British Columbia's Sunshine Coast
- nwriversphotograph
- Aug 15
- 4 min read
From Bellingham, drive north!
Twenty-five years ago, my wife Stepanie and I were at our dining room table in Maryland, pouring over maps of the Pacific Northwest. The for-sale sign was out on the lawn, inside, boxes were packed and stacked around us, and we were salivating over all of the natural resources that would surround us once we moved west. For east-coasters it seemed a paradise. But as we stared at that map, our eyes kept wandering north… to Canada’s Super Natural British Columbia, then to the Yukon, and eventually to Alaska, the 51st state. So close!
Fast forward to early summer, as we again poured over those maps and planned a visit from an old friend from back east. Originally, we were heading to Banff, Jasper, and the Canadian Rockies, but our friend was recovering from a cold, and we decided not to risk the smoke of wildfires.
Where to go?
Alaska and the Yukon are wonderful, but quite the commitment for a road-trip and each would require more time than we had with our friend. Luckily, the options of where to find wonderful experiences in nearby British Columbia (BC) are nearly uncountable. Seeking clean air and no smog or smoke (note, had we gone to the Rockies, that week was pretty clear regarding fires) we opted to visit BC’s Sunshine Coast.
Once across the border, through Vancouver, and across the Lion’s Gate Bridge, we had nothing before us besides outstanding views of mountains, forests, wonderful seascapes, and unending wilderness. A paradise for hiking, paddling, skiing and just immersing ourselves in nature.
Since this was our friend’s first visit to BC, we started with a drive along Route 99, the Sea to Sky Highway. Seventy-five miles (120 kilometers) of viewing Howe Sound out of the driver’s side window. Cliffs and waterfalls of the Coast Mountains on your right. And wonder after wonder as we carved our way uphill and towards the mountain towns of Squamish and the touristy yet vibrant atmosphere of Whistler. Needing a bird’s-eye view, we took a gondola ride to the top of the mountain and then peak to peak from Blackcomb to Whistler. Then we chilled with drinks on the patio as we watched mountain bikers and other visitors explore the streets and shops.
The next morning, back down the Sea to Sky for our first ferry ride across Howe Sound, still with those incredible mountain peaks shadowing us off of starboard.
You can’t drive to the Sunshine Coast, which leaves arriving either by plane or boat. For us, it meant ferry rides (both ways) at Horseshoe Bay and again at Earl’s Cove. It meant time on the water! If you want to take a phenomenal trip and make it even better, take a ferry. Whales, seals, porpoise, and the ebb and flow of slowly moving water. I can still see and feel each crossing.
Located on the southern coast of BC, the Sunshine Coast extends more than one hundred miles (180 kilometers) between Howe Sound in the southeast and the entrance to Desolation Sound in the northwest. The Sunshine Coast region is home to the traditional, unceded, and ancestral territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw, shíshálh, Tla’amin, Klahoose, and Homalco Nations, each a part of the larger Coast Salish people.
Driving north along Highway 101, you pass through lush forests, along rugged coastlines and lakes, and across innumerable rivers and streams – all headed west towards Georgia Strait, part of the Salish Sea and the Inside Passage to Alaska. Sunny, high-seventies, the breeze off of the water, it was the perfect weather for someone coming from high humidity and three-digit temperatures back east. There were highlights every day we were there: sunset dinners on the deck beside Sechelt Inlet and just upstream of Skookumchuk Narrows Provincial Park; surrounded by native wolf and whale art and totem poles; the search for date squares and beaver-tails at every bakery along the coast (iconic Canadian pastries); and a sunset zodiac ride from Lund up into Desolation Sound with sea-lions, eagles, oyster catchers, and river otters keeping us company every step of the way!
We returned exhausted! Not from driving, but from the sheer beauty that we encountered each day. We were just so relaxed and lulled into a restful state. Naps happen! A perfect trip to showcase all of BC’s many wonders – and another explanation of why we live in Bellingham and why we spend so much of our time driving north.
Endnotes:
On one of our first weekends after moving to Bellingham, our friends Mike and Becky took me, Stephanie and our then eleven-year- old daughter Danna for a sunset canoe trip just south of Seattle near Gig Harbor. As the sun went down, and darkness surrounded us, magical colors and whirls exploded in the water all around us. It was like being in a starship and flying through the galaxies. Every dip of the paddle, the canoe’s bow plowing through the currents, running our hands through the water, all created this beautiful and ever-changing magical phenomenon known as bioluminescence. This magic was with us all along the Sunshine Coast as well, but on this trip, we were too sleepy to stay up late enough to see it. While the magic colored the waters into blues and greens, we were sound asleep. Just one more reason to go back! For more on bioluminescence check out the link above, and here.
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