Round-trip to Hyder, Alaska

9½ days, 6,944 miles

Route Overview

Hyder, Alaska

The pavement ends at the entrance to the USA in Hyder, Alaska; Fish Creek and the Salmon Glacier are about 3 and 20 miles beyond. There are bears about.

The real pros travel on dual-purpose bikes with knobby tires; the duo on the right are from Paraguay and Uruguay.

Hyder, "the friendliest ghost town in Alaska," is also "Mile 0 on the Alaska-Yukon Highway."

Parked to check-in at the SeaLaska Inn (the bar, reached through the white doors, is also the hotel check-in counter).

Welcome to the SeaLaska Inn, showing the road to the Hyder Dock (left). The $36 (CDN) sign is for a basic "sleeping room" with shared bath; rooms with ensuite facilities go for more.

Looking to nearby mountains (right).

The rest of the story tracks back east from Hyder to Washington, D.C.

Hyder to Prince George, British Columbia.

Bear Glacier empties into Strohn Lake. (The Bear River flows off to the right in the picture, and Strohn Creek connects Strohn Lake with Meziadin Lake several miles to the east.) This spot has my vote for the most scenic stop on route 37A. The gravel parking area shown is adjacent to route 37A, which is a fully paved highway that branches off to Stewart/Hyder from the Cassiar Highway (route 37, which is paved from its starting point at the Yellowhead Highway intersection to the 37A intersection, and possibly further north). Route 37A is known locally as the "Glacier Highway," which is not to be confused with the similarly named but much better known "Promenade des Glaciers," or "Icefields Parkway," from Jasper to Lake Louise.

A closer look at Bear Glacier:

Narrow one-lane bridge over the Nass River, looking north. Note: An oncoming logging truck cannot brake to a quick stop.

Kathlyn Glacier on the Hudson Bay Mountain, seen through the trees from a pullout off the Yellowhead Highway, five miles west of Smithers (left). Smithers is one of the more developed towns along this stretch, and looks like it would make a good base for rafting, fishing, and other local activities.

Looking east towards Smithers along the Yellowhead Highway, from the same pullout (right). The Yellowhead Highway is mostly two lanes (as shown), with an occasional passing lane, from west of Edmonton to the Cassiar Highway intersection. The Edmonton to Saskatoon stretch is Interstate-like, but the highway reverts to two lanes from east of Saskatoon all the way to Winnipeg. Use a vehicle with good highway passing power (e.g., good 65 to 80 mph acceleration).

Shoulders are mostly gravel (small, smooth, oval, sand-colored pebbles; not like the gray stuff on railroad beds). I never saw a vehicle stray across the yellow line in either direction of travel at any time. In more remote areas, trucks will sometimes pull over halfway into the right shoulder to allow a bike to pass in their lane. Large animals (bear, sheep, moose) are a real danger: [1] I had a close call pulling out of an S-turn a few miles west of McBride, but this very large and calm bear chose to run alongside the bike instead of into it, [2] I noticed a small black bear running at a good speed next to the route 37 shoulder in the wildflowers along my direction of travel, and [3] there was also the perplexed moose watching evening traffic from the grassy area next to the shoulder.

Logging truck passes the east entrance to the town of Burns Lake (left).

Here's another logging truck (right) parked in McBride. Some reek of tar, and can be tough to follow for an extended duration.

Prince George, British Columbia

Comfortable stay in a spotlessly clean room at the Economy Inn in Prince George, BC, before setting out for Hyder. The RT engine does not get to normal operating temperature (i.e., not to five bars) for many highway miles in the cold morning rain.

Jasper, BC, and Nearby

Emerald, still, long, reflecting: Moose Lake, with Mount Robson beyond.

Roadside sheep east of Jasper (left).

Swirling currents of the Athabasca River near Jasper (right).

Note the bear-proof litter box (trash can) in the nearby pullout area (left).

The Plains

Grain elevators appear along the CN rail tracks beside the Yellowhead Hwy in Saskatchewan. The grass in the median and sides of the highway is mowed and baled up, likely for cattlefeed.

Endless vistas of flowering canola line both sides of the highway between Winnipeg and Edmonton. Going west, the terrain goes from flat in Winnipeg to rolling at Saskatoon, to hilly beyond Edmonton. Westbound, the Canadian Rockies are sighted about 94 miles from Jasper.

Planning Ahead for Gasoline.

Some areas (e.g., between McBride and Prince George, and along route 37) are very remote. Other stretches of the Yellowhead, Cassiar, and Glacier Highways (and from Minneapolis to Winnipeg) just call for extra attention.

