Best place to turn north?

What you see is in the eye of the beholder! We see a lot of scenery going through BC and Alberta that when we talk to people that did same route say "We didn't see that!"
Slow down and take your time is our response!
Cost of trip even pricey stuff is well worth the trip. You can cut corners if necessary by using provincial parks instead of many commercial parks.
Fuel cost in some areas are higher as the cater to some caravans. I spoke with several people that didn't convert liters to gallons correctly and then did not convert Canadian dollars to US dollars. Last trip the cost for fuel was nearly the same that we are paying in the NW.
The Alaska trip for many is once in a life time!

fulltimedaniel wrote:
As many have said virtually everything is unnecessarily expensive in Canada especially Gas-fuel, food and beer-wine.

I would avoid as much of Canada as Possible. Having said that I would head north through Alberta which has much cheaper fuel that BC. BC has a punitive Carbon Tax. Enter into Dawson Creek through Alberta.

It is really after Dawson Creek that the scenery gets better and better so you really wont miss too much.

And don't be fooled by the strength of the dollar. Even though the exchange is in our favor the costs will still be significantly higher than here in the US. This is why Canadians continue to flock to the Border Wal Marts and other stores despite their currency being worth-less.

Well...I shall take exception to your comment about the scenery gets better after Dawson. If a person heads west on 16 to Kitwanga..the Cassiar..and turns north, they will not be disappointed. Best is south to north...the mountains are amazing.

Then I will drift off into the rest of your text. And yep,you are right...it does cost more in Canada and more yet in BC. If that is the sole reason to not see as much as one can, people are better off flying up and renting an RV. Faster too. We do pay huge taxes and shelf costs to live here. We are pretty darned proud of our country and province too...so...please, just be aware of that when you cross over the border.


Gary Haupt

As many have said virtually everything is unnecessarily expensive in Canada especially Gas-fuel, food and beer-wine.

I would avoid as much of Canada as Possible. Having said that I would head north through Alberta which has much cheaper fuel that BC. BC has a punitive Carbon Tax. Enter into Dawson Creek through Alberta.

It is really after Dawson Creek that the scenery gets better and better so you really wont miss too much.

And don't be fooled by the strength of the dollar. Even though the exchange is in our favor the costs will still be significantly higher than here in the US. This is why Canadians continue to flock to the Border Wal Marts and other stores despite their currency being worth-less.

This past summer we headed north from Bismarck, ND and crossed at Sherwood, ND on ND28. I prefer crossing at more rural type crossings, more low-key. Crossing in ND begins a long diagonal stretch through Saskatchewan. Terrain is rolling hills and farmland much like ND but good easy driving. We returned via Cassiar and into MT north of Whitefish and spent a few days in Glacier last fall.

Sweetgrass is quick and easy, avoids crossing the Mt. if you want to see some parks first swing by Banff or Glacier.

The Calgary or Edmonton are big cities. After that you will be on your way to Alaska very easy route.

Come back down the Cassiar, swing by Stewart/Hyder see the bears, the road is narrow but easy to drive at the speed limit, the most picturesque route. Many other sights to see on this route, research the trip up and down, traveling thru Canada is a big part of the trip take your time see the sights.

It's been too long so I can't remember specific routes / #'s, but FWIW (as a die-hard Alaska fan), if time allows, I'd go through as much of BC as possible. BC and YT scenery are (IMNSHO) as nice as Alaska.

Nothing's better than Alaska, of course. :)

On your way up:
Alaska Hwy north, Cassiar south
Once in Alberta take Hwy 3 west to the Jct with Hwy 22 take that north all the way to Hwy 1, then head west to Banff
Banff continue on Hwy 1 to Lake Louise then take Hwy 93 ( ice Field Parkway) to Jasper.
After Jasper take Hwy 16 east towards Hinton Alberta, just east of Hinton there is a Hwy Jct with Hwy 40 to Grande Cashe, take that all the way to Grande Prairie then head west on Hwy 43, once you enter BC will become Hwy 2 to the short distance to Dawson Creek
Once at Dawson Creek follow The " Alaska Hwy" ( hwy 97 in BC & Hwy 1 in Yukon) all the way north.
One the way back take Hwy 37 ( the Cassiar Hwy) south to Hwy 16, after that where every you want to go.
The reason I say go up the Alaska and down the Cassiar is you may hit the salmon spawning run on Fish Creek at Hyder Alaska which is 2km west of Stewart BC. Take the Hwy 37- A at Mazeaiden Lake / Jct ( Hwy 37 / Hwy 37-A) to Stewart.
If you head up in late June early July you may be to early. They are usually there about mid July until mid September.
My DW was raised in Stewart and I can tell you it is something to see.
Soup.

on our 2 trips we crossed over at North Portal, SK via US52. you spend more driving time in Canada, but it is less miles than going to Sweetgrass, MT.
So you drive fewer miles but spend more on fuel. If you have a mapping program you can calculate which way is less expensive. My program had me driving 231 miles farther when going to Sweetgrass, MT. Which means at 60 MPH 4 +- hours driving time.
So, my program says

Minot, ND to Sweetgrass, MT = 581 miles
Sweetgrass, MT to Dawson Creek = 773 miles

total 1354 miles

****************

Minot, ND to Dawson Creek via North Portal (using US52) , SK then Weyburn, SK (where we spend the nite at the city park) thru Moose Jaw, then Lloydminster,
Total miles 1123

This was our route and it worked for us.

Good Luck

PS - fill up just before crossing at North Portal. carry extra fuel if possible.

As posted, North on Alberta Highway 22 (aka Cowboy Trail) is best route to get away from city traffic.

A variation would be to get to Prince George and go west then take Cassiar Highway north and return via the Alaska highway to Dawson Creek and then to Edmonton.
Have you got your Milepost yet?