Canada Guide
Southern British Columbia
The Sea to Sky Highway
A fancy name for Hwy 99 between North Vancouver and Whistler, the Sea to Sky Highway has a slightly better reputation than it deserves. It undoubtedly scores in its early coastal stretch, where the road clings perilously to an almost sheer cliff and mountains come dramatically into view on both sides of Howe Sound. Views here are better than along the Sunshine Coast, though plenty of campsites, motels and minor roadside distractions fill the route until the mountains of the Coast Range rear up beyond Squamish for the rest of the way to Whistler.
If you've a car you're better off driving the hwy only as far as Garibaldi Provincial Park – the section between Pemberton and Lillooet, the Duffy Lake Road, is very slow going and often impassable in winter, though the drive is a stunner, with wonderful views of lakes and glaciers. Regular buses connect Vancouver and Whistler (some continue to Pemberton), which you can easily manage as a day-trip (it's 2hr 30min one-way to Whistler from Vancouver by bus).