---
title: "Towns near Prince George: drive times and road conditions"
description: "15 towns within a few hours of Prince George: distance and drive time, the highways you take, current weather and DriveBC road events, with official links."
url: https://princegeorgepulse.ca/visit/nearby-towns/
markdown: https://princegeorgepulse.ca/visit/nearby-towns.md
site: PG Pulse (https://princegeorgepulse.ca), The pulse of Prince George, British Columbia
generated: 2026-10-16T15:51:39.956Z
---

# Towns near Prince George

Day trips and road trips from Prince George: how far each town is by road, how long the drive takes, which highways you take, the weather there now and any DriveBC events in town or along the way.

Towns and villages up to about five hours’ drive away: west and east on Highway 16, north and south on Highway 97.

Routes updated 6 days ago Weather 2 min ago Road events 2 min ago

_Towns near Prince George with road distance, drive time, highways, weather and road events_

| Town | By road | Drive | Highways | Weather now | Road events | Links |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Hixon Community | 62 km | 50 min | Hwy 97 | 11°C Overcast | Shoulder maintenance from Highway 97, At Parenteau Road to At Bannock Road (near town) Utility work from Morgan Road, At Highway 97 and Morgan Road to Highway 97, At Plett Number 1 Road (near town) Road maintenance from Olson Road, At Olson Road and Quesnel-Hixon Road to At Highway 97 and Olson Road (near town) [and 3 more on DriveBC](https://www.drivebc.ca/) | [Regional District of Fraser-Fort George](https://www.rdffg.ca/) |
| Bear Lake Community | 76 km | 1 h 3 min | Hwy 97 | 9°C Overcast | Paving operations from Highway 97, Bear Lake to Redrocky Creek (near town) | [Regional District of Fraser-Fort George](https://www.rdffg.ca/) |
| Vanderhoof District | 100 km | 1 h 22 min | Hwy 16 | 10°C Mainly clear | Road maintenance from Highway 16, In Vanderhoof and At Nechako Avenue to At Ryley Avenue (near town) | [District of Vanderhoof](https://vanderhoof.ca/) [Vanderhoof Chamber of Commerce](https://www.vanderhoofchamber.com/) |
| Quesnel City | 122 km | 1 h 38 min | Hwy 97 | 10°C Partly cloudy | Bridge closed at Johnston Bridge Loop, In Quesnel and Front St. (major, near town) Landslide at Cave Road, 13km North of Quesnel (major, near town) Shoulder maintenance from Highway 97, At Parenteau Road to At Bannock Road (on the way) [and 10 more on DriveBC](https://www.drivebc.ca/) | [City of Quesnel](https://www.quesnel.ca/) [Quesnel Tourism](https://www.tourismquesnel.com/) |
| Fraser Lake Village | 158 km | 2 h 9 min | Hwy 16 | 7°C Clear | Road maintenance from Highway 16, In Vanderhoof and At Nechako Avenue to At Ryley Avenue (on the way) | [Village of Fraser Lake](https://www.fraserlake.ca/) |
| Fort St. James District | 161 km | 2 h 19 min | Hwy 16, Hwy 27 | 8°C Clear | Road maintenance from Highway 16, In Vanderhoof and At Nechako Avenue to At Ryley Avenue (on the way) Geotechnical investigation from Tachie Road, In Fort Street James and At Highway 27 N and Tachie Road and Takla Road to Highway 27, 10km Northeast of Fort Street James. (near town) | [District of Fort St. James](https://www.fortstjames.ca/) [Fort St. James National Historic Site (Parks Canada)](https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/bc/stjames) |
