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British Columbia

Revision as of 18:47, 14 August 2010 by 83.4.200.102 (talk)

Earth > Americas > North America > Canada > British Columbia

British Columbia is the Westernmost province of Canada, the home of the Rocky Mountains and the window on the Pacific Ocean.

The capital city is Victoria situated on the Vancouver Island, Vancouver is the largest city and the third metropole of Canada.

Be advised, hitchhiking is prohibited by law in BC in accordance with section 182 of the British Columbia Motor Vehicle Act. That being said, hitchhiking is not uncommon in BC and you are unlikely to be bothered by the police.

Contents

Cities

Vancouver

Most populated cities it may be harder to find rides, especially around the Greater Vancouver Area & inward toward the westcoast. In order to hitchhike out of Vancouver first take Skytrain to Gateway Station in Surrey. From a bus stop across the street, a bus will take you fairly close to a certain highway onramp on the Trans Canada. Bus drivers will be able to give more specific information.

Towns

Golden

From Lake Louise continuing on Highway 1 eastbound

The streets split after Lake Louise - see that on google map. That will be a bit tricky. Highway 1 continues strait if you continue eastbound.

There is no town until GOLDEN. Field is only a hotel and a roadhouse - as far as I remember. A little town on the left side, away from the Highway. Gas station Golden right at the highway, its quite big, you should get all your supplies you need there. Hitchhiking from there is ok too.

Revelstoke

Highly recommendable, small and beautiful mountain town, beautiful river and small lake to swim in with the locals on hot summers day. Hiking in the national park of Revelstoke is recommendable, too. There are easy and difficult trails. Take the car up there (many curves).

Hope

May take about 15 minutes if you are heading out of Hope going eastbound.

Hitchhiking from Revelstoke eastbound

That one is tricky, cause the gas station is kind of out of the way from the highway. Better asking people at the gas station if they are going south. Try to hitch from the side of the town, before the bridge. Maybe there is a better spot before the gas station, but that needs to be explored by foot.


The Okanagan Valley

Easy to get rides throughout, especially north/south along the 97, and easy to get temporary work anytime from June through October. The Okanagan is home to a large fruit and wine industry, often allowing for day-to-day temporary jobs that pay daily, with many orchard owners allowing you to camp in their orchard or providing basic picker's shacks.

Border Crossing to the United States

Crossing to Montana

Crossing to Idaho

Crossing to Washington

Vancouver Island

General Information

The size of the island is underestimated. It's like a country itself, and it is covered with rainforest, thick rainforest and as the name suggests, it rains a lot! However Vancouver Island is filled with liberal and environmentally friendly people, hippy-like if you will, therefore hitching here is very common. Some parts of the island are quite rural and it can be easy to get stuck after dark in the soaking wet, so make sure to try to get where you're going early on in the day while there's still light.

Nanaimo

Nanaimo can be difficult to hitch out of. If you're heading north, consider taking the bus from Nanaimo to Parkesville and hitching from there. After that, it can be easier to hitch on the old Island Hwy (19A), which also weaves it's way up the coast and is much more scenic. The traffic goes slower and there are no "Illegal Hitchhiking Pickup" signs like on the main highway.


External links