British Columbia & The Canadian Rockies
Our cruise having come to an end, we were ready to begin the last leg of our adventure — Canada and three of its national parks. Canada will always hold a special place in my heart, as we visited Quebec on our very first road trip and so I was excited to have an opportunity to return, only this time it would be Western Canada—British Columbia and Alberta. First stop, Vancouver, British Columbia, an urban oasis with dramatic vistas, walkable neighborhoods, and numerous cultural and outdoor activities, including museums, a variety of beaches and amazing parks. Unfortunately, our time in Vancouver was short, but we certainly made the most of it! Here are a few quick highlights.
VANCOUVER
Stanley Park
Stanley Park is a green oasis situated on a peninsula almost completely surrounded by water. At 1,000 acres it’s slightly bigger than New York’s Central Park, making it the largest urban park in North America. One of its best features is that it is wrapped with a seawall that offers 5.5 miles of spectacular waterfront views. Other impressive features include almost 17 miles of forest trails, two freshwater lakes, a community pool, and Canada’s largest aquarium.
Given the vastness of Stanley Park, we weren't quite sure where to begin our exploration but, thankfully, a little research revealed that the Vancouver Trolley Company offers a daily 45-minute narrated hop-on, hop-off tour. The old-fashioned San Francisco-style trolley stops at 15 of the park’s most popular spots and so it was a great way for us to explore the park, stopping along the way for photos, short hikes, a little tree climbing and other adventures. One of the highlights was a visit to the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, which is home to more than 70,000 creatures such as dolphins, sea otters, anacondas, three-toed sloths and the popular beluga whales. The beluga whales are a real draw and certainly were a treat for us.
Granville Island
In the early 1900’s, Granville Island was home to ironworks, slaughterhouses and sawmills, but today it has been redeveloped and transformed into both a locals’ favorite and popular tourist attraction, receiving more than 10 million visitors a year. It is an important cultural district with a performing arts venue, craft studios and artisan workshops, as well as upscale restaurants, trendy boutiques and one of the highlights, a covered Public Market. The Public Market is a hub of activity with an eclectic mix of of the freshest eats and treats, such as rows of fresh fruit, gourmet cheese, fresh pasta and seafood, handmade soaps and bath products, food-court vendors, florists, loose tea experts, deli items, and bakery goods. In short, it is a food lover’s paradise and you cannot help but be drawn by all the activity and wonderful aromas. We loved discovering the abundance of products on offer, sampling the goods and exploring the island. Of course, we worked up an appetite and decided to give The Sandbar Seafood Restaurant a try. Perched over the waterfront with great views, the Sandbar serves seafood, sushi, and other classic fare. We had a great dining experience and learned an interesting fact about hamburgers — Canadian regulations require all restaurant hamburgers to be cooked medium well or more due to concerns surrounding foodborne illness. Who knew?!
Our time in Vancouver was short, but we were able to take in a few of the key sights and get a feel for the city. I look forward to returning one day soon. In the meantime, our Canadian adventures continued with a short flight to Tofino. Well, it wasn’t exactly short as, due to bad weather, we had to land at Qualicom Beach Airport and travel the remaining distance by shuttle van. So, a 1 hour flight turned into a close to 4 hour trip, but I won’t complain as we arrived safely into Tofino. Continue reading for a description of our time in this amazing coastal village.
TOFINO
Lovingly called the "Tree Loving Capital of the World", the village of Tofino sits on the remote west coast of Vancouver Island. Originally a fishing village, Tofino is now home to many funky shops, art galleries, and unique restaurants. It is also the setting of an array of outdoor activities from hiking, fishing and surfing to whale and bear watching, and from November through February, storm watching. The downtown area is small, but lively, with a number of restaurants, including our favorite, Wolf in the Fog, featuring a locally sourced and ingredient-driven menu served in a great atmosphere.
The Wickaninnish Inn
One of the highlights for us was our stay at the Wickaninnish Inn, also known as the "Wick". Set on a remote, pine forest-ringed promontory surrounded by ocean on three sides, and old growth forest as its spectacular backdrop, the Wick brings together the best of land and sea. Each room offers views of the forest and ocean or beach through floor-to-ceiling windows, individual balconies, gas-burning fireplaces, and binoculars for wildlife viewing. The hotel is also home to The Pointe Restaurant, boasting 240-degree Pacific Ocean views and a superb, locally-sourced menu. It was the most expensive meal we ate during our three-plus week trip but, hey, you have to have a little fun, right?!
Another highlight of our stay at the Wick was the West Coast crab cookout on Chesterman Beach. We sat at rustic driftwood tables and enjoyed fresh, local Dungeness crab along with salads, breads, and desserts, followed by sweet, smoky s’mores around a campfire. It was a great way to end a long day of sightseeing — delicious food in a fabulous setting.
