On our drive up to Alaska, someone recommended for our drive back down that we take a slight detour to the Stewart/Hyder area. Stewart is a small town of ~500 people in British Columbia, Canada, while Hyder is an even smaller village of ~50 people just across the border in Alaska.
The reason he’d recommended it is because there’s a bear-viewing platform in Hyder, so we changed up our plans for early July to add in a couple of nights in Stewart. Shae and I were incredibly glad we did that as the drive in to Stewart is stunning, not to mention that the area has a number of fun things to see and do. So much so that we ended up wishing that we had more than just a couple of days in Stewart.
Here’s what we got up to while we were there.
Where We Stayed In Stewart
We stayed both nights at the Historic Hotel Bayview which we booked on Hotels.com, although it’s also listed on Airbnb. It cost $92.08 per night with tax which felt like a very reasonable price.
As the name suggests, it’s a historic hotel and it’s located right in downtown Stewart, so it’s within walking distance of all the stores and restaurants.
Unlike most hotels, this property offered self check-in by sending us the code to the front door of the property the day before arrival. We were also given our room number which was on the top floor where we’d find our room key.
We’d booked a Classic Room which had a comfortable queen bed. In the corner was a dining table with a couple of chairs, while opposite the bed was a TV and fan to keep us cool at night. The bathroom was surprisingly large and had a walk-in shower.
Just outside of our room was a communal living area with couches, as well as a larger dining table and kitchenette with a full-sized fridge-freezer, microwave, toaster and Keurig coffee maker.
It ended up being a lovely place to stay for a couple of nights and I’d be happy to stay there again if we ever return to Stewart.
The Drive To/From Stewart
If you decide to visit Stewart, be sure to do the last part of the drive in to town during daytime, or that same part of the route out of town in daylight. That’s because it’s one of the most beautiful, scenic drives we’ve had on our 7 year road trip so far.
For starters, about halfway from Meziadin Junction to Stewart we drove past Bear Glacier.
Then on the final stretch into Stewart you’ll drive through what’s apparently known as the Wall of Tears. The road is flanked by green mountains with waterfalls all the way along. Mix that with some moody-looking low-level clouds and you’ve got the makings for an amazing drive.
As is often the case, the photos we took didn’t fully capture the spectacular scenery. Just rest assured that if you ever do make this drive, you won’t be disappointed.
What We Did In Stewart
Salmon Glacier
This hadn’t been our main reason for visiting Stewart, but it ended up being the highlight of those two days. When researching what else to do in the area, Shae had come across Salmon Glacier. It’s a relatively short drive (about an hour) from Stewart, so on our only full day in the town we drove up there to check it out.
We were fortunate with the weather as the clouds weren’t very low, so we got some lovely unobstructed views of the glacier.
Shae wrote a separate post about our visit to Salmon Glacier with a lot more information, so I recommend checking that out as it’s a magnificent place to visit.
Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site
Our initial reason for booking a stay in Stewart was so that we could visit Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site. We’d been told that there’s a viewing platform where you can watch bears catching salmon, a little like Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park in Alaska, but much easier – and cheaper – to get to.
Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site is just across the border from Stewart in Hyder, AK. It’s free to visit and the staff members there were very friendly. You start off walking along a raised walkway with a stream on the left; that’s where salmon will be during the salmon run that starts mid-July.
On the right hand side of the walkway was a blue lagoon where there were beavers building a dam. We spotted a couple of them, but it was hard getting a decent photo with my phone camera as they were a little too far away.
Thankfully Shae had her good camera with her and so was able to get a better shot.
We were a little too early in the season to see a full stream of salmon as we visited Stewart from July 10-12, but we were fortunate enough to see a couple of the early arrivers.
We were even more fortunate to see a grizzly bear while we were there. Apparently none had been seen for quite some time, but the evening we arrived we spotted one walking through the undergrowth.
If you have some flexibility with your dates as to when you can visit the Stewart/Hyder area, it seems like from late July is when you should see far more bears and salmon.
If you stay in Stewart and drive over to Hyder to visit this site, be aware that you’ll have to go back through a security checkpoint as you’ll be crossing back from the US to Canada. You’ll therefore need to have your passports with you.
Walking Around Stewart
Seeing as we were only in Stewart for a couple of nights and our only full day was mostly spent at Salmon Glacier, we didn’t have time to explore much else. We did walk around the cute downtown area though and learned a little more about the area.
Where We Ate In Stewart
El Tostador
We had an unexpectedly amazing meal at El Tostador on our second night in Stewart. I say unexpectedly because Stewart is such a small town that we weren’t expecting a restaurant with such delicious food. It was still a decent temperature outside that night, so we decided to eat outside.
The menu wasn’t very extensive as there were only eight appetizers and seven entrées to choose from (n.b. prices on the menus are in Canadian dollars rather than US dollars).
Despite having a somewhat limited menu, everything on there sounded amazing and so we had a hard time choosing what to order. For Shae’s appetizer, she went for the mahi mahi ceviche (which came with a side of tortilla chips) that she thought was delicious. I tried a little of it too and it really was!
I ordered the smoked sockeye salmon carpaccio (which came with a side of bruschetta) which was also delicious.
For her entrée, Shae got their quesadilla with grilled steak that she very much enjoyed.
For my entrée, I ordered their surf & turf fajitas. The shrimp were nice and plump and it was all fantastic.
El Tostador was once known as the Toaster Museum Cafe. While it seems to have been renamed in the last few years, the Toaster Museum remains inside.
What’s particularly cute is that each table inside the restaurant has its own little toaster centerpiece.
Silverado Cafe & Pizza Parlor
We got into Stewart fairly late in the evening on our first night as it had been a long drive from Dease Lake. That meant some of the (few) places to get food in Steward had already closed, so Shae got pizza from the Silverado Cafe & Pizza Parlor that was next door to our hotel.
She thought the pizza was decent enough that night, but the leftovers didn’t reheat well the next day.
Trudy’s Temptations Bakery
Before checking out of our hotel on our final morning, we stopped in at Trudy’s Temptations Bakery to grab some breakfast. They had sausage rolls available (a delicacy I miss from the UK), so I got one of those and an apple turnover. Shae ordered egg and cheese on an everything bagel plus a blueberry muffin, all of which were good.
Final Thoughts
Shae and I very much enjoyed our couple of nights in Stewart. In hindsight, we wish that we’d had at least a couple more days there to go hiking, visit the local museums, etc., but our other plans meant we couldn’t fit additional time in there during this trip. It’d be lovely to head back there in the future, especially a little later in the summer once there’s far more bears and salmon at the Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site.
[…] fairly near the small town of Stewart in British Columbia, Canada (see this post for more about our time there). Someone had recommended to Stephen that we visit Stewart as there […]