Canada · Coastal · Mountain · Scenic
Sea to Sky Highway & Duffey Lake Road
BC Highway 99 · Vancouver to Lillooet
- Length
- 250 km155 miles
- High point
- 1,275 m4,183 ft
- Driving time
- 4 hours
- Season
- May to October (winter tyres required October to March)
- Toll
- Free
- Country
- Canada
Highway 99 leaves Vancouver along the fjord of Howe Sound, passes Squamish and Whistler, and then, where most traffic turns around, becomes the Duffey Lake Road: a narrow, empty mountain road over Cayoosh Pass to Lillooet.
The drive
The Sea to Sky section to Whistler was rebuilt for the 2010 Winter Olympics and is wide, fast and scenic, with heavy traffic and heavy enforcement. Treat it as the approach.
North of Pemberton the road climbs a steep set of switchbacks, runs along Duffey Lake and descends through a dry canyon to Lillooet, with single-lane bridges and big drops. It is about 100 km with almost no services, and it is the best driving road within a day of Vancouver.
In your Lotus
The Duffey is rough in places, with frost heaves and patches, so a compliant road set-up works better than track geometry. Fill up in Pemberton. British Columbia's excessive speeding law allows police to impound a car on the spot at 40 km/h over the limit.
Watch out for
- Immediate vehicle impoundment for excessive speed in BC.
- Logging trucks, wildlife and gravel on the Duffey.
- No fuel or phone signal between Pemberton and Lillooet.
