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Highway 99 conditions from Peace Arch (US line) to Cache Creek
Highway 99 (Sea to Sky) Road Conditions in British Columbia
Radar and live pavement conditions on the 378 km of Highway 99 (Sea to Sky) from Peace Arch (US line) to Cache Creek — plus the summits it crosses and the winter tire rule in force on it.
Updated Sep 20, 2026 3:18 AM PDT · Mostly dry, wet in places
Lowest 9°C near Lillooet · Highest wind 11 km/h near Lillooet
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Highway 99 is the Sea to Sky from Horseshoe Bay to Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton, then the Duffey Lake road over a 1,275 m pass to Lillooet and Cache Creek. From the first climb out of Horseshoe Bay it is a designated winter tire route, October 1 to April 30, and the Duffey Lake section is closed to trucks without chains at the first snow.
- Runs from: Peace Arch (US line) to Cache Creek
- Length: 378 km
- Local name: Sea to Sky Highway
- Winter tire route: Yes, October 1 – April 30
Weather data from Sep 20, 2026 3:18 AM PDT
9°C
15°C
11 km/h
101.7-102.1 kPa
2 current reports along the route. Always check with DriveBC before setting off.
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Lanes blocked
Road work on Highway 99, Oak Street
Utility work from Highway 99, In Vancouver and W 70th Ave to In Vancouver and W 71 Ave. Starting Mon Aug 24 until Mon Sep 21. From 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM PDT, Monday to Thursday. Right lane closed. Last update: August 24th, 2026 at 11:15am PDT.
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Lanes blocked
Road work on Highway 99, George Massey Tunnel
Bridge maintenance at Highway 99, In Richmond. Starting Fri Sep 18 until Sun Sep 20. From 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM PDT the next day, Friday to Sunday. Last update: September 14th, 2026 at 8:04am PDT. Northbound lanes will be closed September 18th, southbound lanes will be closed September 19th.
Winter tire and chain requirements on Highway 99
Highway 99 is a designated winter tire and chain route. Winter tires are required on it every year from October 1 to April 30, whatever the forecast on the day: a legal winter tire in BC carries either the letters M and S (mud and snow, the legal minimum, which includes many all-season tires) or the three-peaked mountain and snowflake symbol, and has at least 3.5 mm of tread. The province notes that mountain-snowflake tires grip better on snow and ice. Passenger vehicles may add chains or other traction devices to their winter tires; chains alone are not a substitute for them.
Commercial vehicles between 5,000 and 11,794 kg licensed GVW must carry chains or traction devices, or run winter-rated tires; vehicles of 11,794 kg and over must carry steel chains on most major highways from October 1 to April 30 and install them where the chain-up signs say so. Not carrying chains where required is a $196 fine; driving past an active chain-up area is $598.
The full rule, the fines and the exceptions are on the British Columbia page. Source: gov.bc.ca, Tire and Chain Requirements, checked September 8, 2026. What is in force today — a chain-up, a closure — is on DriveBC ↗.
Segments and what to expect
Highway 99 is not one road in winter but six, and the names below are the ones drivers and DriveBC use for them. The elevations are the province's own, from its cameras at the places named.
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Peace Arch to Vancouver
The border crossing and the city: a freeway to the Oak Street Bridge, then city streets. Not the winter story, except for the bridges in a cold snap.
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The Sea to Sky: Horseshoe Bay to Squamish from 131 m
Cut into the cliffs above Howe Sound past Lions Bay and Britannia Beach. Rain rather than snow at sea level, but rockfall and landslides — the December 2024 slide at Lions Bay shut it for a night — and no road round.
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Squamish to Whistler to 674 m
The climb from the sea to the ski town at 674 m: the snow line moves up and down this stretch through the day, and the surface with it. The winter tire rule applies from Horseshoe Bay on.
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Whistler to Pemberton 674 m → 209 m
Down past Green Lake and the Soo River to the Pemberton Valley (209 m), the warmer, lower pocket where the road drops out of the snow.
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The Duffey Lake Road: Pemberton to Lillooet 209 m → 1,279 m
A 1,000 m climb out of Pemberton to the Duffey Lake camera at 1,279 m, then a long, steep, unlit descent to Lillooet. Two lanes, no services, and the site of the fatal slide of 15 November 2021.
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Lillooet to Cache Creek 340 m → 464 m
The Fraser benchland through Fountain and Pavilion and Marble Canyon to Highway 97: dry, cold, and icy on the shaded bends.
Closures that have shaped Highway 99
Not a log of every hour DriveBC has shut a lane — the events that say what kind of road this is, each with the source it comes from.
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A landslide between Lions Bay Avenue and Brunswick Beach Road closed the Sea to Sky in both directions on 14 December 2024; Squamish asked people not to drive south if they were going beyond Lions Bay, and the road reopened at 6:30 the next morning. Source: District of Squamish, 14 December 2024.
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A mudslide 42 km south of Lillooet on the Duffey Lake Road on 15 November 2021 killed five people and cut Pemberton from Lillooet. The section reopened on 29 November for essential travel only, with vehicles over 14,500 kg kept off it. Source: BC Gov News, 29 November 2021; more ↗.
Alternate routes when Highway 99 is closed
- If the Duffey Lake Road, Pemberton to Lillooet is closed: Back through Vancouver, Highway 1 to Lytton and Highway 12 — about 4 h 5 min longer than the direct road when both are open, 445 km against 130 km. There is no short way round the Duffey. The road alternative is back down the Sea to Sky, out the Fraser Valley and up the Fraser Canyon to Lytton, then Highway 12 — the best part of a day.
Distances and times are measured over openrouteservice on a clear road; a closure day is not one, because the detour carries the closed road's traffic too. What is closed right now is on DriveBC ↗.
Highway 99 Winter Driving FAQ
- Do I need winter tires to drive to Whistler?
- Yes, from Horseshoe Bay on. Highway 99 north of the Lower Mainland is a designated winter tire route from October 1 to April 30, and the RCMP check at the bottom of the climb; a car needs M+S or mountain-snowflake tires with at least 3.5 mm of tread. Between the border and Horseshoe Bay the rule does not apply.
- What is the Sea to Sky like in winter between Vancouver and Whistler?
- Long enough for the weather to change: the road climbs from sea level at Squamish to 674 m at Whistler, and the snow line moves up and down that climb through a winter day, so the surface at the top is not the surface at the bottom. Rain at Horseshoe Bay is the normal forecast for snow at Whistler.
- Is there another way to Whistler if Highway 99 is closed?
- Not a practical one from Vancouver: the Sea to Sky is the only road, and a closure at Lions Bay or Britannia Beach is waited out. From the Interior, Whistler can be reached over the Duffey Lake Road from Lillooet, weather permitting.
- What is the Duffey Lake Road like in winter?
- The hardest part of Highway 99: two lanes from Pemberton at 209 m to a 1,279 m camera at Duffey Lake and a long, steep, unlit descent to Lillooet, with no services and, since November 2021, a weight limit after the slide that killed five people. It closes for avalanche control and slides; the alternative is back through Vancouver and up the Fraser Canyon, most of a day.
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