Ideas for 3 Week Road trip in BC & Alberta

[llawjm]

Fellow Travellers!

You guys have helped me out before, and all your suggestions for my most recent trip to California were very helpful, so I send a huge thank you to you all!

So our next trip is British Columbia & Alberta and we're trying to compile a list of "must see" places on our road trip. We (German 25f and Aussie 31m)

We'll be hitting Vancouver on the 11th of October 2010 and have 3 weeks to play with before flying out of Vancouver.

Having read up on Western Canada, there's so much to see and do. We love nature, and most of our time shall be spent outdoors of course.

We've got a few places in mind to visit, although very vague:

- Vancouver Island (Victoria)
- Vancouver
- Jasper
- Icefields Parkway
- Banff
- Whistler

Our transport shall be a rental car (something with guts to tackle the mighty Rockies), and accommodation shall be a mixture of hotels, hostels and private accommodation offered via the NP websites that we've been reading about. Has anyone done private accom in the National Parks before?

So if you have any tips, suggestions, accommodation or road trip itineraries that will occupy us for 3 weeks then that would be just so helpful to us.

Thanks again, any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Matt & Mel

[Ruby]

hi guys,

This is one way I would structure the BC & Alberta road trip:

Day 1-2: Vancouver to Castlegar

In Vancouver, you can check Chinatown and the beautiful Stanley Park, as well as other attractions. Then, drive to Castlegear and stay at Syringa Creek PP which is a nice little campground, situated on Lower Arrow Lake. I believe is around $15 per night.

Day 3-4: Castlegar to Radium Hot Springs

Drive to Radium Hot Springs. you'll find many lodges and resorts to spend the night if you wish

Day 5-6: Radium Hot Springs to Calgary
Once you cross the border into Alberta, you can stop in Banff for lunch to celebrate.

Day 7-8: Calgary

In Calgary, you have awsome Athabasca Falls

Day 9-10: Calgary to Jasper

Have some lunch in Lake Louise, and find a place to stay in Jasper. You have lodges, campgrounds and cabing to choose from at the park.

Day 11-12: Jasper to Lillooet
Long drive fro Jasper through Kamloops and visit Seton Lake, the Miyazaki House and the Old Bridge in Lillooet, and spend the night

Day 13-14 Lillooet to Vancouver
Drive back to Vancouver and fly out home

By the way, have you thought about renting an RV?

[llawjm]

Thanks for your input Travadvice360!

You mentioned that traveling through the Rockies in October is going to be hit and miss weather wise.

Would it be wise to try and head as far north as we can (Jasper) and then work our way down towards Banff etc. Thus driving clockwise from Vancouver.

Thanks again for your advice and tips. We shall certainly report back!

Matt

[llawjm]

Hi guys,

Firstly I must say sorry about all the 'Destination Points' in the first set of Google Maps from my first posting. The intention was to highlight a road map, not to stay at those places.

So we've been collating the many replies we've had across the forum posts, and have pretty much decided on a clockwise route to the Rockies.



Question: Driving Vancouver to Jasper - which way?
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A few people have mentioned it's worth heading up Highway #1 from Hope, which merges into Highway 97 then to highway 24, and joining back up with Highway 5 at Little Fort.

See Map: tiny.cc CanadaRockiesOption1

Or should we just press on from Vancouver and head straight to Jasper via Kamloops.

See Map: tiny.cc CanadaRockiesOption2

Where would you recommend we stay for a day or two between Vancouver and Jasper? Is it worth spending a day or two exploring Wells Gray Park?



Question: Driving Banff to Vancouver - which way?
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What is the most scenic way to travel back to Vancouver from Banff? We'd like to hit the wineries around Osoyoos. Should we go direct and travel directly south via Cranbrook, and then west along the US/Canada border; or should we drive South-West via Glacier NP and Mt Revelstoke NP and finally passing through Kelowna and the down to Osoyoos?



Question: Thanksgiving Day
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I should probably put this in the Vancouver forum. It's come to our attention that we are arriving on Canada Thanksgiving Day (Monday October 11th). Is it worth starting the road trip on this day, or spending the day in Vancouver. I'm assuming most things are closed in Vancouver and the day is spent celebrating with families. If we do stay for the day, can anyone recommend some places to stay/eat on this day?



I do partly regret booking our flight over to Vancouver and beginning the road trip there. I think we should of really flown into Calgary and started from West to East instead of doing the loop.

That being said, if there are some 'must see' places to explore on our way to Jasper from Vancouver, we are all ears.

Thank you again for your time and wonderful ideas - you are all great people! We have made sure our rental car has all weather tires, so that's sorted!

Cheers

Matt & Mel.

[Ruby]

Hi,

You could also hit Hope in British Columbia, as it is on the way to Osoyoos from Vancouver. You could also hit Harrison Hot Springs, kind of on the way to Hope but via another highway.

Between Banff & Jasper, you could take a tour bus at first just to get a feel for the place or find some destinations you want to go back to on your own. There are other "rockies" parks you might consider, like Yoho.

You could spend a week in Vancouver & Vancouver Island, a week between Jasper & Banff, and another week in the Interior visiting places like Barkerville, Nelson, Kelowna & Kamloops.

I wish you a great trip, I doubt you'll be disappointed wherever you choose to go.

On a final note, take it easy on the winding mountain roads through steep canyons. Don't be afraid to drive a little slower and more cautiously, as there may be snow on the roads.

Good luck