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Healing Waters, Hearty PedalsCycling the Flatlands Around Harrison Hot SpringsBy Rick MillikanWhen a Cariboo Gold Rush prospector fell out of a canoe into glacial-fed Harrison Lake, he discovered a very hot spot for future tourism. Built twenty-six years later in 1885, St. Alice Hotel and Bathhouse nestled among the coastal mountains just off British Columbia’s major water and land routes. This rustic health spa developed into internationally famous Harrison Hot Springs. Though guests still arrive by boat, train, or bus, most drive to Harrison. Unlike the typical motorist, we tote bicycles.
After enjoying this renowned spa for over 25 years of holidays, we recently discovered exhilarating rides beyond the village around nearby Agassiz. Avoiding heavily trafficked Hot Springs Road, Eagle/McCombs Drive offers an alternative route from Harrison’s quiet neighbourhoods, over the Miami River and beyond its forested edge. Merging onto McPherson, the ride follows the village boundary, soon rejoining Hot Springs Road now offering a more adequate shoulder for cyclists.
Looking like a placid, Midwestern town of the 1950’s, Agassiz has been the site of several film productions over the past few years. Several attractive murals depicting local history and natural beauty grace the walls of several businesses. Bordered by the Canadian Pacific Railway, Pioneer Park offers shady picnic tables, an Infocentre and a newly established museum. Historic exhibits celebrate pioneer life and a long relationship with the CPR, which tied Canada together by rail in 1886 and led to Agassiz’s early prosperity. "Rainbow country’s" residential streets were abloom with towering scarlet and orange rhododendrons, white snowball and dogwood trees, yellow azaleas, and purple lilacs, magnolias and irises.
Maple trees line the way to Mountain View Road. True to its name, it provides glorious vistas of majestic snow capped Mt. Cheam. Nearby Hop Yard Mountain, a remnant pushed up by an ice age glacier, identifies hop plantations that employed almost 100 pickers in 1892. Over 450 acres of hop fields were once planted along this road. One famous picker was said to be a Sasquatch. Another morning we tried a longer loop, following Ashton onto Limbert Road. This route provided a delightful section skirting Cemetery Mountain with curves, gentle hills, spectacular mountain panoramas and massive shade trees. At the intersection with Cameron Road, Limbert becomes gravel. Undaunted, we continued onward, soon riding along the roaring Fraser. A native fisher was setting a net; eagles soared and swooped above us. Returning via Cameron across the Loughheed Highway to McCallum Road, we arrived in time for afternoon tea at the Harrison. After a soothing soak in outdoor pools, one more sumptuous dinner, and a final stroll around the lagoon and resort gardens, we completed one last perfect day. Leaving “Rainbow Country” is difficult. Being kidnapped by Sasquatch almost seemed appealing. Following a reflective dip in the healing waters, we packed up and racked up the bicycles. Perhaps this fall we will mountain bike in nearby Sasquatch Provincial Park. Before driving off, we stopped at the local chocolate shop for Sasquatch Kisses. These tasty chocolate nougats would remind us of those sweet adventures enjoyed at Harrison. Photography by Chris Millikan |
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Cycling
enables us to thoroughly explore this mountain retreat. Beginning at the
resort, the spacious main avenue proceeds along a park bordering Harrison
Lake’s sandy swimming lagoon. Its two-kilometer beach hosts a World
Championship Sand Sculpture Competition each September with creative
exhibits preserved for viewing into mid-October. Facing the park are little
shops, restaurants, the public hot springs indoor pool, modern condos and
the community centre. After a small grind climbing above Harrison Lake’s
public docks, a funky art gallery provides an interesting destination and
great viewing point. The Village’s quiet streets fan out into tidy
neighbourhoods, sometimes continuing as trails into woodsy areas. Although
bicycles can be rented at Harrison Hot Springs, our own bikes allowed more
distant adventures.
A log
archway frames this busy road. Adjacent to its “Welcome to Harrison Hot
Springs” sign flies a colorful banner depicting a Sasquatch, Canadian
equivalent to Big Foot. Well documented for their local antics, Harrison’s
hairy giants are “super natural” ambassadors for this area. The road borders
an unusual highland cattle ranch. After a short pause to study those long
horned, rusty-red woolly critters, we continued past the lush golf course
turning down Golf Road, which soon merged south into Hardy Road. In the
fall, corn forests ripple in the breeze; this spring, the fields were
meadows carpeted with tiny white daisies. 
Hurried
motorists might consider this route a slow detour, but for recreational
cyclists it’s the scenic tour. We zigzagged our way through flatlands,
appreciating the surrounding farm pastures, occasional hazelnut groves and
colourful residences. We cycled along roads named for early pioneers.
Taking McCallum west, Birch south, Else south and east, Ashton south we
crossed the Loughheed Highway arriving at Pioneer Road. After a
two-kilometer pedal it becomes, if not the main-street of Agassiz, the
historic centre. 
Taking a
short jaunt off Pioneer onto Agassiz Drive offered a pedal back into this
town’s fascinating history. The Agassiz family rafted from Hope in 1863,
building a log cabin on this street in 1868. This farmhouse once served as a
post office, store and church. Though expanded and updated, the remaining
homestead retains much of its original character. As we stopped to
investigate the farmhouse, inquisitive yearling Holsteins snuffled my bike.
This historic site continues to operate as a dairy farm.