Banff to Vancouver BC Best Route
Looking for the best route (during mid July) recommendation Banff to Vancouver. We have about 2 weeeks to make it from Banff to Vancouver and then back to Oregon. My choices are narrowed down between ...
Forum Discussion
If heading from Banff, I'd head west to Golden and then go south on 95 to Radium Hot Springs.
At Radium there is a nice private CG(The Canyon) as well as a National Park( Redstreak)
Keep heading south on 95 through Cranbrook and then start heading west on 3 ( at Yahk).
If you noodle up the east side of Kootenay Lake there's a little ferry that will take you across the lake and there's Kootenay Lake Provincial Park that's a nice place to set up and head back up the road to Ainsworth Hot Springs.....very cool hot springs as there's a section of the 'pool' that is essentially a cave that you can loop through from one section of the pool to the other.
Nelson is also a cool little town. One of the 'modern hippie' towns in the Province....very laid back.
From Nelson I'd head to Osooyos, which is a busy little town in the summer. There are only private campgrounds here, and they fill up fast.
This is where I'd suggest you do some winery touring. Get on a touring bus and they'll take you 8-10 of the local wineries - there are close to 30 in the area. And to note, by the time you get near the end of your tour you will end up buying quite a few bottles as all the "tasting" from the previous wineries will have caught up with you :)
Osooyos also has a cool desert museum - worth seeing.
Start heading north from here. Oliver has a nice CG at Gallagher Lake. Lots of berry picking available here.
Up to Penticton from there, which is basically a plot of land separating two lakes - Skaha on the south and Okanagan on the North. The Skaha end has all the CG's and a fabulous beach.
Kelowna.....meh.....lived there and it is essentially the retail/business centre of the Valley. Read: VERY BUSY.
From there you could just make a B-line to the coast, or head north to Vernon and then west to Salmon Arm and Shuswap Lake. There are some nice Provincial CG's there.
As for Kamloops, it isn't the prettiest city in the Province. Kind of one of those places that you're glad you're just driving through on your way to somewhere else....sorry StirCrazy (hmm, interesting handle for someone from Kamloops :)
Stay on the TransCanada Hwy (#1) from Kamloops to get out to Ashcroft and then head south through the Fraser Canyon. An absolutely stunning drive right next to the river. It's a bit of a tricky drive, and in the summer will be slow with lots of lookie-loo's, but that's OK, it'll be you :)
I'd try to determine what route you're going to take very soon as CG's in the Province book up very early.
Have a great trip!!!
Mike
At Radium there is a nice private CG(The Canyon) as well as a National Park( Redstreak)
Keep heading south on 95 through Cranbrook and then start heading west on 3 ( at Yahk).
If you noodle up the east side of Kootenay Lake there's a little ferry that will take you across the lake and there's Kootenay Lake Provincial Park that's a nice place to set up and head back up the road to Ainsworth Hot Springs.....very cool hot springs as there's a section of the 'pool' that is essentially a cave that you can loop through from one section of the pool to the other.
Nelson is also a cool little town. One of the 'modern hippie' towns in the Province....very laid back.
From Nelson I'd head to Osooyos, which is a busy little town in the summer. There are only private campgrounds here, and they fill up fast.
This is where I'd suggest you do some winery touring. Get on a touring bus and they'll take you 8-10 of the local wineries - there are close to 30 in the area. And to note, by the time you get near the end of your tour you will end up buying quite a few bottles as all the "tasting" from the previous wineries will have caught up with you :)
Osooyos also has a cool desert museum - worth seeing.
Start heading north from here. Oliver has a nice CG at Gallagher Lake. Lots of berry picking available here.
Up to Penticton from there, which is basically a plot of land separating two lakes - Skaha on the south and Okanagan on the North. The Skaha end has all the CG's and a fabulous beach.
Kelowna.....meh.....lived there and it is essentially the retail/business centre of the Valley. Read: VERY BUSY.
From there you could just make a B-line to the coast, or head north to Vernon and then west to Salmon Arm and Shuswap Lake. There are some nice Provincial CG's there.
As for Kamloops, it isn't the prettiest city in the Province. Kind of one of those places that you're glad you're just driving through on your way to somewhere else....sorry StirCrazy (hmm, interesting handle for someone from Kamloops :)
Stay on the TransCanada Hwy (#1) from Kamloops to get out to Ashcroft and then head south through the Fraser Canyon. An absolutely stunning drive right next to the river. It's a bit of a tricky drive, and in the summer will be slow with lots of lookie-loo's, but that's OK, it'll be you :)
I'd try to determine what route you're going to take very soon as CG's in the Province book up very early.
Have a great trip!!!
Mike
