East Access vs West Access

fanrgs wrote:
Why not do both? Going to and coming back from Alaska is an adventure in itself. So why not see as much of western Canada as possible?

We combined parts of all three access routes on our 2013 trip. Oroville, WA to Kamloops, BC on the Central Route, then Cache Creek, BC to Prince George on the West Route. From PG, we traveled the Yellowhead Hwy. to the Cassiar Highway and on to Alaska. That gave us a chance to spend time in one of our now "must-return-to" destinations--the Okanagan Valley of BC. In fact, we are planning a return trip to the Okanagan, then on to Victoria and Vancouver, for fall 2015.

On the way home from Alaska, we used the East Access Route from Calgary to Great Falls. We had traveled from Dawson Creek through Grande Cache and Hinton, AB to revisit the Icefields Parkway. We saved Jasper and Banff NPs for last to end the trip in two of our favorite national parks anywhere.

We did the same route this year, except we took 99 out of Vancouver through Whistler... Amazing! This year the weather was better on the west route in May.

SideHillSoup wrote:
I guess the map in milepost is showing only two " main" routes North to Alaska from below the 49th. However there are many ways to cross the 49th to start your treck North those are only two of them.

The Milepost actually has mile-by-mile descriptions of 3 "access routes"--West, East, and Central. However, none of the 3 include the Kootenais, Highway 93 from Montana, Highway 6 from Glacier National Park, or any route through Saskatchewan. So, as you say, there are many ways to "skin that cat."

But for someone who has never been in western Canada or Alaska before and wants a little help planning a route, the Milepost is a great tool.

Funny when I read the post I was trying to figure out what was I going to find when I opened it to read.
I guess the map in milepost is showing only two " main" routes North to Alaska from below the 49th. However there are many ways to cross the 49th to start your treck North those are only two of them. There are many beautiful places between the 49th and Alaska that a lot of people don't see if they travel by someone else's map.
I haul around a 34 ft 5th wheel up here in the West Kootenays of BC are good roads to travel on.
Come on and have a look around on some of the differnt ways to head north and south through BC and Alberta you may be surprised at what you find.
Soup

Tee Jay wrote:
The Icefields Parkway will show a lot of glacier in May into June, not so much in August and September.

In May and June, snow covers most of the glaciers so you don't see many. By August the snow has melted off and it's the glacier ice you see.

From Central Maryland, it is just added miles to think about the West route. It depends on When you plan to travel The Icefields Parkway will show a lot of glacier in May into June, not so much in August and September.

We cross the border at Sumas, WA and travel to Hope but stay on the freeway and cross the Cascades on the freeway to Merritt and Kamloops, then north thru Valemont to Hwy 16, East thru Jasper to Hinton, north to Grand Prairie and then Dawson Creek. I intensely dislike going thru the Fraser River Canyon as the road changes from two-lane to 4-lane divided and back a lot, and the rush to beat the RV so they can slow down is tiresome. Also, Hwy 97 has a lot of towns, a lot of stop lights, and a lot of traffic. On our route, you could get to Hwy 16 (Yellowhead) and go West to Grand Prairie, then either north on 97 to Dawson or continue West to the Cassiar. Both 97 and 16 are pleasant drives after you leave Prince George.

The other option is continue on 90 to Missoula and take 93 on the west side of Missoula going north around Flathead Lake and into Canada. It is a pretty laid back border crossing. Hwy 93 goes to Radium Hot Springs and turns E/NE toward Banff/Lake Louise. At Canada 1 go left or West to Icefields, north to Jasper, East to Hinton and North to Grand Prairie.

In planning your trip, Glacier NP is not fully open until July most years. Yellowstone is open by early May usually. The Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody is year round, the entry fee is good for 2 days, and you need 2 days to see it all. Custer Battlefield is year round. Theodore Roosevelt NP is year round. In South Dakota Crazy Horse is still a work in progress.

So a suggestion assuming late May early June travel. See what you want to and take 93 north. Do Alaska. Take the Cassiar south, Hwy 16 back to Jasper, Icefields and 93 south, and see what else there is or what you want to return to on the way home.

Why not do both? Going to and coming back from Alaska is an adventure in itself. So why not see as much of western Canada as possible?

We combined parts of all three access routes on our 2013 trip. Oroville, WA to Kamloops, BC on the Central Route, then Cache Creek, BC to Prince George on the West Route. From PG, we traveled the Yellowhead Hwy. to the Cassiar Highway and on to Alaska. That gave us a chance to spend time in one of our now "must-return-to" destinations--the Okanagan Valley of BC. In fact, we are planning a return trip to the Okanagan, then on to Victoria and Vancouver, for fall 2015.

On the way home from Alaska, we used the East Access Route from Calgary to Great Falls. We had traveled from Dawson Creek through Grande Cache and Hinton, AB to revisit the Icefields Parkway. We saved Jasper and Banff NPs for last to end the trip in two of our favorite national parks anywhere.