Day trips
Day trips from Clearwater
The short version: four runs out of town, and one 'trip' that deserves days of its own.
Day trips, the short version
This is the quick orientation; the full day-trips page (linked in the menu) carries the detail, drive times and the airport run. Clearwater's day-trip map is a straight line -- Highway 5 north and south -- plus one westward turn onto Highway 24.
The four runs
North to Blue River
River Safari jet-boat bear tours in Grizzly Bear Valley and the inland temperate rainforest. The single best wildlife day out from Clearwater.
North to Valemount + Mount Robson
The highest peak in the Canadian Rockies (3,954 m). A long day or an easy overnight on the Jasper road.
South to Sun Peaks + Kamloops
Canada's second-largest ski area, then the region's city for shopping, wineries, breweries and the airport (YKA).
West on the Fishing Highway
A lake-hopping day through the Interlakes country toward 100 Mile House: fish, swim, picnic, repeat.
The trip that is not a day trip
Wells Gray itself. Visitors sometimes file the park under 'day trip from Clearwater', but the 68 km corridor, the boat tours on Clearwater and Azure Lakes and the Trophy Meadows hike deserve days, not hours -- and they start ten minutes from your bed. Sleep in Clearwater, day-trip the valley towns, and give the park its own time.
Common questions
How many days do you need based in Clearwater?
Three is the sweet spot: one for the waterfall corridor, one on the water (rafting or the lake boat tour), and one for a valley day trip or Trophy Meadows. Add a fourth if Mount Robson is on the list.
More to explore in Clearwater
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors (CC BY / CC BY-SA); see each file page for the individual credit.
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