VANCOUVER - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 129

free showers. To get there, follow the ferry signs from Highway 99 and turn right off High-
way 17 at 52nd Street. Take the first left, and you're there.
Farther south along Highway 99 is Peace Arch RV Park (14601 40th Ave., 604/
594-7009, www.peacearchrvpark.ca , tents $35.50, hookups $40-50), which sprawls over
four hectares (10 acres) between White Rock and Delta, 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the
Douglas Border Crossing (take Exit 10—King George Highway—north from Highway 99,
then the first right, 40th Avenue). Although filled mostly with permanent trailers, facilities
include a heated pool, wireless Internet, playground and mini-golf, game room, coin-oper-
ated showers, and a laundry.
SURREY
The city of Surrey is well within Metro Vancouver but is officially its own incorporated
city—with a population of 450,000, it's British Columbia's second largest. Surrey sprawls
from the Fraser River in the north to White Rock and the international boundary in the south
and from Delta in the west to Langley in the east. Its first settlers were the Stewarts, who
built a homestead beside the Nicomekl River in 1894. The original homestead is now the
centerpiece of Elgin Heritage Park (13723 Crescent Rd., 250/543-3456, free), where the
grounds are always open. To get there, take the King George Highway exit off Highway 99,
then turn onto Elgin Road, which becomes Crescent Road.
WHITE ROCK
Named for a 400-ton glacial erratic that sits by the shoreline, this incorporated city of
20,000 lies right on the international border and surrounds the Douglas Border Crossing.
It is the main border crossing for Vancouver-bound travelers heading north on Highway
5 from Seattle (Highway 99 north of the border). At the 24-hour checkpoint are duty-free
shops and Peace Arch Provincial Park, where a stone archway symbolizes the friendly
relationship enjoyed between Canada and the United States.
Take 8th Avenue west from the first interchange north of the border to reach downtown
White Rock. Marine Drive hugs the coastline for five kilometers (3.1 miles), lined almost
the entire way with outdoor cafés, restaurants, old beach houses, and ocean-inspired con-
dominiums. At around 149th Street is the main concentration of restaurants, an information
center, and a long pier. Although the entire strip bustles with activity on summer weekends,
this section is super busy. The city's namesake lies above the high-tide mark just south of
the pier. It is now painted bright white and impossible to miss. The beach is no Caribbean