Our tour bus driver herded us back into our designated seats after we fuelled up on giant pastries from the Bear's Paw Bakery. The drive down the Yellowhead Highway offered scenery so aggressively beautiful that it felt like the mountains were constantly preening and showing off.
We headed to Mount Robson Provincial Park to see the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, Mount Robson, often called the King of the Canadian Rockies. Unlike many high peaks which hide behind other mountains, Mount Robson stands completely exposed. It rises straight up from its base at the highway, making it one of the most visually overwhelming sights in North America. It is positioned directly on the border of Alberta, just a 45-minute drive west of Jasper.
The absolute best, most iconic place to stop and see Mount Robson is the official Mount Robson Welcome Centre. As we drove along the highway, the massive mountain suddenly towered before us, and the visitor center parking lot was perfectly positioned directly at the base of the mountain's colossal south face.
Mount Robson stands at a towering 3,954 meters and is notorious for being an absolute diva that refuses to take off its cloudy scarf. Tour groups usually prepare for a view of solid white fog because the peak is said to create its own weather system. It is notoriously elusive and frequently blanketed by a wreath of clouds, earning it the Indigenous Shuswap name Yexyexéscen (The Mountain of the Spiral Road). On a clear day, catching a full view of the summit is considered a lucky event!
But lady luck favored us and as we pulled up to the Mount Robson Visitor Centre, the clouds parted like a theatrical curtain. There it was, in all its snow-capped, jagged glory.
My hubby and I scrambled off the bus, practically tripping over the rest of the tour group to snap a selfie before the mist swallowed it back up. We actually saw the mountain! We proudly bought a fridge magnet to immortalize our elite status as the chosen tourists who got a clear view.
There was a local coffee shop right next to the visitor centre plaza. People sat outside on the patio with coffee, fresh sandwiches, and ice cream, looking directly up at the highest peak in the Rockies. It is widely considered one of the best lunch stops with a view in all of western Canada.
The Mount Robson Viewing Deck is the landscaped viewing area and interpretive plaza immediately surrounding the Welcome Centre, providing a completely unobstructed, panoramic view of the mountain from base to peak.
From there, we descended from the high Rockies into the interior, our massive tour bus expertly navigating the winding access road up to Sun Peaks Resort. Sun Peaks is a charming mountain resort village in the Thompson-Okanagan region of British Columbia.
It is Canada's second-largest ski resort, offering 4,400 acres of diverse slopes across three unique mountains: Tod Mountain, Sundance Mountain, and Mount Morrisey. Sun Peaks operates as an all-season playground, boasting of a bustling, ski-in/ski-out European-style pedestrian village.
Sun Peaks receives an average of six metres of light, dry powder annually from mid-November to early April, and the terrain is beautifully distributed to handle all experience levels. When the snow melts, Sun Peaks transforms into a vibrant alpine destination.
We stayed at the Sun Peaks Lodge, which had a unique layout spanning two adjacent buildings, with dual access to both the vehicle roads and the pedestrian-only mountain zone. We stopped at the front entrance, the street-side of the main building sat right along Creekside Way. This served as the passenger drop-off zone and the ramp entrance to the underground parking garage.
The lodge's back entrance opened up onto the Village Stroll pedestrian walkway, which is entirely car-free, offers instant ski-in/ski-out mountain access, and leads directly to the main chairlifts, boutique shops, and patio restaurants.
During our stay, we saw the award-winning Sun Peaks Bike Park, featuring over 40 lift-accessed trails stretching down 2,000 vertical feet, alongside 30 km of cross-country valley biking paths.
From mid-July to mid-August, the mountainsides erupt into a colorful kaleidoscope of wild alpine flowers, easily accessible via a scenic summer chairlift ride. Visitors can also enjoy high-altitude golf, local culinary festivals, and exceptional stargazing opportunities away from city light pollution.
The entire resort base functions as an intimate, car-free village where one can literally ski or walk straight from your hotel room to local amenities. The core area features boutique shops, gear rentals, small grocery markets, and a rich dining scene full of cosy cafes, local pubs, and fine eateries.
Accessible via the Crystal and Burfield chairlifts, the highest lift-accessed point in Sun Peaks offers panoramic, 360-degree views of the surrounding Monashee and Cariboo mountain ranges. Located right at the base of the village is British Columbia's highest elevation 18-hole golf course, surrounded by dramatic mountain backdrops.
We walked across a picturesque, alpine-style wooden covered bridge that arches over the Louis Creek tributary to officially enter the pedestrian-only zone. Underneath the bridge, a quiet mountain brook flows directly through a beautiful garden, making it one of the most popular and romantic outdoor wedding ceremony locations in the area.
