Motorcycle Mojo – September 2019

48 MOTORCYCLE MOJO SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

Lose the Traffic

As you pass the Cottonwood Recreation

Site, you’re getting close to Joffre Lakes

Provincial Park, which is coming up on

the right. There are three lakes and a

glacier in this park. It’s a very popular

spot, so if you’re behind some cars at

this point, it’s a safe bet a few will turn

off here.

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your left is Duffey Lake. From here,

the road is very winding with lots of

switchbacks. Watch for gravel in the

corners from people pulling trailers

who don’t watch their off-track, so their

trailer wheels hit the shoulders and

drag gravel onto the road. Many good

riders have gone down on this stretch of

road due to gravel.

You’ll notice that there are as many

crossings of Cayoosh Creek as there are

switchbacks on your way up toward

Cayoosh Summit, where the mountain

views continue.

Coming into Lillooet is a winding

and narrow road along the side of the

mountain with steep drop-offs and very

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in Pemberton because getting stuck out

here is not something you want to do.

Lillooet is a must stop for fuel, with

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another Chevron that offers 94 octane

gas. Coming into Lillooet, you’ll notice

that the temps rise and the landscape

becomes very arid – almost desertlike

in places – compared with what you’ve

been riding through to this point.

A Change of Route?

Here you have a choice to make:

you can do the original Duffey Loop

by continuing on through Fountain

Valley, Marble Canyon and on toward

Cache Creek or you can turn south on

Hwy. 12 and do the shorter version

of the loop to Lytton. The difference

is 581 km, as the full Duffey Loop is a

691-km ride.

For the sake of our ride, we’ll stick

to the original loop and continue on to

Fountain Valley, a small First Nations

community that straddles a short bit of

road through the Fountain Slide, a hill

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side that never stops moving. The road

is a short dirt section that always has a

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construction. After that stretch, you’re

back on pavement heading toward

Pavilion, Marble Canyon and the

historic Hat Creek Ranch, where

Hwy. 99 ends and meets Hwy. 97. A

right turn takes you onto the Cariboo

Highway and into Cache Creek.

Cache Creek is another gas stop,

with a Chevron offering 94 octane.

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yourself back on the Hwy. 1 and

heading toward the Fraser Canyon,

which takes you all the way back to

Hope. You’ll ride across Spences Bridge,

which spans theThompson River, and

follow along the side of the canyon all

the way into Lytton. Remember Lytton?

This is where the riders who took the

shorter loop return to Hwy. 1.

Lytton is also where the Thompson

River meets the Fraser River. If you

stop at the bridge in Lytton, you can see

where the clear waters of the Thompson

run into the very muddy Fraser River –

an interesting sight, for sure.

Travelling south in the canyon,

you pass by Kanaka Bar, North Bend,

Boston Bar, the climb over Jackass

Mountain to Hell’s Gate, cross over the

Fraser River and toward Alexandra

Provincial Park. You will pass through

a number of tunnels that take you

through to Spuzzum, Saddle Rock, Yale

and Hope, the last of which is a must

stop for gas with two Chevron gas

stations to choose from.

Wrapping up the Ride

Two good places to eat in Hope are

Home Restaurant or Rolly’s Restaurant.

Rolly’s is right behind the Chevron

on Water Avenue, which is the road

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is about a three-minute ride on Old

Hope Princeton Way on the road out of

town heading east. Both restaurants are

equally good and can be busy, but the

wait is worth it and you can chat with

other riders that are sure to be there

about the awesome bit of road you’ve

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From Hope back to Vancouver, you

have two options: Hwy. 1 (a.k.a. the

“slab”) or take the scenic Hwy. 7

through Agassiz, Harrison Mills, Lake

Errock and Deroche (where you can

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through Dewdney, Hatzic and into

Mission. This stretch of road is a nice

two-lane ride through farmland and

mountain views.

At Mission, you have the option of

taking Hwy. 11 down to Abbotsford

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pick your way through Maple Ridge, as

many riders do.

No matter how you ride the Duffey

Loop, it will leave a lasting impression

on you. Without a doubt, the loop is one

of B.C.’s great rides.

For additional photos of

The Duffey Loop, B.C. visit:

motorcyclemojo.com

TRAVEL THE DUFFEY LOOP, B.C.

The Sea to Sky Highway just south

of Porteau Cove Provincial Park.