Cassiar Highway Travel Guide

The 733km of the Cassiar Hwy (Hwy 37) from the Skeena Valley east of Prince Rupert to Watson Lake just inside Yukon Territory are some of the wildest and most beautiful on any British Columbian road. Though less famous than the Alaska Hwy, the road is increasingly travelled by those who want to capture some of the adventure that accompanied the wilder reaches of its better-known neighbour in the 1950s and 1960s.

Some stretches are still gravel, and the petrol and repair facilities, let alone food and lodgings, are extremely patchy: don't contemplate the journey unless your vehicle's in top condition, with two spare tyres and spare fuel containers - fill up wherever possible. The road also provides a shorter route from Prince George to the Yukon than the Alaska Hwy. British Columbia's North by Northwest Tourist Association puts out complete lists of facilities, which are vital accompaniments to any journey and are available from the infocentres in Prince Rupert and Terrace.

If you're ready to drive the distances involved, you'll also probably be prepared to explore the highway's two main side roads to Stewart and Telegraph Creek , and possibly the rough roads and trails that lead into two wilderness parks midway up the highway - the Mount Edziza Provincial Park and the Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Park . If you can't face the highway's entire length, the side-trip to Stewart offers exceptional sea and mountain scenery , as well as the chance to cross into Alaska at Hyder to indulge in its vaunted alcoholic border initiation .