Great Monster Inland Eye-Opener, British Columbia

British Columbia: the province o' plenty from Vernon to Nakusp

There are no B.C. motorcycle roads that can be classified 'truly the best' mainly because almost all of them are. However, many B.C. riders agree that the western foothills of the Rockies, a.k.a. the Monashee Range, encompass the ultimate combination of weather (think northern tip of Sonoran Desert), roads along a river, lake or canyon edge, a combination of managed and left-alone hot springs and dusty old towns caught in a time warp. Photo credit http://coastlinemc.com

Whether you choose Vernon, Kelowna, Nelson, Kamloops, Nakusp or Penticton as your home base, a rider could spend at least a week covering this route and the surrounding area without riding the same road twice. Here, every thoroughfare offers scenery overload, a challenge to skill, and a ton of food and drink diversions. Photo by http://www.hellobc.com

Stop in the towns. Talk to locals. Eat their food. Envy their lives. One rider we know called this the “best 200km of road anywhere.”

It’s sweeping open country to canyons to tight switchbacks. Watch for wildlife (deer in particular) and mud clots on the roads from logging trucks.

Where to stop

Out of Vernon, through Lumby (gas-up here), check out Cherryville before you make for the Needles free ferry across to Fauquier. Photo opps abound along here. This stretch will truly blow your mind. Much of the road was resurfaced this year, so the riding is as luxurious as the scenery.