Motorhome trip Toronto-Vancouver in mid-June
Hi there! We intend to make a trip from Toronto to Vancouver with a motorhome and we want it to be only through Canada as we want to see as much of it as possible :) We are new to Canada so I was w...
Forum Discussion
Leda, we emigrated from the UK in the early 1990's originally Calgary bound but being head hunted before landing, ended up in Oakville Ontario - 9 weeks later with 2 young children and a loaded to the rafters mini van we headed out to Calgary area where we always wanted to be and have remained for over 20+ years close to on an acreage - I have to say, we had no concept whatsoever about just how vast and wide Canada is, and we're pretty thorough in our research, and generally seen as very level headed people.
It took us just two days of heavy travelling to get out of Ontario, and Northern Ontario is quite something else driving through the first time, and with moose and bears we won't by choice travel after dark there. In a nutshell it took us 4 days/3 nights to get to Calgary just solid driving and that was in a brand new Dodge Caravan. Just saying FWIW.
Anyway, I digress but trying to say I appreciate where you are coming from, and this might seem a bit mixed but I'll type as I try to recall past trips across Canada (4 so far back and forth).
So we rarely ever stay in CG's, we are avid boondockers/dry campers since the late 90's and we have stayed everywhere overnight (love casinos by choice nowadays if no crown land available), Swift Current = Walmart, Manitobah Walmart, Nipigon where hubby loves to fish for Pike & Walleye, there is a small park with kiddies play area where we've stayed a couple of times over night very comfortable. Thunder bay Walmart. In the more desolate northern parts of Ontario we've come across a handful of teeny hamlets with maybe a dozen properties which included a cafe with large gravel area to the side, that welcomed many truckers and travellers to overnight for a few hours, or a gas station with similar amenities. I also recall spending an overnight once at a visitor centre or similar somewhere west of the Ontario/Manitobah border.
FWIW, we've stayed in many small hamlets typically near water as hubby loves fishing (always look for boat launch signs/locations that have given us some awesome boon docking areas to stay).
On your travels, you really might enjoy stopping off at Lake Of The Woods, N Ontario, for a couple of days to let the children have their water fix and a break from always driving. I tend to concur with others to allow a little longer than 2 weeks = at least 3 otherwise you will be just driving and driving going in both directions and missing out a lot.
As for service, we had it all across Canada generally with both Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility a few years ago last time. However, I lost Bell service in Northern Ontario for several hours driving, where Telus was much better but again it was still spotty at times.
Seriously I wouldn't drive after dusk (wildlife!) in Northern Ontario, and we are not flappers or planners on where we are going to stop for sure overnight anywhere specific for the most part, unless high demand areas like Disney, LA, Newport, or Fla Keys in the winter when it's packed to the rafters. We have a rough idea with pacing ourselves, but allow wiggle room in case we come across somewhere we want to spend a little longer, plus breakdowns do happen as well, and after 17+ years of RVing across Canada and the USA we've yet not to have found somewhere comfortable to overnight. Very often we just pull in somewhere well lit, along side other overnighters if we are in travel mode.
Hope the above helps, but assuming you are not particularly looking for CG's or RV parks, check out Canada Crown Lands for boon docking, www.freecampsites.com www.sanidumps.com (when your tanks get full). Scan Boondockerswelcome.com in case that is something worth joining if there are enough members registered for overnight guest parking as well maybe, also take a boo at Harvest Hosts. Some of these are definitely more USA geared than Canada but that aspect is growing more each year.
Good luck, happy travels and hopefully you can squeeze a little more time to take the time to smell the roses enroute.
FTW.
PS: If you are looking to boondock 10 minutes South of Calgary City Limits you'd be welcome to stay a few nights here at ours to experience our wonderful area before heading up to Banff, Lake Louise, Columbian Icefields (we boondock there at Brewsters), Jasper. If you've got time it's worth exploring Peter Lougheed, Kananaski's Country, Canmore, Lunch at the Pie Shop In Cochrane and much more. Offers there and sincere, just pm me.
It took us just two days of heavy travelling to get out of Ontario, and Northern Ontario is quite something else driving through the first time, and with moose and bears we won't by choice travel after dark there. In a nutshell it took us 4 days/3 nights to get to Calgary just solid driving and that was in a brand new Dodge Caravan. Just saying FWIW.
Anyway, I digress but trying to say I appreciate where you are coming from, and this might seem a bit mixed but I'll type as I try to recall past trips across Canada (4 so far back and forth).
So we rarely ever stay in CG's, we are avid boondockers/dry campers since the late 90's and we have stayed everywhere overnight (love casinos by choice nowadays if no crown land available), Swift Current = Walmart, Manitobah Walmart, Nipigon where hubby loves to fish for Pike & Walleye, there is a small park with kiddies play area where we've stayed a couple of times over night very comfortable. Thunder bay Walmart. In the more desolate northern parts of Ontario we've come across a handful of teeny hamlets with maybe a dozen properties which included a cafe with large gravel area to the side, that welcomed many truckers and travellers to overnight for a few hours, or a gas station with similar amenities. I also recall spending an overnight once at a visitor centre or similar somewhere west of the Ontario/Manitobah border.
FWIW, we've stayed in many small hamlets typically near water as hubby loves fishing (always look for boat launch signs/locations that have given us some awesome boon docking areas to stay).
On your travels, you really might enjoy stopping off at Lake Of The Woods, N Ontario, for a couple of days to let the children have their water fix and a break from always driving. I tend to concur with others to allow a little longer than 2 weeks = at least 3 otherwise you will be just driving and driving going in both directions and missing out a lot.
As for service, we had it all across Canada generally with both Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility a few years ago last time. However, I lost Bell service in Northern Ontario for several hours driving, where Telus was much better but again it was still spotty at times.
Seriously I wouldn't drive after dusk (wildlife!) in Northern Ontario, and we are not flappers or planners on where we are going to stop for sure overnight anywhere specific for the most part, unless high demand areas like Disney, LA, Newport, or Fla Keys in the winter when it's packed to the rafters. We have a rough idea with pacing ourselves, but allow wiggle room in case we come across somewhere we want to spend a little longer, plus breakdowns do happen as well, and after 17+ years of RVing across Canada and the USA we've yet not to have found somewhere comfortable to overnight. Very often we just pull in somewhere well lit, along side other overnighters if we are in travel mode.
Hope the above helps, but assuming you are not particularly looking for CG's or RV parks, check out Canada Crown Lands for boon docking, www.freecampsites.com www.sanidumps.com (when your tanks get full). Scan Boondockerswelcome.com in case that is something worth joining if there are enough members registered for overnight guest parking as well maybe, also take a boo at Harvest Hosts. Some of these are definitely more USA geared than Canada but that aspect is growing more each year.
Good luck, happy travels and hopefully you can squeeze a little more time to take the time to smell the roses enroute.
FTW.
PS: If you are looking to boondock 10 minutes South of Calgary City Limits you'd be welcome to stay a few nights here at ours to experience our wonderful area before heading up to Banff, Lake Louise, Columbian Icefields (we boondock there at Brewsters), Jasper. If you've got time it's worth exploring Peter Lougheed, Kananaski's Country, Canmore, Lunch at the Pie Shop In Cochrane and much more. Offers there and sincere, just pm me.