I don’t typically spend so much time describing a hotel but, trust me, if your’e ever in the area, the Wick is a real treat — I highly recommend it!
Pacific Rim National Park
Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is a unique park comprised of three separate units — Long Beach, the Broken Group islands, and the West Coast Trail — that feature sandy beaches, temperate rain-forests, abundant wildlife and archaeological sites stretching 81 miles along Vancouver Island’s West Coast. The most popular part of the park and the only section that can be reached by car is the Long Beach unit, offering many hiking trails through rainforests and beaches.
We began our exploration of the Long Beach unit by hiking the scenic Rainforest Trail. The trail has two routes, one on each side of the highway, listed as Route A and Route B, both of which take you to the heart of an ancient rainforest full of gigantic western red cedars and western hemlocks. We chose Route A, a 2-kilometer looped trail that takes you by salmon spawning streams, giant cedars, nurse logs, soft hanging moss and other forest plants as you stroll the boardwalk and learn about their home. Walking through the rainforest, so quiet and peaceful, was an otherworldly experience. My first thought was that we were so incredibly lucky to see and experience the world this way. My second thought (forgive me, as I am still a mother) was that we were incredibly vulnerable. Of course, we didn’t have any issues and we all loved the hike!
Our next stop was the Kwisitis Visitor Center, perched on the shore of the Pacific Ocean and focusing primarily on the First Nations culture of the area. In the Nuu-chah-nulth language, kwisitis means "the other end of the beach", which is fitting as the visitor center is set in the middle of miles and miles of beaches. Inside the center, we learned about the region’s rugged topography and vibrant wildlife, as well as the rich heritage of the First Nations people who have called the region home for centuries, while outside we enjoyed walking along the beach and various outcroppings.
Bear Watching
Bear watching tours are popular in Tofino, as black bears are abundant in Clayoquot Sound. After a little research, we booked a tour, donned coverall flotation suits, boarded a zodiac inflatable and set off on our adventure. We traveled through the calm, protected inlet waters of Clayoquot Sound in search of black bears as they roam out of the rainforest and onto the shores to forage for food, turning massive rocks in search of rock crabs. The tour did not disappoint, as we spotted a number of black bears, including a cub, as well as other wildlife like herons and harbor seals in their natural habitat! The girls had a great time, as this is only the second time we have been able to view bears at a close, but safe, distance; the first being a grizzly bear in Denali National Park.
BANFF
Our next and final destination was the Canadian Rockies and after two short flights and a 90 mile drive, we arrived in Banff. The Canadian Rockies have everything a national park loving trio could want — incredible mountain vistas, surreal alpine lakes, majestic glaciers, and miles and miles of hiking trails. The area is protected by four adjacent national parks — Banff, Jasper, Yoho and Kootenay. As much as we would have liked to visit all four national parks, I had to be realistic as we had already been on the road for 16 days, with four national parks and a cruise under our belts. So, I split the difference and went with two — Banff and Yoho, with the town of Banff as our base for exploring. Developed as a service center for Banff National Park, today it is a resort town with historic buildings, high-end boutique shops, nightclubs and fancy restaurants. The peaks of the Rockies are visible all around, with Mt. Rundle, Banff’s signature peak, towering over its main street. The setting is incredible and Banff is by far the most upscale, vibrant and beautiful town we have ever experienced when visiting a national park! With this beauty comes the tourists — over 4 million visitors a year to Banff National Park — but we never felt overwhelmed, even at the famous Lake Louise. Here are a few of the highlights.
Fairmont Banff Springs & Tunnel Mountain Drive
I have always been a fan of Fairmont hotel properties and the Banff Fairmont Springs was no exception. Known as "The Castle in the Rockies", the massive hotel (there are 764 guest rooms) was originally built by the Canadian Pacific Railway company in 1888 to draw tourists to the rugged beauty of the Rockies. It was remodeled in 1928 to resemble a cross between a Scottish castle and a European chateau with extravagant ballrooms, lounges, dining rooms, a hot-springs spa, riding stables and a championship golf course. With so many guest rooms, it’s a lively, but manageable, hotel, although I will admit that we were not fans of the food. Perhaps we were spoiled by the culinary treats in Tofino or perhaps it’s because it wasn’t that good?!
