3 Day Motorcycle trip: Seattle-Whistler-Kamloops-Kelowna-Winthrop-Seattle

Total miles: 943 miles (3 days)

Day 1:
Seattle, WA - to - Lillooet, BC
300 miles

Notes:
-most state run campgrounds close the first or second week of October, so finding campgrounds during this entire trip off-season was a little hard. The best method I found was to stop and ask the locals what places were still open. The smaller local run gas stations were my best bet and where I found my campsite for the first nite.
-website for camping in BC: <http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/map.html>
-Options for camping along this route: Joffre Lakes (cold due to high elevation), Seton Lake, Lillooet (caboose or Fraser Cove), Marble Canyon
-I stayed at Fraser Cove Campground in Lillooet and would highly recommend it for off-season camping. It was on the river on the east side of Lillooet, almost directly on the highway with a clearly marked sign. It had great spots for camping, it had bathrooms, and it even had free wifi. It was the perfect spot right off the highway and had an amazing view to wake up to. Best campsite I saw (based on view and closeness to the highway) during the entire trip. And the bonus, it’s only a several minute ride to the small town of Lillooet if you want to go somewhere for a nice breakfast and coffee instead of eating camp food. Very impressive little town.
-The Sea-to-Sky section was awesome as well as the section just pass Joffre Lakes Park as you go thru the mountain pass. Great twisty sections, but you’ve gotta be careful for loose rocks and gravel on the highway.
-In season, I would recommend going over the pass at a minimum and staying at Marble Canyon. This campground is on a lake and looked pretty nice, but farther away from anything.


Day 2:
Lillooet, BC - to - Vernon,BC
180 miles

Notes:
-This section was simply amazing. The road heading east from Marble Canyon Park has some great long turns in addition to minimal traffic. The Kamloops section was the only boring part of the day, but it goes by pretty quick. Then I took 97East towards Vernon and this was another great road with some big sweeping turns that made for another epic day. As I was unsure where to stay this day I stopped at a gas station in Vernon to ask some questions and heard about a small campsite that was never closed nearby, so I went for it as I wanted to get some rest for the last day’s long run home.
-I ended up staying at Kin Beach on Okanagan Lake after riding around a little to check out the area. This campsite was just off the lake and beach area, but it was a little noisy as it was right off a main road/arterial of the area. There wasn’t much traffic after sunset and it made for a pretty nice site (no area for fires, but there were tables). With the state campsites mostly closed I didn’t want to risk trying to find one late at night and setting up in the dark.
-Options for camping along this route: Kekuli Bay Park, Vaseux Lake Park, and Haynes Point Park. I would recommend all of these parks for future in-season trips through the area.



Day 3
Vernon, BC - to – Seattle, WA (395 miles)

Notes:
-Since I didn’t put in that many miles on Day 2 (due to some off route rides I took for fun and to just look around), I had to wake up early to get through the Kelowna morning traffic before the workday started. I was underway around 5am, and by the time I hit Kelowna the traffic was already getting busy.
-There were two great sections during the last day: (1) just south of Kelowna and (2) the North Cascades Highway.
-Definitely take a break in Winthrop. Nice old town with some very nice people.
-Then it was off to the North Cascades Highway. This road is just amazing. I could have back and forth on this section a few times it was that amazing. Just watch up for wet sections on the highway. Even in the early afternoon on a dry day the road still had some wet spots where things could get squirly if you’re not paying attention.
-The dams and Diablo lake and worth stopping at and taking some short breaks.


Overall: this was a great trip that I would definitely do again. Now that I know the camping situation better I would spend a little more time planning ahead (calling sites to know what’s open and closed) so that I’m getting in the mileage in each day without worrying about where I’d be spending the night. Since this was my first ride through the area it was a little bit of a learning curve. Definitely worthwhile!