Autumn View From Highway 6
Highway Route 6: Vernon to Needles
There is nothing in this world that gives me greater pleasure than an aggressive drive with my Mustang on a twisty, open highway on a beautiful sunny day.
I can imagine few other places in the world where the combination of curves, elevation changes and scenery combined with occasions where the highway is yours alone can be realised by a driver other than one living in the Southern Interior of B.C.
This is a first in a series of planned posts exalting the euphoria I sometimes acquire when driving these amazing roads.
The Vernon to Needles/Fauquier highway has it all and it has one major feature which makes it so endearing which I will explain later.
The trip from Vernon to the small town of Lumby is nice enough with lots of pastoral farm scenes and small hills, very green and lush and some nice curves to it. The sometimes heavy traffic can be frustrating so you just have to sit back and relax and take the sights and smells (if you have a convertible) all in, knowing that the fun has just begun.
When you get to Lumby there is a nice detour you can take, time allowing. That being the 40ish km trip north to Mable Lake. I can tell you that is a nice sweet road with awesome twisties and not well travelled. Beautiful to drive aggressively or passively.
Make sure you have adequate fuel to get to Needles and back, its about a 160 km (est) or so round trip. There are a couple of independent gas stations along the way but their reliability is questionable.
This road has it ALL. The highlight being a 15 km stretch (about 30km west of Needles) of the twistiest highway road I have ever experienced. This is a stretch of road that begs you to drive your vehicle at the edge of what you think are its boundaries. Its downhill going east for those that love hard braking and easy power-on, the optimum direction.
Just past that, still going downhill are about a half dozen 1 km+ straights in which you can easily test the top speed of your car.
Most of the rest of the highway is a collection of curves and elevation changes that you can play with as you like, a continuous toy to delight in.
Of course the bane of all highway driving is traffic. Sadly this road is frequented by a lot of logging trucks and other slower vehicles.
As with any twisty road, passing opportunities are few and far between. It's very frustrating, knowing you are wasting these precious curves crawling behind some old man in his Buick or a heavily laden truck.
But here's the thing: This road "ends" at Lower Arrow Lake where there is a ferry terminal that delivers you to the other side at Fauquier. See what I'm getting at?
Westbound traffic travels is clumps and there is about a 20 minute gap between clumps.
If your timing is lucky you can make your turn around just as the ferry is crossing towards you. This pretty much ensures you of at least 30 km of traffic free road ahead of you, the highway is YOURS!
If you arrive at Needles and traffic has just embarked and on its way toward vernon, well there is a nice rest stop there, take 10 or 20, have a coffee and enjoy viewing the Lake and the quiet (there is no town, Needles is just a ferry terminal).
Wait for the ferry to come towards you and then take off. Just knowing that the road is yours alone will put a wide grin on your mug with anticipation of a fantastic driving experience ahead.
There are hazards.
Wildlife. In my most recent trip last week I came across three occasions of deer on the road. They will come out of the woods with no warning and they are stupid.
It's unwise to be speed crazy with this in mind. No matter how good a driver you are, no matter how awesome your vehicle is, there is little defense against a deer running across the road with no warning.
At the very least your car will be destroyed at worst, you'll die.
Weather. This is a high elevation road and a nice day in Vernon or Lumby can be cold and miserable at the higher elevations, snow is possible anytime between Sept and April.
If you are driving a convertible, bring heavy clothing and gloves.
If I somehow or other acquired a Ferrari or Porsche or 'Vette, this is the first road I would travel.
It's amazing.
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The Lake at Needles
