I am considering driving in August up I-5 through Williams Lake
I-16 through Prince George then up I-37 to Dease Lake.

I was wondering what the road conditions are like and diesel fuel availability along the route.

Thanks.

I live up off of Hwy 16.

I-5 becomes Hwy 97 when you enter BC on the highway signs. It is paved all the way.

At Prince George you turn west onto Highway 16. It is paved all the way as well.

You turn north onto Hwy 37, called the Stewart-Cassiar Highway at Kitwanga Junction. It is paved or hard surface (seal coat) all the way to Dease Lake. There may be the odd patch of gravel here or there due to issues with the road that have been worked on, but they will be short.

Also, you will undoubtedly be delays along the route for paving or road improvements....after all up here we have winter and then construction season.

Lots of service stations along the whole route and most all of them will have diesel. Service stations on Hwy 37 however are a lot further apart, so it pays to keep your tank full when opportunity presents itself.

If you have the time, a nice circle route to take is to follow 37 all the way north until you just cross into the Yukon. It will intersect with the Alaska Highway and you can turn east and then follow the Alaska Highway all the way back down through northeastern BC until you hit Dawson Creek. The Alaska Highway is also paved or hard surface the whole way, except for a few spots or short sections where it is gravel from road washouts or trouble spots. Here again, fuel up when you can....highway signs usually tell you how far it is to the next service station if you are about to hit a long stretch with no service.

At Dawson Creek (Mile Zero of the Alaska Highway) you can once again get onto Hwy 97 and follow it back SW to Prince George and then head back south again to the US.

I would suggest using the DriveBC website or app for most up to date info, that may affect your travel time or route choice

Once you get on # 37 ( and if you take the circle route north as suggested) cell service is spotty or non existent. An alternate means of communication( satellite messenger or phone) would be a good idea.

Also if you are on Facebook the user group

Driving the Alcan


Is very helpful with up to date information including non-Alcan areas.

quote:

Originally posted by wsquared:
I would suggest using the DriveBC website or app for most up to date info, that may affect your travel time or route choice

Once you get on # 37 ( and if you take the circle route north as suggested) cell service is spotty or non existent. An alternate means of communication( satellite messenger or phone) would be a good idea.

Good point on the cell service. It is not part of my day to day life as where I live there is no cell service and my cell phone is usually dead in a drawer....so I generally forget to mention how crappy the cell coverage is in BC and the north.

Thanks for the helpful info!

This is probably old and outdated info but there use to be a Milepost guide that told of anything interesting at that milepost. I would have missed seeing a large herd of dall sheep had I not had it. (Is a bunch of sheep a herd??)

Sometime there are road closures for fires, floods and landslides.

I agree with Skyline. Do the circle route. Beautiful scenery and lots of wildlife to see.

I googled what is a bunch of sheep called? All kinds of answers--drove,flock,trip,fold,band,mob and herd.

quote:

Originally posted by carpetman1:
This is probably old and outdated info but there use to be a Milepost guide that told of anything interesting at that milepost. I would have missed seeing a large herd of dall sheep had I not had it. (Is a bunch of sheep a herd??)

Milestone is still being published I believe. Neighbors gave me a copy for my 2019 trip, covers about all you need to know and well worth the money. Bunch of sheep works.

Grizz

Here in Nevada we refer to a group of Desert Bighorns as a herd.

The "circle route", so called is simply stunning and well worth the costs and time. I spent a full season alone on Bell L/O, above the 1st. Bell River crossing, 1972, and it remains as among my finest "bush" experiences of my 70+ years of bush experiences.

The "Stewart-Cassiar Highway"was under construction then and is still a wonderful area to traverse.

Enjoy, tg
here is so little left of our BC wilderness......