Travel the Coquihalla for FREE! (Pics and directions)

[The Pinkfingers]

Our Delica earned her stripes (literally) this past week on our trip to the BC interior. Because of it, we were able to travel the Coquihalla for free. A little bit of 4x4 (and no snow) and a little bit of extra time is all you need. Pictures below.

Heading north (Hope to Merritt):

Take exit 221 (Falls Lake Road) and go back under the hwy. Follow the road to the parking lot and keep driving straight through onto the dirt "road". The highway exit is at N 49° 36.811' W 121° 02.938'

Keep driving...

You will eventually end up at exit 228 (Coquihalla Lakes Road), on the other side of the toll booth. N 49° 39.597' W 121° 00.650'

You will drive a fairly off-road route (at times). There is a "road" to follow that near the end joins a good gravel road. But it's bumpy! We came shortly after some rains, so lots of big ruts and wash outs. My five year old kept asking, "Are we going to fall off the cliff?" But it's quite safe, if you are a safe driver. The Jammy Dodger did excellent. Took us about 30 minutes to traverse the route.

WARNING - close tree branches adorn parts of the route, and the Jammy Dodger got her stripes - lots of them nose to tail - that will have to be buffed out. I'll be a little more careful next time.

You will pass near these waypoints:
N 49° 36.601' W 121° 03.336 (near Falls Lake Road)
N 49° 37.409' W 121° 03.388' (off road)
N 49° 39.236' W 121° 01.154' (near Coquihalla Lakes Road)

Heading south, obviously reverse the directions.

Some pictures of the nicer parts of our short adventure:

Hmm, I wonder what will happen of we drive down this road?

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And the road goes ever on... (any Tolkien fans?)

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A glimpse of where we've gone. That's the road waaaay back there.

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Hello!

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Some wild flowers that line parts of the route

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More wild flowers

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A view over the valley from our window (dumb camera focused on the wrong object)

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I can only add seven pics per post, so next post will have the rest.

[The Pinkfingers]

OK - last part of the journey:

Road getting rocky, tree starting to close in. Hmmm, do I choose ruts or trees.

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Someone decided to "plant" this in the middle of the road.

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Ouch. Anyone have some car wax?

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30 minutes ago this was spotless.

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[mriguy]

excellent! no more toll!--heading north anyways, right? this is the way to avoid the toll booth heading north, is there a work-around heading south???

[The Pinkfingers]

excellent! no more toll!--heading north anyways, right? this is the way to avoid the toll booth heading north, is there a work-around heading south???

Yep. Heading north goes exit 221 to 228. Heading south go exit 228 to 221. Just follow the GPS to the midway point, because you'll have to turn off the nice gravel road onto the less traveled path.

I recommend going north for the first time - less likely to make a wrong turn and you'll see exactly where you need to go.

FYI - even though you save $10 in tolls, you'll spend it on car wax!

[Green1]

I have noticed that there seems to be a general secrecy to the route, it is mentioned many times in 4x4 circles, but people are quite hesitant to post the actual location/directions... (I spent quite a while searching the web to find it my first time!)

The route is easiest to follow northbound, but isn't that hard southbound either. (it's just one turn you have to find)
The route takes about 30 minutes or so to drive, and saves maybe 10 minutes of highway.

I tell ya though, they put the toll on the wrong road, the bypass is much more fun!

[marsgal42]

If you look in your handy dandy BC Back Road Map Book you will see that the bypass route is perfectly clear on Chart 16 in the Vancouver, Coast & Mountains book. The Thompson Okanagan book (chart 6) does not show any roads at all at exit 221. Curious.

You can also follow the route in Google Earth. I can see how it would be a lot easier to find your way northbound.

While you don't need a 4x4 to get there, the Coquihalla Lakes Lodge is a nice place. I've stayed there.

...laura

[The Pinkfingers]

You can also follow the route in Google Earth.

...laura

Right on. We actually checked it out on Google Maps. Use the satellite tab and the road is quite visible.

[konadog]

Looks like a great run. The stripes are awesome - a sign Jammy Dodger is getting out on the kind of adventuresome trips it was made for! Good stuff.

[FalcoColumbarius]

Cool post Pink,

Call me if you want wax advice for your paint job.

Falco.

[tomanique]

Now that our rum-loving premier has scrapped the tolls on the Coquihalla this thread may no longer hold it's value. Maybe we could redirect the topic on ways to bypass the upcoming tolls on the Port Mann. Snorkels anyone?

Cheers
Tom

[Green1]

Now that our rum-loving premier has scrapped the tolls on the Coquihalla this thread may no longer hold it's value

This is the first I've heard of this... though it is good news if true!

however as for the value... it is still an interesting route, and there are lots of great spots to camp along it, plus, I always said they put the toll on the wrong road, the bypass is far more fun!

[rdub]

scratches are good.