October 27, 2012 | Tips from Travellers >
Prince Rupert, Car / Truck / Motorcycle
In July 2012, we went camping in North Carolina and South Carolina. It was one of the hottest vacations we'd ever done. If you are familiar with tent camping, you know that tents don't breathe, and although we did camp on the coast, the breezes never made it as far as our campgrounds. The ocean temperatures must have been in the high 30s (C).
Our habit is to discuss/plan/decide on the next year's summer vacation on our way home from the current one. We've planned our vacations to the Grand Canyon, Gaspe, Alaska, Newfoundland, the coast or Washington/Oregon, North Dakota etc this way. We have many trips on our bucket list.
We thought of a cruise up the inside passage, and decided it was time to see some of BC. While looking for an inexpensive trip on a cruiseline, I "tripped" across the offer from BC Ferries. For a reasonable price, we could start in Vancouver, travel the inside passage and drive back down from Prince Rupert. Being true campers/drivers of long distances to get where we want to be and see, this appealed to us.
I contacted BC Ferries, but found out I can't book a 2013 trip until January - when the new rates are published. So, I've left my name/email etc. with their promise to contact me as soon as I can book the trip.
Since then, I've sent for and received the BC Trip Planner package and I've purchased a current Frommer's Guide on BC, I've got my hiliters out, pinned up my map and planned our route. Because it doesn't cost a dime to reserve a rental car, I've booked the car. This past week, I've booked our flights on West Jet (I don't figure the price will go down between now and Aug 2, but it's a gamble, for sure). I'm paying for the flight with my TD Visa points, so again, I'm not yet out of any cash.
August 10, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Prince Rupert, Car / Truck / Motorcycle
View a larger image on flickr.com
I recently found myself with 2 days off of work and no plans, so I decided to take a trip to Prince Rupert. This is only a 4 hour drive from my home in Smithers, and it's one of my favourite highways in the province to travel.
With a cold drink in my cupholder and good tunes in the cd player, I began my trip west on Highway 16. There is rarely a stretch of road that doesn't give you spectacular mountain views, but my favourite spot in particular is the small pullout shortly after the turnoff to Hwy 37 where you can get a great view of the peaks of the Seven Sisters (see photo). Between Terrace and Prince Rupert, the scenery only gets better. The road is squeezed between the Skeena River and towering mountains, so you're never without beautiful scenery - it's so pretty it's almost distracting! The fishing in the Skeena must be great right now because the road was lined the whole way with parked vehicles and whenever you got a clear view of the river you could see fishermen lined up along the banks.
I arrived in Prince Rupert and headed directly down Bill Murray Ave passed Pillsbury House to the nice waterfront access park. I found myself a comfy spot among the big rocks at the water's edge and watched the fishing boats pass by. During a previous visit, I saw an otter come up on shore here but sadly he didn't come see me this time. It was then time to check in to my room at the Crest Hotel and get cleaned up for dinner. I met a friend at the Crest's restaurant and we had dinner on the patio with an awesome view over the water - can't beat great food with a great view! We then decided to head over to Moresby Park, a really nice creekside trail through a cool mossy forest that's right on Moresby Ave in town.
After a comfy night at the Crest Hotel, I woke up early the next morning and had breakfast at Cowpuccino's, a coffee shop in Cow Bay (mmmm apple carrot raisin muffin and caramel latte!). There were a few really cool little shops in Cow Bay to check out as well. After resisting the urge to spend toooo much money, I met again with my friend to hike the Butze Rapids trail. The trail was 5.4 km long with a few short steep hills, but was overall moderately easy and took about 1.5 hours. The trail leads you right to a lookout over the rapids (caused by uneven water levels during tide changes in this narrow area), and we were also able to walk right to the water over a rocky beach from a couple of points along the trail.
The hike had really worked up our appetites, so we had lunch at Breaker's Pub with another great waterfront view before I had to head for home.
There are tons of other fun things to do and see in Prince Rupert - the Northern BC Museum, tours to Pike Island, the Cannery, and lots more - so I've still got lots to do the next time I visit!
August 14, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Prince Rupert, Car / Truck / Motorcycle
View a larger image on flickr.com
I just returned from Prince Rupert, and had a great time! I went on a tour of Pike Island, which has petroglyphs and a longhouse, with Seashore Charters. We ate (and drank!) at Rain Dining Lounge, which was super funky AND had amazing food! I also stayed in a brand new suite at The Crest Hotel, and it was awesome - kitchen with granite countertops, entertainment area, flatscreen, fireplace, king size bed... I didn't want to leave it.