Day 6 – Maligne Lake, Hot Springs, and a Long Travel Day
When we planned our road trip, this was a day dedicated to getting from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. We knew we couldn’t do that in one day (well, we could but we chose not to!). Looking at the map, we saw that the best course of action was to drive to Kamloops, spend the night there, then drive to Squamish the next day. We wanted to spend some time in Whistler, BC, and the road from Kamloops to Whistler didn’t appear to be a wide 2-lane, so we knew it would take us longer to drive from Kamloops to Squamish. So, Kamloops here we come!
When we were in Jasper, several storekeepers told us that we just HAD to go to Maligne (pronounced ma-LINE) Lake. We also heard about Miette Hot Springs, a hot spring that DID NOT smell like rotten eggs. Since we passed on the opportunity to go to a hot springs in Arkansas, we knew we had to do that, too!
On our way to Miette – during a stop for road construction – we noticed a bighorn sheep off the road. (We wondered why there were so many cars parked at that location!). Fortunately, we got a few pictures!
Miette Hot Springs in Jasper National Park features several pools of hot springs. The water is pre-treated to remove the sulfur from the water, eliminating the rotten egg smell. The main pool is 108 degrees; there is also a cooler 80 degree pool and two “brrr-cold” wading areas. We spent about an hour in the pools – enough time to enjoy the experience but not too long (we had other things to see!)
Maligne Lake requires a 14-mile drive off of Trans Canada 16 (a few miles east of Jasper), but it’s definitely worth it!
Maligne Lake, Jasper National Park
Leaving Maligne Lake, we knew we had to make tracks; Kamloops is 272 miles away!
We wanted to take pictures of our granddaughter Ava when we crossed state and provincial borders; since we would be leaving British Columbia by ferry, we had to get the picture when we entered the province.
Yellowhead Pass, British Columbia
Continuing through Mount Robson Provincial Park, the scenery was definitely alpine:
Mount Robson, British Columbia
However, when we pulled into Valemount, we were greeted with 100-degree temperatures and a landscape that reminded us of high desert. That definitely was not expected! Like a lot of people, we figured British Columbia was alpine mountains, Vancouver, and Vancouver Island. Were we wrong!
There was a respite along the Thompson River, but when we arrived at Kamloops, the hot weather joined us. A good place to spend the night!
Read on to Day 7: Winding Roads, Olympic Village, Desert Mountains and Rainforests
