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British Columbia Trans-Canada Highway Overview

Here is the route of the Trans-Canada highway from east to west:

Leaving the Alberta border, you have a full day of driving through mountain ranges. You pass through Yoho National Park, and cross the Rogers Pass through the Selkirk and Monashee Mountains. As you descend from the Roger's Pass into the Interior of BC you arrive at Revelstoke, a city on the banks of the massive Columbia River system to Revelstoke.

The highest point on the Trans-Canada is at the Kicking Horse Pass on the border between Alberta & BC, with an elevation of 1643 metres. The Roger's Pass is 300 m lower.

From there, the highways winds westward into the pretty Shushwap Lakes region, famous for its fleet of houseboats. Turn south of Shushwap Lake at Sicamous to head to the sunny and hot Okanagan Lake region, famous for its beaches and is fruit & wine orchards.

The only major city on the Trans-Canada Highway is Kamloops, where the North Thompson River joins the South Thompson. This is also where those heading either to Edmonton or to the Yellowhead Highway to BC's Northeast Interior, head north.

The Trans-Canada route heads west along the Thompson River through a high plateau and then south through the Fraser River canyon. The Coquihalla Highway toll route, south from Kamloops, cuts time by heading diagonally southwest to the town of Hope. From Hope, you drive westwards through the lush farmlands of the Fraser River Delta and through the suburbs of Vancouver. Once you cross the Burrard Inlet, the highway climbs for magnificent views of Vancouver across the water, and ends at Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal.

From here, you can catch the ferry across the Georgia Straight to Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island. The ferry ride is typically 90 minutes, 60 on the new "fast ferries." From there it's a two-hour drive south to Victoria and "Mile 0" of the Trans-Canada Highway.

Our Pick of Useful Links:

1. Large Roadside Attractions
2. Trans-Canada Trail