The venue sits directly across from the first tee of the Sun Peaks Golf Course, making it incredibly accessible and just a short walk from the main village. It can host up to 200 guests for a ceremony.
In the summer, it is surrounded by lush green lawns and vibrant, blooming flower gardens, so couples rarely need to bring extensive extra decor. While it is a floral paradise in the summer, it transforms into a snow-covered winter wonderland for couples looking for a snowy alpine wedding. Because it is a covered bridge, wedding photographers frequently use the inside of the structure for portrait sessions if it happens to rain.
The Village Promenade (also known as Village Way) is the main thoroughfare, lined with colorful, Bavarian-style architecture, boutique ski/bike shops, and local artisan galleries. In the winter, this path is covered in packed snow for skiers to glide through; in summer, it transforms into a lively brick walkway.
Located right outside the Sun Peaks Grand Hotel & Conference Centre is the iconic clock tower, which serves as the heart of the resort. It is a popular meeting spot, surrounded by outdoor patios, fire pits, and stone seating.
Nearby, located near the base of the Morrisey lift bridge, is the Village Common Fire Pit—a large, public stone fire pit that is the perfect final stop to sit down, warm up, and people-watch. Another famous landmark is the Nancy Greene Lodge (often just called Cahilty Lodge), one of the most popular places to stay in Sun Peaks Resort. Named after Nancy Greene, Canada’s Olympic alpine ski champion and the resort's long-time director of Skiing, it is highly regarded for its warm, family-friendly hospitality.
Leaving the alpine paradise behind, our bus rolled south through the dramatic Fraser Canyon until we reached the town of Hope, BC. Hope’s claim to fame is twofold: it sits at an incredibly beautiful confluence of the Fraser River and the Coquihalla River, and it is the exact place where Sylvester Stallone sprinted away from the police in the 1982 film First Blood.
We embarked on the walking town tour and found ourselves standing on a street corner matching up film stills of Rambo blowing up a gas station. To add to the ambience, Hope is the chainsaw carving capital of the universe, with over 80 massive wooden sculptures scattered around.
Most of these masterpieces are carved from local western red cedar during Hope’s biannual International Chainsaw Carving Competition and remain on permanent display. The sculptures are grouped into distinct, recurring themes that reflect the heritage, wilderness, and pop culture history of the region.
One can stroll down Wallace Street to marvel at these massive, detailed wooden sculptures. The legendary Rambo Carving and the Sheriff Will Teasle Carving pay homage to the town's film history. The striking, life-sized wooden carving of Sylvester Stallone's character and the Sheriff Will Teasle statue honor the cinematic rivals, completing the town's tribute to its Hollywood past.
Other notable carvings include "Bart" the Grizzly Bear (a massive, lifelike bear sculpture), Eagles & Totems, the Gold Prospector (capturing a rugged gold miner), the Pioneer Pack Mule, and RCMP Service Dog "Chip" (a touching memorial statue dedicated to a fallen local service dog).
Right next to the shopping district is Memorial Park & Hope Friendship Garden, a tranquil park featuring giant trees, the Rotary Clock, and Japanese-style landscaping.
The town has a deep history; initially, the area was home to First Nations people. The Hudson’s Bay Company later established a trading post here called Fort Hope in 1848, and just 10 years later, the town exploded overnight due to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush.
In 1885, the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway securely tied British Columbia to the rest of Canada. Decades later, in 1982, production crews transformed the quiet mountain town into "Hope, Washington" for First Blood, and film tourism remains a cornerstone of the town's identity to this day.
By lunchtime, my hubby and I were starved and tired, dodging the wooden bears.We tracked down a local spot for a massive plate of fish and chips. It was crisp, greasy perfection, the kind of meal that requires a nap immediately afterwards.I had to gently nudge my hubby from slipping into a food coma right on the tour bus before we hit the highway again.
The final leg required our trusty bus driver to battle the heavy Vancouver traffic to reach the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal. Calling the BC Ferries vessel a "ship" may make it sound like we boarded the Titanic minus the icebergs, but it was really a massive, hyper-efficient floating cafeteria that somehow swallowed our entire tour bus and many others into its belly.
We eventually went back outside because someone in our tour group whispered the word "orca." We didn't see any whales, though my hubby did point excitedly at three separate pieces of driftwood and a very large seagull.
As the ship sailed through the stunning Active Pass, dodging tiny islands, the chaos of the road melted away; the blue water mesmerised and calmed the mind. The ship docked at Swartz Bay, our bus rolled out onto Vancouver Island, and we finally arrived in Victoria.
