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Lexx's avatar
Lexx
Explorer
Mar 20, 2018

NorCal to SLC, Yellowstone, Banff, Vancouver, WA, and OR

We’ve planned an inaugeral 10 week summer tour this summer, leaving in June and returning in August.

Our route will be from the Folsom area of California via I-80 to Winnemuca, NV where we spend the night. Then onward the next day up to Salt Lake City for a few days at the Pony Express RV resort.

Then it’s I-15 up to the Snake River Resort in Idaho Falls. From there we continue north to the West Gate KOA neare West Yellowstone for several days.

Next it’s back on I-15 northward to the Great Falls KOA.

We go onward north on I-15 crossing into Canada where the road becomes Alberta 4 North and stay in Lethbridge.

Then its Alberta 3 W to 519 to 2 N up to Bow’s River Edge Campground in Stony Plain, just outside of Calgary. We’ll be there for several days.

From Calgary we get back on 2 N until 1A and head NW to Camp N’Class just outside of Edmonton, AB. We will spend a full week here.

From Edmonton we head west on AB 16 to Whistler’s Campground in Jasper for several days.

We next head south to Tunnel’s Campground in Banff. We’ll probably spend some time on the Ice Field’s Parkway and Lake Louise as well but we won’t camp there.

We exit southwest on 93 to Redstreak Campground and Radium Hot Springs.

Then it’s North on BC 93 and west on Trans Canada 1 to Lamlighter Campground in Revelstoke for a few days.

We continue on southwest on Trans Canada 1 to 97 South heading down into Kelowna/Okanagan Valley for a few days there.

Continuing on 97 S to Nk’MIP in Osoyoos for a visit.

From there we take 3 W to Hope BC.

We will then take Trans Canada 1 west until we hit Vancouver. I have arranged for the trailer to be stored there for 3 weeks while we stay with family in Vancouver.

We leave BC heading south on 99 out of Richmond BC, crossing the border back into the US.

We’ll continue on I-5 South staying in the Fildago Bay Resort in Anacortes, WA for a few days to visit friends and shop.

Then it’s pretty much I-5 all the way south with stops in Woodland, Canyonville, and Reddding before we finally arrive back home.

It’s a LOT of driving! And I’ve never towed a RV until now. We’ll do some short trips between now and Summer of course.

Any cautions to watch out for on this route? Suggestions? Am I crazy?
  • Oh yes. We have reservations at the national parks. I had to get up early in January to get the spots for this summer. They book uo so quickly!

    We're looking forward to the Okanagan Valley!
  • Wave when you go by my front door.:)That will be a great trip but make sure you have reservations in our national parks, they are likely booked solid by now.
    Once in Alberta consider taking 22 north. It is much more scenic than 2 and not nearly as busy.
  • We have triplet 6 yr old boys! They're used to car travel. We'll take the van down to SoCal every so often so they entertain themselves nowadays. Otherwise there's always their Kindles.

    Our plan to drive from 2 - 4 hrs a day. That's according to google maps. I think there's one longish day at almost 5 hrs. And I don't have any back to back days where I'm doing more than a couple of hours each.

    Thankfully the truck has adaptive cruise control which helps take some of the stress off from people slowing down in front of me. And I've got blind spot monitors.

    I'm hoping this will be a fun family adventure. That's why I got the trailer!
  • Your signature mentions kids -- how old are they? Are they happy sitting for days on end in a moving vehicle? (Some are. Mine were not.)

    But you are not crazy. We have taken trips in that general area lasting six weeks --- without the kids (who are now grown). And if you take a few shorter trips before the Big One, you will be ready for the long haul, so to speak.

    My only advice would be to avoid days that are much longer than 300 miles. Towing is hard work, at least from the standpoint of mental effort. Since a vehicle plus trailer is so much more cumbersome than a lone vehicle, you have to drive even farther ahead, with even greater caution than usual. It is tiring after six or eight hours on the road.

    I am not complaining -- we really love trailering! But it is not effortless.