Stewart, Hyder and Prince Rupert

Posted by Alex on 24 September 2009

Throughout our trip, everybody coming from the south has told us to go to Stewart and Hyder, both to see the glaciers and more importantly the bears that congregate there to feed on the spawning Salmon. The road to Stewart is an amazing 67km stretch , with glaciers and waterfalls coming right down to the road. Arriving in Stewart after this is even more surreal, as we come from a high mountain environment straight into a fishing and mining port town, with salty air filling our nostrils and mist lingering over the relatively warm sea waters, quite the contrast.

Another few miles up the road and we actually cross back into Alaska and into the ghost town of Hyder, every house (or trailer) either boarded up or for sale. The bears however were still there and we were lucky enough to watch a “small” 4 year old grizzly munching on grass and toying with a dead salmon for about half an hour. The elevated boardwalk makes the whole experience much more relaxing, not having to worry about “mamma bear” jumping out of the bushes behind you…

Coming back out of the Stewart valley, we headed south again to Kitwanga where we turned West towards Prince Rupert. At the end of the road, a long relaxing ferry ride. The road from Kitwanga to Prince Rupert runs alongside the Skeena River and into the ocean, giving a relatively flat ride and stunning coastal views along the way. Other than an unfortunate burst tire on a disguarded beer bottle the ride was a real delight with little traffic and towering granite cliffs falling into the water.

14 comments. Tags: Alex, . Location: Victoria, Canada