In Canada, follow the sign that shows a graphical outline of a fuel pump, not the sign labeled "gas." Each time I went for "gas," I got to a propane depot.
Gas[oline] stations can be far between. Do not expect any "Next gas 200km" signs (though there is a similar sign between McBride and Prince George in both directions). To avoid stressing yourself out, fill up often.
Resist the urge to skip a gas station because it requires making left turns to get in and out of. There may not be anything on your right for a while.
Once in a while, premium drinkers may have to settle for regular. There may not be anything better than 91 octane along most stretches of the Yellowhead Hwy anyway.
Riding outside of business hours, or on Sundays or holidays, pre-determine the extended hours and 24/7 stations along the route.
Try to have enough gas in the tank for the next morning's first ride, when stopping for the night.
On the way to Hyder, fill up at the Petro Canada at the T-junction of the Yellowhead (16) and Cassiar (37) highways (photo right). On the way back from Hyder, fill up in Stewart, BC.
Going either way, fill up in McBride (which has a 24/7 Husky station off the westbound lanes) and in Prince George.
Do not count on your ATM card to work at gas stations and convenience stores. Carry a major credit card.

That said, I met a home-bound Southern Gentleman in McBride, BC, who rode his small-tanked Harley cruiser (photo left, behind my RT) from Georgia to Fairbanks without really using his spare gas can. He rode in second gear over unpaved and muddy sections of the Cassiar Highway, and other sections with washboard surfacing; however, he said the "BMW enduro-style bikes just go on by." He expects the Cassiar will be fully paved in a couple of years. At the time of our meeting, he was on his way home and urgently seeking warmer weather.

Other Hyder Scenes.

Upscale accommodations at the SeaLaska Inn (left): a room with ensuite facilities adjacent to the main building. Never slept better. Note the room does not have a telephone, and the TV gets a couple of fuzzy off-the-air channels, but the bar offers free high speed Internet access to hotel guests. Park at your doorstep, with a rec area and the Portland Canal beyond (right).

The Glacier Inn (left) has a sign proclaiming it is the original place to "Get Hyderized." The barkeep at the SeaLaska Inn can also assist you with this evening ceremony, which does not mix well with riding early the next morning.

A rainbow (right) appears outside the highly recommended "Bus" restaurant (not shown in picture), one block off the main drag in Hyder. Photo credit: Owner of "Bus" restaurant.

Click on the thumbnails for more Hyder scenes, including the "Bus" restaurant:

The next two clickable thumbnails are of the USA/Canada border at the gates of Hyder, showing the Lincoln-era building with the "do not injure" notice. The border post appears in the large photograph on the right.

Other Highway Scenes

Wildlife slows traffic in Jasper Park (left). Stop for bear watching between Jasper and McBride (right).

Entering Jasper Park from the west.

[Left:] Traffic lights at the junction of Trans-Canada 1 and the Yellowhead Highway (Trans-Canada 16) near Portage la Priarie, MB. The Yellowhead branches off to the right at the lights. [Right:] T-junction of Yellowhead Highway (looking west to Prince Rupert), and Cassiar Highway (goes off to the right in the picture).

Kitwanga River bridge on route 37 under construction at the Yellowhead/Cassiar junction.

Sporting cold weather gear at a lunch spot in Houston, BC, enroute from Prince George to Hyder (left). Rest stops and pullouts along the Yellowhead Hwy in BC are always scenic, perhaps by design. The one on the right sports a rushing mountain stream.

Lunch spot just south of the USA.Canada border in Pembina, ND.

Ride Analysis

Not unexpectedly, the daily mileage closely matches the daily time in the saddle (chart left).

An early start virtually guarantees a good result for the day. This is basically set up the prior evening, by stopping in time for gas, a good meal, and a deep sleep.

Finally, traffic problems in large metro areas will sap energy. I did the really wide detour around Chicago on the way back, having nearly quit on the way out trying to get out of downtown.

The chart on the left shows the number of minutes between morning start and evening stop, including all stops. (I forgot to note the time at which I reached Hyder at the close of day 5, hence no duration is available for that day.) Only day 9 has a stop at a rest area picnic bench (the "Iron Butt Motel"), for 46 minutes of extra sleep, from 8:47am to 9:33am.

Day 7 of the ride summary (below) has 40+ miles of excess riding due to a low fuel emergency on the Yellowhead Highway (back tracked 20 miles to Vegreville, AB, for gas), and additional riding through downtown Edmonton to get engine oil at a BMW motorcycle dealer:

Day	Start Location	End Location	Hrs:Mins on Road	Miles
1	Herndon, VA	Elyria, OH	06:19	389
2	Elyria, OH	Minneapolis, MN	15:03	819
3	Minneapolis, MN	Saskatoon, SK	16:35	951
4	Saskatoon, SK	Prince George, BC	14:42	822
5	Prince George, BC	Hyder, AK	??:??	455
6	Hyder, AK	McBride, BC	11:58	591
7	McBride, BC	Saskatoon, SK	13:12	731*
8	Saskatoon, SK	Fargo, ND	12:50	735
9	Fargo, ND	Toledo, OH	16:49	984
10	Toledo, OH	Herndon, VA	08:37	467
		TOTALS	116:05	6,944