Here are some of our favorite photos from the trip (each photo is a thumbnail linked to a higher quality picture.):
1) Kokanee Creek Provincial Park, Kootenay Lake (West Arm), Nelson, BC, September 19, 2025 - After our long days driving across Wyoming, Montana and Idaho we were happy to finally cross into Canada where we would slow our pace and start traveling rather than just clicking of miles. Our first stop was in Nelson, BC where we walked around and had lunch. Then we drove just a little ways east out of town where we set up camp in Kokanee Creek Provincial Park. Our initial impressions of the area were that it was gorgeous! Our campground was located on the west arm of Kootenay Lake and surrounded by the Selkirk Mountains. The campground had a nice sandy beach right on the lake and a network of trails hikable from our campsite.
2) Kokanee Creek Provincial Park, Kootenay Lake (West Arm), Nelson, BC, September 19, 2025 - We headed out to explore right away. Late September is the end of the salmon spawn and there was a creek and salmon ladder set up on the west side of the park with a hiking trail alongside. Most of the trail was closed due to bear activity but part of the ladder was accessible so we got to watch the exhausted and dying salmon making their final swim upstream to their spawning grounds.
3) Kokanee Creek Provincial Park, Kootenay Lake (West Arm), Nelson, BC, September 19, 2025 - The salmon ladder was just a manmade stream with manufactured falls that allowed the fish to swim upstream against the current. The actual Creek, just a few yards further to the west had culverts, falls and bridges that would have impeded the fish's ability to move upstream. We were able to hike a loop from our campsite, over to the Visitor's Center (and the fish ladder) and then into a forested area to the north before circling back to our campsite.
4) Kokanee Lake Trail, Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park, Nelson, BC, September 20, 2025 - One of our goals for this trip to Canada was to explore as much of British Columbia's incredible natural beauty as possible so for our first full day our first order of business was to get out and hike. We took our Zero electric motorcycle up a bumpy dirt road to the Gibson Lake trailhead on the edge of Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park. From there we did a beautiful back country hike into the Park to visit Kokanee Lake.
5) Nelson Farmer's Market, Nelson, BC, September 20, 2025 - With our morning hike out of the way we then returned to the camper to have lunch, recharge the Zero and rest a little. Then, in the afternoon, we took the Zero into Nelson to visit the Nelson Harvest Fest which is a special Farmer's Market in downtown Nelson. We walked the crowded rows of vendors and picked up some fresh veggies for the camper.
6) Nelson Farmer's Market, Nelson, BC, September 20, 2025 - We also found a booth selling homemade ice cream. Yum!
7) Illecillewaet Campground, Glacier National Park, Revelstoke, BC, September 21, 2025 - Happy with our first day in Canada, we next took the drive north along the Kootenay River Valley up to the northern Selkirk Mountains where we set up camp in Canada's Glacier National Park (which is about 40 miles west of where we'd turned south on our 2018 motorcycle ride across Canada). We found a perfect camping spot in the Illecillewaet Campground right on the Illecillewaet River and just a short walk away from the main trailheads in this valley..
8) Asulkan Valley Trail, Glacier National Park, Revelstoke, BC, September 21, 2025 - In the evening, after setting up the RV, we walked over to the trailhead area to check it out. In the early 20th Century a huge lodge was built here by the Canadian Railway Company and operated as an alpine vacation resort. The lodge was eventually dismantled but the foundations remain, as do the glaciers which drew climbers here over a hundred years ago.
9) Asulkan Valley Trail, Glacier National Park, Revelstoke, BC, September 21, 2025 - The area was so stunning we did a short hike making a loop connecting two different trailheads. This area is so wet with the glaciers, the resulting creeks and from rain being dropped when storms hit the western face of the Rockies that the landscape is a mixture of alpine and rainforest. The whole area is lush and covered with vibrant color.
10) Asulkan Valley Trail, Glacier National Park, Revelstoke, BC, September 21, 2025 - The next morning we were up early for another back country hike. This time we could hike straight from our campsite going up the Asulkan Valley where three glaciers all hang on the peaks towering over the Illecillewaet River. Stunning!
11) Hemlock Grove Boardwalk Trail, Glacier National Park, Revelstoke, BC, September 23, 2025 - From Glacier National Park we back-tracked west to Revelstoke National Park. During the drive we made a couple of stops to explore some easily accessible parts of Glacier National Park. The first was the Hemlock Grove Boardwalk which is a short loop through an old growth section of Hemlock forest. From the boardwalk we could enjoy mighty trees, thick fern ground cover and trickling streams.
12) Giant Cedars Boardwalk Trail, Glacier National Park, Revelstoke, BC, September 23, 2025 - A few miles further to the west was the Giant Cedars Boardwalk which was a similiar loop but with a different, drier forest. Still an easy walk and still the awesome feeling of being dwarfed by the massive trees.
