What does “compact snow” mean on the Coquihalla?

Compact snow means snow has been packed down by traffic into a hard, bonded layer over the pavement. The road is passable but the surface is snow, not asphalt — grip is far lower than bare pavement, and it can turn to ice where it polishes under traffic or refreezes overnight.

Are winter tires required on the Coquihalla Highway?

Yes. Highway 5 over the Coquihalla is a designated winter tire route in British Columbia. From October 1 to April 30, passenger vehicles must have either mountain/snowflake (3PMSF) tires or M+S tires with at least 3.5 mm of tread. Commercial vehicles must also carry chains on this route.

How often does the Coquihalla close in winter?

Closures on Highway 5 cluster in winter storms and are usually measured in hours rather than days: crashes and spinouts, snow-clearing holds, and scheduled avalanche control near the Coquihalla summit. This page publishes the closure counts and average durations from our own continuous DriveBC monitoring log.

Coquihalla road conditions, explained

Highway 5 between Hope and Kamloops climbs to 1,244 m at the Coquihalla summit — roughly a kilometre higher than either end of the drive. That's why the road report can say bare and dry in Hope and compact snow at the summit on the same afternoon. This page explains what DriveBC's wording actually means for your drive, what the winter tire law requires on this specific route, where the chain-up areas are, and how often the Coquihalla actually closes — measured from our own monitoring log rather than guesswork.

What DriveBC's hazard words mean

DriveBC surface descriptions are standardised. They're short, but each phrase implies a fairly specific amount of grip.

Bare and dry

Clean pavement, no moisture. Normal traction. On the Coquihalla this is common at the Hope and Merritt ends while the summit is still snow-covered — don't assume it holds for the whole corridor.

Bare and wet

Pavement is visible but wet. Grip is close to normal, but if the air temperature is near or below freezing — very common at the summit overnight — that water can turn to ice within minutes. Wet plus falling temperature is the classic black ice setup.

Compact snow

Snow packed down by traffic into a hard, bonded layer over the pavement. The highway is passable, but you are driving on snow, not asphalt. Braking distances stretch dramatically, and polished compact snow behaves much like ice — especially in the wheel tracks on the long Box Canyon and Great Bear climbs.

Slippery sections

Intermittent loss of traction: patchy ice, refrozen slush, or snow drifting across otherwise clear lanes. The hazard is the transition — full grip, then none, with no visual warning. Treat it as a reason to leave extra following distance rather than a minor note.

Black ice

A thin, transparent ice layer that looks like wet pavement. It forms when moisture freezes on a road surface that's colder than the air — bridge decks, shaded cuts, and the summit plateau first. It's most likely in the early morning and after sunset, and it doesn't announce itself: the road simply stops responding to steering input.

Limited or poor visibility

Blowing snow or fog. On Hwy 5 the summit and the Zopkios area produce ground blizzards in wind even when it isn't snowing. Visibility events are also what most often precede a full closure, because they cause the multi-vehicle incidents that shut the highway.

Avalanche control

Planned closure while crews trigger unstable snow above the highway on purpose, typically near the summit. These have a defined window and are safety work, not an incident — but the road is genuinely closed for the duration.

Winter tires on the Coquihalla: what the law says

Highway 5 over the Coquihalla is one of British Columbia's designated winter tire routes, and it carries the longer of the two provincial date ranges because of its elevation.

Dates: October 1 through April 30 on the Coquihalla. (Many lower-elevation BC highways end March 31 — this route does not.)
Passenger vehicles: tires marked with the mountain/snowflake symbol (3PMSF), or M+S "all-season" tires — either way with a minimum tread depth of 3.5 mm. Worn M+S tires are not legal here even if they're marked.
All four wheels: matched winter or M+S tires on all four positions. Two winters on the drive axle isn't compliant.
Commercial vehicles: must carry chains on this route during the same period, and comply when chain-up is in effect.
Enforcement: signs at Hope and Merritt mark the start of the designated section. Non-compliant vehicles can be fined and turned back, and insurance and towing arguments after a crash often turn on tread depth.

Practical version: studless winter tires are the right call for the Coq, not a compliance minimum. The summit sees snow in October and in May.

Chain-up and pull-out areas on Hwy 5

Commercial chain-up areas are signed and plowed pull-outs on both the northbound and southbound climbs. The ones drivers reference most on this corridor:

Box Canyon — first major northbound climb out of Hope; the usual first chain-up call of a storm.
Zopkios / Great Bear — the brake-check and rest area complex approaching the summit from the south, and the most exposed stretch for blowing snow.
Coquihalla summit area — pull-outs on both sides near the toll plaza site.
Northbound and southbound brake checks near Merritt — used for chain removal on the descent side.

Chain-up areas are for chaining up, not for waiting out a closure — during closures, park in Hope or Merritt. Never stop in a live lane or on a shoulder in poor visibility; being rear-ended in a whiteout is the single most common way a delay becomes a closure.

How often the Coquihalla actually closes

We poll DriveBC's official Open511 feed for this corridor every five minutes and log every status change. These figures come from that log, so they're observed, not estimated.

Logged closures: 3
Avalanche holds: 0
Delay events: 5
Days observed: 22

Monitoring log starts July 8, 2026. Over the last 30 days, winter conditions were flagged on 0% of our checks.

The shape of the data matters more than the raw count. Coquihalla closures are overwhelmingly short and weather-triggered: a spinout or jackknifed truck on a snowy climb, a snow-clearing hold during heavy accumulation, or a scheduled avalanche control window near the summit. Most reopen within a few hours. The multi-day events people remember — the November 2021 atmospheric river being the extreme case — are infrastructure failures, not storms, and they are rare. Long-weekend and holiday traffic amplifies delays without necessarily causing closures.

You can browse every logged transition, with cause and duration, on our Coquihalla closure log.

Checking conditions before you leave

Check the live corridor status on our Coquihalla home page — it's direction-aware, so a northbound closure doesn't hide a clear southbound run.
Look at the DriveBC webcams. The summit and Great Bear cameras tell you in one glance whether the surface matches the wording.
Compare both ends. Hope, summit, and Merritt cameras frequently disagree; plan for the worst of the three.
Sign up for free closure alerts on the home page if your trip is time-sensitive. One email per closure, no account.
Know your alternate before you go: Hwy 1 through the Fraser Canyon, or Hwy 3 via Manning Park for the Okanagan.

Status data is sourced from DriveBC's Open511 feed. Winter tire and chain requirements are set by the BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit; always follow posted signs and official direction, which take precedence over anything on this page.