| Mackenzie District | 182 km | 2 h 18 min | Hwy 97, Hwy 39 | 7°C Partly cloudy | Paving operations from Highway 97, Bear Lake to Redrocky Creek (on the way) Industrial traffic from Highway 97, 1km Southeast of Crooked River Rest Area N Access to 2km Southeast of Crooked River Rest Area N Access (on the way) | [District of Mackenzie](https://districtofmackenzie.ca/) [Mackenzie Chamber of Commerce](https://www.mackenziechamber.bc.ca/) |
| Wells and Barkerville District | 182 km | 2 h 37 min | Hwy 97, Hwy 26 | 9°C Overcast | Shoulder maintenance from Highway 97, At Parenteau Road to At Bannock Road (on the way) Utility work from Morgan Road, At Highway 97 and Morgan Road to Highway 97, At Plett Number 1 Road (on the way) Road maintenance from Olson Road, At Olson Road and Quesnel-Hixon Road to At Highway 97 and Olson Road (on the way) [and 5 more on DriveBC](https://www.drivebc.ca/) | [District of Wells](https://www.wells.ca/) [Barkerville Historic Town & Park](https://www.barkerville.ca/) |
| McBride Village | 209 km | 2 h 51 min | Hwy 16 | 6°C Partly cloudy | Bridge maintenance from Goat River East Pit Road to Highway 16, At Lamco Road (on the way) Utility work from Highway 16, At Small River Road and Rest Area and 47km Southeast of McBride to At Holmes River Bridge (near town) | [Village of McBride](https://www.mcbride.ca/) |
| Burns Lake Village | 228 km | 3 h 6 min | Hwy 16 | 9°C Partly cloudy | Road maintenance from Highway 16, In Vanderhoof and At Nechako Avenue to At Ryley Avenue (on the way) | [Village of Burns Lake](https://www.burnslake.ca/) [Visit Burns Lake](https://www.burnslake.ca/visit-burns-lake) |
| Williams Lake City | 241 km | 3 h 14 min | Hwy 97 | 9°C Partly cloudy | Bridge closed at Johnston Bridge Loop, In Quesnel and Front St. (major, on the way) Flooding at McKay Road, 41km Northwest of Williams Lake (major, near town) Shoulder maintenance from Highway 97, At Parenteau Road to At Bannock Road (on the way) [and 10 more on DriveBC](https://www.drivebc.ca/) | [City of Williams Lake](https://www.williamslake.ca/) |
| Valemount Village | 292 km | 3 h 57 min | Hwy 16, Hwy 5 | 8°C Mainly clear | Bridge maintenance from Goat River East Pit Road to Highway 16, At Lamco Road (on the way) Utility work from Highway 16, At Small River Road and Rest Area and 47km Southeast of McBride to At Holmes River Bridge (on the way) Railway crossing incident from Highway 5 (near town) | [Village of Valemount](https://valemount.ca/) [Tourism Valemount](https://visitvalemount.ca/) |
| Chetwynd District | 302 km | 3 h 42 min | Hwy 97 | 7°C Mainly clear | Paving operations from Highway 97, Bear Lake to Redrocky Creek (on the way) Industrial traffic from Highway 97, 1km Southeast of Crooked River Rest Area N Access to 2km Southeast of Crooked River Rest Area N Access (on the way) Paving operations from Highway 97, Mt Solitude to Powder King Rd (on the way) | [District of Chetwynd](https://www.gochetwynd.com/) |
| Smithers Town | 372 km | 5 h 6 min | Hwy 16 | 6°C Overcast | Road maintenance from Highway 16, In Vanderhoof and At Nechako Avenue to At Ryley Avenue (on the way) Construction work from Highway 16 (on the way) | [Town of Smithers](https://www.smithers.ca/) [Tourism Smithers](https://tourismsmithers.com/) |
| Jasper (Alberta) Municipality | 376 km | 5 h 4 min | Hwy 16 | 5°C Mainly clear | Bridge maintenance from Goat River East Pit Road to Highway 16, At Lamco Road (on the way) Utility work from Highway 16, At Small River Road and Rest Area and 47km Southeast of McBride to At Holmes River Bridge (on the way) Railway crossing incident from Highway 5 (on the way) | [Municipality of Jasper](https://www.jasper-alberta.ca/) [Tourism Jasper](https://www.jasper.travel/) |