13) Miller Lake Trail, Revelstoke National Park, Revelstoke, BC, September 24, 2025 - We made a visit to the town of Revelstoke to run a few errands and set up the RV at a campground on the edge of town. The next morning we again climbed on the Zero but this time it was a paved road that took us uphill into Revelstoke National Park. We parked at Balsam Lake and then did a hike to Heather Lake at the summit and then from there down into a valley and back up the other side to Miller Lake. A great day of hiking and our most strenuous hike thusfar on this trip. We spent the afternoon resting at the camper then Jonna went and got a massage to help recover from the hike. The next day we took care care of errands like laundry, dumping and refilling the RV's tanks, buying propane and giving the camper a quick wash. We then met up with our friend Mig (who grew up here and was back visiting) and her husband Steve for a late lunch. From there we drove west to Vernon where we had reserved a site in a farmer's field for the night.
14) Apex Trail, Knox Mountain Park, Kelowna, BC, September 26, 2025 - The next day we turned south and started driving down the Okanagan River valley. On the way we stopped in Kelowna where we did a morning hike in the city's Knox Mountain Park which provided some spectacular views down onto the city and of the Okanagan River Valley.
15) Kelowna Art Gallery, Kelowna, BC, September 26, 2025 - After our hike we drove into the city of Kelowna where we found street parking and then walked downtown to get lunch (and then ice cream for dessert!) before visiting the Kelowna Art Gallery. The gallery was small but focused on comtemporary art and the exhibits on display when we visited were primarily by or about First Nation's artists. Interesting stuff and we are always happy to see new art!
16) Parklight Orchard, Penticton, BC, September 26, 2025 - Our campsite for the next two nights was in the orchards of Parklight Orchards in Naramata just outside Pentiction. We were surrounded by apple and pear trees, as well as lavendar plants. All those fruit trees meant we shared the space with deer, squirrels and quail. It was a peaceful and lovely spot!
17) Penticton Farmer's Market, Penticton, BC, September 27, 2025 - Staying in the same place for two nights meant we had a free day to explore the nearby town of Penticton and the Okanagan River Valley vineyards which are located all around this area. In the morning we jumped on the Zero and rode into Penticton. We found an electric charging station where we could re-charge the bike while we wandered around the Penticton Farmer's Market.
18) Penticton Farmer's Market, Penticton, BC, September 27, 2025 - The market was medium sized but with some very interesting booths. With all the fruit and vegetables that were grown in the area there was a bountiful selection to chose from. Parklight Orchards had a booth so we were able to buy some fresh organic apples from our hosts.
19) Linden Gardens, Penticton, BC, September 27, 2025 - After the bike had charged back up we got back on it where we made a quick stop at the Penticton Library to use their printer and then continued south further down the Okanagan River to Linden Gardens. We got there in time to have a tasty lunch on their outdoor patio and then to stroll through the gardens enjoying the flowers that were still blooming this late in the season.
20) Deep Roots Winery, Penticton, BC, September 27, 2025 - The road between Penticton and Narawata is covered with wineries, cideries, breweries and distilleries all turning the area's fruit into craft drinks. We don't drink but we decided we should at least taste the regional products since it is clearly the area's major commodity. Once we got back to the camper we found a nearby vineyard and headed there to do a tasting. The wines were just okay but what was enjoyable was sitting on a covered patio looking out over the rows of grape vines and down onto the Okanagan River.
21) Deep Roots Winery, Penticton, BC, September 27, 2025 - The panoramaic view with the sun starting to set in the west was definitely worth the cost of a flight of wine tasters.
22) Vaseux Lake Migratory Bird Santuary, Okanagan Falls, September 28, 2025 - The next day we continued our trip down the Okanagan River Valley. Our next stop was at the Vaseux Lake Bird Santuary which is really just a parking lot on the side of the road with a boardwalk leading out to a wooden observation tower on the edge of the lake. I think the tower gets used more by teenagers as a place to hangout than by serious bird watchers but we did get a scenic view out over Vaseau Lake and we did see some waterfowl hanging out on the lake so success!
23) Osoyoos Desert Centre, Osoyoos, BC, September 28, 2025 - At the southern end of the Okanagan River (or at least the part that is in Canada) the valley widens out and becomes much drier. So dry, in fact, that is is classified as a desert. Having spent the last few days remarking on how lush the valley had been this area really helped us realize how much irrigation technology has literally transformed the surface of the Earth. Just outside the town of Osoyoos is the Oosoyoos Desert Centre which is an outreach facility to educate people about the fragile desert landscape. There was a mile long boardwalk loop with signs explaining the landscape, the animals and the history of the area. A nice roadside stop that allowed us to stretch our legs and learn something new.
24) Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre, Osoyoos, BC, September 28, 2025 - To continue learning about the area our next stop was the Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre. This is a massive, interpretive center built to educate vistors on the Okanagan Valley's First Nations peoples. The building itself is beautifully done and there are some interesting items on display but I'd stay it is more show than substance at this point. We walked through and started to hike outside but then decided we'd rather continue on for the afternoon rather than spending the time to hike their outdoor loop.
25) Cawston Market, Cawston, BC, September 28, 2025 - We made a brief stop in Osoyoos for a delicious lunch at an Indian dosa restaurant and then turned west to drive through British Columbia's section of the Cascade Mountains. Just as we were leaving the Okanagan River Valley we stopped at a roadside fruit market in Cawston to pick up some fresh fruit to have in the camper. We then drove to the top of the pass in the Cascades were we pulled into EC Manning Provincial Park where we had reserved a spot in their campground.
26) Lightning Lakes Chain Trail, EC Manning Provincial Park, Hope, BC, September 29, 2025 - As we'd driven in the previous evening it had started to rain and when we woke up in the morning it was still coming down. Despite the rain, we wanted to do a hike so we dressed up in all our rain gear and headed out to hike a chain of lakes stretching southwest from the campground. We had a gorgeous long loop hike seeing Twenty Minute Lake, Lightning Lake, Flash Lake and Strike Lake.
27) Lillooet Visitor Centre, Downtown Park, Lillooet, BC, September 30, 2025 - The next day we drove down off the top of the Cascades and into the Fraser River Valley. We turned north and followed that river for a day all the way north into the late 19th Century gold mining area around the town of Lillooet. We explored the small town with the focus of our visit being the local First Nation's celebration of Truth and Reconciliation Day. We stopped in the city park to listen to some of the speakers and watched some dancing. We also popped into the town's history museum which was next door to the city park and also walked mainstreet to look into a few of the shops there. Finally, we found a Chinese restaurant for lunch. (Appropriate because this area has a long history with Chinese mine and railroad workers.) We had a campsite at a combination hotel/RV park for the night which gave us a chance to do laundry and take advantage of their wifi.
28) Nairn Falls, Nairn Falls Provincial Park, Pemberton, BC, October 1, 2025 - The next day we again turned south (well, technically southwest) ending another zag of our zig-zag path across BC. The road went up into the Pacific Range of mountains and after crossing over a pass we stopped at Nairn Falls Provincial Park to do a day hike to see Nairn Falls.
29) Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre, Whistler, BC, October 1, 2025 - After stretching our legs at Nairn Falls we continued southwest on some of the worst paved roads we've ever driven before pulling into the very touristy ski town of Whistler. We headed straight to the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre in the middle of downtown Whistler. This was a great decision as the SLCC was a fantastic museum. We did a guided tour which was lead by a First Nation's lady and then walked around the museum on our own for another hour after the tour. Excellent! We stayed at a campground on the north edge of Whistler.
30) Brandywine Falls, Brandywine Falls Provincial Park, Whistler, BC, October 2, 2025 - We would be staying in Whistler again this night which meant we had the day to explore the area. It had started raining during the night and was still raining when we got up. Just south of Whistler is Brandywine Falls Provincial Park so we drove there and did the hike out to the Fall's overlook.
31) Brandywine Falls, Brandywine Falls Provincial Park, Whistler, BC, October 2, 2025 - The falls itself was impressive but just a few hundred meters away was an overlook with a panoramic view out over the valley to the west which was also quite scenic. After the hike we had lunch in the camper in the parking lot.
32) Andain Art Museum, Whistler, BC, October 2, 2025 - As we drove back into Whistler we again drove downtown and found a parking lot near the ski lift. From there we walked to the Andain Art Museum which is an architecturally stunning building which houses a huge collection of First Nation's art and cultural items.
33) Andain Art Museum, Whistler, BC, October 2, 2025 - The museum's collection was exceptional. This massive carved wooden wall was just one example.
34) Cows Ice Cream, Whistler, BC, October 2, 2025 - It was another fantastic museum experience so while very touristy Whistler wasn't really our kind of town it did have two fantastic museums so well worth our visit. Oh, and the fact that they had a Cows Ice Cream shop (a brand we'd discovered back in 2018 on Prince Edward Island) was the third reason we enjoyed our visit to Whistler! We spent the rest of the rainy afternoon and evening in the camper at our campsite and then got surprisingly delicious take-out Thai food from the campground's restaurant.
Go forward to the second '25
British Columbia RV Trip Photo Page.
Return to Alan and Jonna's Travel Page
