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I was asked a few questions about the road to Bella Coola

I was asked a few questions about the road to Bella Coola, including how long is the gravel part.

Also about other vehicles on the road.

I did a little internet search and found some interesting info and a few pics.

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About 60 km of dirt road, 24 km of which is the nasty part.


On the way to Bella Coola we did encounter a few vehicles. No one was going fast (which was my concern), and I could hear them, so made sure I was on my side of the road. Once there was no "my side" of the road, so I backed up a ways to a wider section to give them room to pass.








Here is a quote from the Chilicotin website-


It is 200 miles from Williams Lake to Anahim Lake and just about another 100 from Anahim Lake to the Bella Coola Harbour. On this last stretch you will be on the 'Freedom Highway' and the "Hill", so called because when folks asked the Government for a road from Bella Coola to the Chilcotin Plateau in the 1950's, Government refused, stating that the terrain made it impossible to build one. So...locals got together and built the road themselves through some of the roughest terrain in Canada. With grades as steep as 18%, this is judged to be the steepest public highway in North America involving a drop of 4000 feet over a distance of only 10 miles.



Here is a quote from the dangerous roads website-


The road is certainly breathtaking and it has a fearsome reputation. The road features an 18% grade and narrow, winding switchbacks on the climb out of Bella Coola through the coastal mountains. Once out of Bella Coola, it runs through the mountainous Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park,which contains a great deal of wildlife, including grizzlies and black bears and then through the mostly desolate country of the Chilcotin Plateau. The road descends 43 km (27 mi) of steep, narrow road with sharp hairpin turns and two major switchbacks to the Bella Coola Valley. The descent includes a 9 km (5.6 mi) section with grades of up to 18% (about 1 in 6). Tourists who have driven to Bella Coola from Williams Lake have been known to refuse to drive back and have had to be taken out by boat or float plane.




And a couple of pictures-