Canadian Gold Rush

Welcome to Canada! On arrival, please make your way to your hotel for this night. Rest, relax and recuperate. The remainder of the day is yours to explore the highlights of this beautiful city. Tomorrow you ride!

**This tour can also start from Calgary. Just ask for Calgary prices for Harley-Davidson rentals.**

After breakfast you collect your motorcycle and you’ll be on your way. Take the ferry through the Gulf Islands to Vancouver Island, keeping your eyes peeled for the pods of Orcas that ply the waters here. You’ll have plenty of time to explore the Capital of British Columbia, Victoria’s Parliament and its historic buildings, the Royal British Columbia Museum with its superb native art, Fisgard lighthouse, or go whale and sea lion watching on the protected Pacific coastline.

Enjoy Canadian culture with the totem poles in Duncan and the murals on the buildings in Chemainus. The short ride to Parksville allows you plenty of time to explore. Take a wonderfully scenic detour along the Pacific Marine Circle Route. The route winds 74km along scenic coastline, with white sand beaches, kilometres of unspoilt coastal rainforest and the picturesque communities of Sooke, Jordan River and Port Renfrew before returning on the highway 14 loop to the Trans-Canada Highway heading north.

This morning, the Horseshoe Bay ferry takes you back across the Strait of Georgia to the mainland. Then ride the famous ‘Sea to Sky’ Highway to the alpine resort of Whistler. Check out Squamish, the town where sea meets sky. The Sea to Sky Gondola and the West Coast Railway Heritage Park are two notable attractions. For a high alpine experience take the magnificent Peak to Peak Gondola at Whistler, Enjoy this ride if you dare!

The quiet Duffey Lake Road leads across the scenic Coastal Mountains to the warm and dry high sierra. Lillooet is a small native community set on the banks of the Fraser River and is an interesting place to stop for a coffee. Head north on the Gold Rush Trail to your overnight stay at a Guest Ranch where you can choose to get closer to nature with a hike or on horseback, or you can just enjoy the spa before dinning and settling in for the night.

No need for an early start. Today, Clearwater is not too far away but there is plenty to see if you tire of ‘ranch life’. Your ride through the highlands will have you in Clearwater by lunch, with plenty of time visit Wells Gray Park and see the cascading Dawson and Helmcken Falls, which are three times higher than Niagara Falls.

The Yellowhead Highway takes you along the North Thompson River between the Columbia Mountains and the Monashees to the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, Mount Robson. The Mount Robson Provincial Park is a world heritage site and the visitor centre is well worth a visit. Then it’s over the Yellowhead Pass and into the stunning wilderness of Jasper National Park, your home for the next two nights.

A full day to explore the Rockies and Jasper. We include a 90 minute morning cruise on Maligne Lake, allowing you plenty of time take the mountain road to Mount Edith Cavell, hike the Maligne Canyon, take the Sky Tram or have lunch on top of Whistler Mountain.

Today you ride what many consider to be the world’s most scenic highway, the Icefields Parkway, flanked by snow-capped peaks, glaciers, pristine alpine rivers, lakes and forested valleys. Cross thundering rivers, the Bow and Sunwapta Passes, and stop at the Columbia Icefields Centre to take a ride or walk on a Glacier. Always keep an eye open for some of the diverse wildlife that frequently shows up on the roadside. Marvel at the unbelievably blue waters of Peyto Lake and sheer beauty of Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. Banff is a beautiful mountain setting and has plenty to tempt you so we give you three nights to relax and take in the town and National Park.

Banff offers plenty of options. You can explore Lake Minnewanka, the hoodoos and Bow Falls; take the gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain and soak in the hot springs; ride the twisty Bow Valley Parkway, walk into Johnson Canyon or paddle a canoe on Lake Louise. Or try your hand at horse riding, canoeing, hiking or mountain biking, perhaps finishing the day with a tasty western dinner at the famous Wild Bill’s. Banff has plenty of shopping and a huge selection of bars and restaurants.

This morning you head south on scenic Highways 40 and 22, with great views of the impressive Rocky Mountains all around as you travel through beautiful Kananaskis Country. Visit the Pioneer Heritage Centre in Pincher Creek and walk the restored wooden sidewalks to the buildings of the 1890s. Waterton Lakes National Park is a lovely setting for the next two nights.

Waterton Lakes National Park borders Glacier National Park in Montana USA to the south, together making up the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, the first of its kind in the world. The Park offers a blend of unusual geology, mild climate, rare wild flowers, and an abundance of wildlife. Spend time hiking or paddling, or ride the Akamina Parkway, to Cameron Lake, one of many serene sub-alpine lakes that make up the National Park. Cameron Lake is a great place to rent a canoe and watch out for Grizzly bears on the far slopes.

Follow the historic Crowsnest Pass west. Back in British Columbia, visit the mining town of Sparwood and ‘the world’s biggest truck – almost’. The Truck is a 350 tonne, 3300 horse powered monster of the mining industry and well worth a photo – if you can fit it in the frame that is. Fernie is encircled by magnificent peaks of the Rockies and has a high street dating from the early 1900s. Fort Steele is a heritage town restored to all its1890s glory with some 60 historical shops and houses while Cranbrook is home to a Railway Museum.

There’s time to take a look around Cranbrook or visit the historic heritage town of Fort Steele before riding southwest to Creston, with its great views and warm climate. Ride the 1774 metre Kootenay Pass to Salmo, a small former mining town nestled in the Selkirk Mountains from where a twisty 70km ride then takes you to the lovely lakeside town of Nelson. A longer ride with many curves to Kootenay Bay for a 45-minute free ferry ride across the Kootenay Lake will also bring you back to Nelson. Nelson is popular with artists and has a rich gold-mining and film making history. See if you can spot the town’s old fire house that featured in the Steve Martin film ‘Roxanne’.

Go west to Castlegar and the confluence of the Columbia and Kootenay rivers. Today you can visit Canada’s highest town and its warmest town in the same day. Rossland is the highest and a worthwhile stop. The Crowsnest Highway winds along Canada’s border with the USA until you descend Anarchist Mountain (no, we don’t make up these names!) to Osoyoos, the warmest town in Canada.

With its warm, dry climate you’ll find Canada’s only desert around Osoyoos. This area of the Southern Okanagan teems with rare flora and fauna alongside miles of fruit orchards and vineyards. The warm clear lakes are ideal for swimming with beaches to rest on. If gets too warm, then you can take a ride north to Penticton and Kelowna on Okanagan Lake.

Today’s ride winds along the Similkameen River and deep into the forests of the Cascade Mountains. Keremeos is a centre for horse breeding and Princeton offers a glimpse into the history of Southern BC with no less than 6 Ghost Towns in the area. Travel through the Cascade Provincial Park before visiting Hope, where Stallone’s hit First Blood was filmed. See the historic Othello Tunnels and Fort Langley National Heritage Site then ride on down the Fraser Valley to Vancouver and return your motorcycle.

Spend time sightseeing in this beautiful city. Take a city highlights tour using your Vancouver Trolley pass, visit Stanley Park, Chinatown, Granville Island, Gastown and of course famous Robson St, before returning to the airport for your flight home.