[DriveBC road conditions](https://www.drivebc.ca/) [Where to stay in Prince George](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/visit/where-to-stay/)

## Sources and notes

- Distance, drive time and highways: [OSRM](https://project-osrm.org/) routing from downtown Prince George on map data © [OpenStreetMap contributors](https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright) (ODbL), recalculated weekly. Drive times assume good conditions and no stops; allow more in winter.
- Weather: [Weather data by Open-Meteo.com](https://open-meteo.com/) (CC BY 4.0), current model conditions at each town, refreshed every 30 minutes.
- Road events: [DriveBC](https://www.drivebc.ca/) (Open511 API, Province of British Columbia, Open Government Licence – British Columbia). "On the way" means on the route line outside Prince George; events in the city are on the [live dashboard](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/). Always check DriveBC before you leave.
- Town positions: [Canadian Geographical Names Database (Natural Resources Canada, Open Government Licence – Canada)](https://natural-resources.canada.ca/maps-tools-publications/maps/geographical-names-canada/download-geographical-names-data). Links go to each municipality and its tourism office.
- Open data: [/api/v1/nearby-towns](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/api/v1/nearby-towns).

## More in Explore

[See all in Explore](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/browse/#explore)

- [Things to do Parks, trails, indoor fun](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/visit/)
- [Outdoors Parks, lakes, trails and campgrounds nearby](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/outdoors/)
- [Indoor fun Things to do on rainy and cold days](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/visit/indoor-activities/)
- [Where to stay Hotels, motels, B&Bs and campgrounds](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/visit/where-to-stay/)
- [History and places The bowl, the rivers, the railway](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/explore/)
- [Lheidli T’enneh Whose land this is](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/indigenous/)

## Data

Machine-readable data behind this page, from the free PG Pulse API (https://princegeorgepulse.ca/developers/).

### Nearby towns

Source: [OSRM routing engine (router.project-osrm.org) on OpenStreetMap data](https://project-osrm.org/). Licence: ODbL 1.0, © OpenStreetMap contributors (https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright). Updated 2026-10-10T11:40:24.033Z.
JSON: https://princegeorgepulse.ca/api/v1/nearby-towns?fields=name,km,drive,highways,weather,roadEvents,site,tourism

| name | km | drive | highways |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Hixon | 62.3 | 50 min | Hwy 97 |
| Bear Lake | 76.4 | 1 h 3 min | Hwy 97 |
| Vanderhoof | 100 | 1 h 22 min | Hwy 16 |
| Quesnel | 122 | 1 h 38 min | Hwy 97 |
| Fraser Lake | 157.9 | 2 h 9 min | Hwy 16 |
| Fort St. James | 161 | 2 h 19 min | Hwy 16, Hwy 27 |
| Mackenzie | 181.7 | 2 h 18 min | Hwy 97, Hwy 39 |
| Wells and Barkerville | 181.7 | 2 h 37 min | Hwy 97, Hwy 26 |
| McBride | 209 | 2 h 51 min | Hwy 16 |
| Burns Lake | 228 | 3 h 6 min | Hwy 16 |
| Williams Lake | 241.2 | 3 h 14 min | Hwy 97 |
| Valemount | 292 | 3 h 57 min | Hwy 16, Hwy 5 |
| Chetwynd | 301.7 | 3 h 42 min | Hwy 97 |
| Smithers | 372.3 | 5 h 6 min | Hwy 16 |
| Jasper (Alberta) | 375.5 | 5 h 4 min | Hwy 16 |

_Nested fields (weather, roadEvents, site, tourism) are in the JSON version._

---

Markdown version of https://princegeorgepulse.ca/visit/nearby-towns/. Guide for AI agents: https://princegeorgepulse.ca/llms.txt. Free API: https://princegeorgepulse.ca/developers/