FRASER
VALLEY TOUR
2 to 3 days
Depart
from Vancouver,
BC on Highway 7 east (follow Broadway, which becomes
Lougheed Highway near Burnaby).
You will be on the north side of the Fraser River.
Pitt Meadows (31 km/20 miles) is known for its many
berry fields and excellent golf courses.
In
Maple
Ridge (42km/26 miles from Vancouver),
pay a visit to the restored Haney House and Maple
Ridge Museum. The Kanaka Creek Fish Hatchery (256th
St. and Dewdney Trunk Road) provides an informative
look at one of BC's most cherished natural resources.
Golden
Ears Provincial Park has camping facilities.
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Mission
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Mission
(approximately 29km/18 km further east), is home to
the Hatzic Rock archaeological site, marking a Sto:lo
aboriginal settlement and spiritual gathering site.
Interpretive tours are available to visitors. Mission's
Westminster Abbey is home to a working order of Benedictine
monks and possesses a stunning vista of the Fraser
River Valley below.
East
of Mission, on the south side of Harrison River is
the Kilby General Store Museum, a historic 1920's
heritage site that provides a glance at what rural
life was like at the turn of the century.
At
Agassiz (47km/30 miles from Mission) head north on
Hwy 9 to Harrison
Hot Springs, known for its championship
sand sculpture competition in September and soothing
mineral springs. There are several excellent hotels
and restaurants at Harrison, or you can enjoy camping
at any one of 14 BC Forest sites (pick up a Chilliwack
BC Forest map for a list of the sites that have road
access for RVs). Sasquatch
Provincial Park also offers 177 campsites
and attractions ranging from mountain
biking to kayaking
and fishing.
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Hope
Area
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Hope
(approximately 44 km/28 miles from Harrison) at the
mouth of the Fraser Canyon has an impressive collection
of chainsaw sculptures. Take the short walk through
the spectacular Othello-Quintette Tunnels that were
carved out of the solid granite mountainside to complete
a new railway during the First World War.
Heading
west on Highway 1 you will come to Minter Gardens
(approximately 36 km/23 miles). Enjoy a tour through
this 27 acre theme garden at the base of 7,000 foot
Mount Cheam. Stop at the spectacular cascading Bridal
Falls, which offers wheelchair access to its facilities
and scenic picnic grounds.
Following
Highway 1, you will come to Chilliwack
(14 km/9 miles from Bridal Falls), the "City
of Festivals" that is known for its Chilliwack
Dixieland Jazz Festival held every May.
Abbotsford
(22km/14 miles from Chilliwack),
is renown for its international airshow, held annually
in August. Tulip fields decorate the landscape in
springtime and become the focus of the Bradner Flower
Show.
Continue
west on Highway 1 towards Vancouver, stopping at the
Greater
Vancouver Zoological Centre in Aldergrove
(approximately 20 km/13 miles) from Abbotsford, with
its 126 species of exotic and domestic animals and
miniature railway. Just beyond Aldergrove off Highway
1 is Fort Langley, an original Hudson Bay trading
post. The Fraser Valley's only estate winery can be
found in neighbouring Langley.
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Rose
Garden in New Westminster.
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Follow
Highway 1 towards Vancouver and the riverside community
of New
Westminster, home of the Westminster
Quay Public Market. Boat tours of the Fraser River
leave from the Quay every day, and escort visitors
down the river to the historic fishing village of
Steveston.
From
New Westminster, follow Highway 1 back to Vancouver
(25 km/16 miles). Take the First Street exit to head
downtown.
Be
sure to browse the Points of Interest:
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a Travelog:
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