That said, the hotel is also a great place from which to embark upon scenic hikes and drives. Bow Falls is one such hike. A quick walk from the Fairmont past Waldhaus, a German restaurant and pub, and onto a set of wooden stairs leads you to Bow Falls, a wide and short waterfall that is formed by the Bow River flowing over the limestone bedrock between Mount Rundle and Tunnel Mountain. Following our hike to Bow Falls, we jumped in the car to explore the famous Tunnel Mountain Drive, a short drive outside the town of Banff that winds its way through Tunnel Mountain. Along the way, we stopped at the Surprise Corner Viewpoint, offering a spectacular view of our hotel, took in a beautiful view of the town of Banff from another viewpoint, and hiked a short distance to the Hoodoos Viewpoint, a great vantage point to take in the Hoodoos, hauntingly beautiful rock formations set against the backdrop of Mount Rundle with the Bow River below.
Banff National Park
Established after railway workers stumbled onto a thermal hot spring, Banff became Canada’s first national park in 1885. The park consists of a little more than 2,500 square miles of breathtaking scenery of glaciers, forest, lakes, valleys, rivers, snowcapped mountain peaks, and the bluest lakes on the planet. In addition to the scenery described above, the highlights for us were the beautiful glacier-fed lakes.
Lake Louise
Located in the middle of the park and surrounded by snowcapped peaks, Lake Louise is famed for its turquoise lake backdropped by Mount Victoria and Mount Victoria glacier. On the day of our visit, the weather was overcast and a little rainy, but that did not stop us from taking in the beauty of the lake and surrounding areas. Simply beautiful!
Moraine Lake
Our journey continued with a twenty minute scenic drive to Moraine Lake, another brilliantly beautiful lake lined by the towering mountains known as the Valley of The Ten Peaks. Unfortunately, due to the weather, most of the mountains were hidden behind fog and so I wasn’t able to capture the iconic shot of the lake, but the setting was no less amazing and the photos no less beautiful.
Lake Minnewanka
The final glacial lake on our tour of Banff National Park was Lake Minnewanka. It was originally a series of lakes that became the largest lake within the park when the waters were raised by Hydro dams. We explored the lake on foot before taking a scenic drive along the Lake Minnewanka Loop, a picturesque route that takes you past Two Jack Lake, campsites and picnic areas before returning back to downtown Banff.
Yoho National Park
The word "Yoho" is a Cree expression of awe and wonder. After spending a day exploring this national park, I can attest that it is an apt expression. Although it’s the smallest of the four adjacent national parks, Yoho has an abundance of offerings — spectacular waterfalls, vertical rock walls, numerous peaks, glacial lakes and more than 200 miles of hiking trails.
The Spiral Tunnels
Our first stop en route to Yoho National Park was the viewpoint for the Spiral Tunnels. Built by the Canadian Pacific Railway to gain enough elevation for their trains to climb over the Continental Divide, the Spiral Tunnels make up two vast figure-eight tracks that run through the mountains. During our visit, we were able to see a train as it passed through and I must say, it is truly an engineering marvel.
Here are a few more highlights but first, do you know what the Continental Divide is? Answer, it separates all the water that runs toward the Pacific Ocean from the water that runs toward the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans and the Gulf of Mexico.
Takakkaw Falls
The next stop was Takakkaw Falls, the second highest waterfall in Canada, tumbling 830 feet in one stretch and 1,260 feet in total. Takakkaw Falls is named for another Cree word meaning "the magnificent" and the drive out to the Falls, coupled with our hike around the falls, certainly was magnificent.
Natural Bridge
Our journey continued with a drive to the Natural Bridge, a unique rock that has been carved out over time by the powerful Kicking Horse River to resemble a bridge over the rushing water. It is a testament to the forces of nature and truly a natural wonder.
Emerald Lake
Rivaling the beauty of Lake Louise, but without the crowds or the world-wide fame, Emerald Lake is the largest of the 61 lakes (yes, 61) in Yoho National Park. The lake is a beautiful green color that has to be seen to be believed. I have attempted to capture its beauty with my camera, but I am not quite sure that I was successful.
Field Township
All of our hiking and exploring made us quite hungry, so we ventured into the small town of Field (population 200) for a bite to eat. Unfortunately, the vey popular Truffle Pigs Bistro had stopped serving lunch for the day and so we made our way to The Siding Cafe, a casual eatery nestled between glorious mountains with an unbelievable view. A delicious surprise!
CLOSING THOUGHTS
While our first love is the U.S. National Park system, I encourage you to add the Canadian national parks to your list — they are truly amazing! Next year, we will return stateside to explore the national parks and monuments of South Dakota before continuing on to the South for a Civil Rights Tour. We may add another state and country to the list, but I won’t know until I begin my research. Whatever the final itinerary, I know that it will be yet another amazing adventure, as I will have two of my favorite people in the world along for the ride!
Okay, that's all for The Metz Girls Road Trip 2016! Have a happy and safe rest of summer, and hope to see you soon.