors.
If you want to eat there, book in advance, it’s very popular.
I’ve found a little gem from Airbnb to end our journey!
Located in a luxurious neighbourhood in North Vancouver, our incredibly kind host welcomed us to his dream property. Country style house with a flower garden. It feels like a sanctuary to rest! The occupied unit is adjacent to the house, a kind of midday loft house with two floors, where everything was thought of during its construction.
This area is located right next to a large forest for mountain biking and running among other activities. You can even walk to the start of the trail to the Mont Fromme with an altitude of 1185 meters. Only 15 minutes from Grouse mountain. My partner being a little tired from the hikes of the last few days, we took this plus relax at the end of the trip.
When we passed in July, we were at that time, the last travellers for a while. The owner was reluctant to receive travellers who did not comply with health rules in this time of pandemic. She’ll probably be back in service eventually! So if you’re looking for availability, that’s why there’s no availability date on the calendar.
Back home and this is where I made my worst travel mistake. You know it’s always important to check whether our flight is on time or will be delayed. Well, I didn’t do that. I also didn’t think about doing my 24-hour check-in at all. However, my flight was definitely on time. That’s the worst in history!
Air Canada had cancelled my return flight in June. The departure time for this flight was 5:00 p.m. I called Aeroplan to book a new flight and they put me on the 2pm flight. I was left with the time of the cancelled flight in my head. It was on my way to the airport at 2:30 p.m. that I noticed the mistake. I’m looking at the flight status and it’s well and truly gone!
Panic, because I work the next afternoon and I tell myself that this error still generates additional costs!
I’m looking at the upcoming flights on Air Canada and there’s a direct flight at 11:00 p.m. for $550 per person! I then look on Aeroplan to see if there is availability for 12,500 points + $72 per person!
Am I happy that you started accumulating points 3 years ago and have enough points to come back without breaking my wallet?
We then spend the rest of the day at the airport because we had to return the car by 3:00 pm. Unfortunately, the only small lounge that was open closed at 3:30 pm.
We had a good last supper and laughed about the situation despite all the mistakes I made on this trip. I didn’t miss work in the afternoon, but I was still tired from spending a short night on an economy class plane…!
This trip was made possible thanks to my accumulation of points over the last 2 years.
Here are the cards I used for my strategy (my boyfriend and I each have our own American Express CobaltTM Card):
And here’s an idea of what it cost me once the points were used (and the value without the points):
I made a few mistakes (insurance, hotel booked for the day before, return flight ticket to be added). Which added up to the total. If I take into account the different annual fees of the card s, this trip cost $2,814. So we’ve saved almost $3,400.
Thanks to the credit card points, we were able to pay one-third of what this trip was worth! Here are the current offers for the credit cards used:
Savings are here:
