We leave Merritt and soon we are on Highway 97C, it was built in the 80s, and the highway section was opened in 1990, 3 years after the Highway 5 was completed. The construction of the highway put an end to the isolated location of the larger towns in the interior of British Columbia, such as the city of Kelowna. In 2014, a speed limit of 120 km / h was introduced on Highway 97C from Aspen Grove to Peachland, the first road in Canada where 120 can be driven.

We stay until Ashcroft on the 97C, where you can stop for a moment to refuel and have something to eat or drink. After Ashcroft we take the Highway 97 (Cariboo Highway), which brings us to the small town of 100 Mile House which is surrounded by hundreds of lakes, wetlands and other wetlands that make it a paradise for birds. 100 Mile House was once a resting place for gold diggers. Ten minutes north of 100 Mile House is an open-air museum with the 108 Mile heritage. Here are historic buildings from the time of the nineteenth-century gold rush, including a log cabin, post office, shed and an old school building.

The Cariboo Road runs along 100 Mile House. This road was laid for the ten thousand gold diggers who visited the interior of British Columbia in the nineteenth century. They were on their way to Barkerville, located in the Cariboo region. A short distance from 100 Mile House is Centennial Park, which offers the necessary hiking trails. View the Bridge Creek Falls, a waterfall that flows down over ancient lava formations.

In this 4-star route you will drive on beautiful good roads, through a breathtaking environment and the stop at 100 Mile House is definitely worth it.

History:
100 Mile House, formerly called Bridge Creek House, served as a place to spend the night for gold diggers traveling to the Cariboo region. Thomas Miller was one of the first residents of Bridge Creek House. He owned a number of buildings that served as storage for the furs and skins in which he was trading. 100 Mile House was given its current name during the Cariboo gold rush. Many of the villages on the Old Cariboo Road - the route the gold diggers took to the inland Cariboo region - were indicated by the distance to the starting point of the route: Lillooet (0 Mile). The same applies to 100 Mile House, which is located 100 miles north of Lillooet. The end point was Fort Alexandria. This route was already used in 1859 by the Hudson's Bay Company.
A part of this route would be included a few years later in the Cariboo Wagon Road, which Yale had as its southern starting point. At Clinton, the Old Cariboo Road and the Cariboo Wagon Road came together to continue to Fort Alexandria. The new Cariboo Road continued from there to Quesnel and the eastern Barkerville. For this reason, both Lillooet and Yale are called 'zero mile'.
Between 1862 and 1870, more than 10,000 people traveled the Cariboo Road from Lillooet to Fort Alexandria. 100 Mile House became a stopping place and supply point midway along the route. When the Gold Rush was over, farmers and cattle farmers settled around 100 Mile House.