Provincial parks payments

We just got back from a trip to the NW Territories, staying mostly at provincial parks. The ones on the south end advised payment in US $ was acceptable (same dollar amount, so they're winning on the exchange). Parks north didn't advise either way. We used AAA to get cash before we left. Exchange rate wasn't bad, and it was super nice to have the cash before departure. The next best deal that I'm aware of is to use a sister bank/credit union to exchange after you get to Canada, or use an ATM for a fee (aka get all the cash you need at once rather than multiple transactions). Happy travels!

Common sense, not to mention a basic idea of decency or courtesy is to use the currency of the country where you are.

Banks are the essential basic place to do money business, though some border crossing sites have such services, as do some stores. But heck, that's why banks are there. Certainly in Canada, they are the least costly. Why, well any one bank operates over a large territory. In the US banks used to be a 'this town ownly' set up. Betcha it still costs less to change your money when in Canada.

:C

When i go to or through Canada i go to my bank and order Canadian money to take with me. You can get it at an ATM in Canada but the fees are high.

Using an ATM is the easiest way to get your Canadian cash, some banks charge a higher fee than others, but the convenience is worth the small fee in my mind.

We got some Canadian currency at a bank just after crossing - the best rate. We used Canadian while in Canada and the Yukon...yes, common courtesy.

When Canadians visit the U.S. places won't accept Canadian currency. In fact, at the end of our trip we had a minimal amount left over. We tried to exchange it in Montana on our way to Glacier Nat'l Park. No one would accept it. We dropped the excess in the national park's donation bucket.

We also had a credit card that didn't have a foreign currency charge and we used that as much as possible while in Canada. For the provincial parks, we used Canadian.

Use a credit card. Yup, we have them up here too ;)

When i go to or through Canada i go to my bank and order Canadian money to take with me. You can get it at an ATM in Canada but the fees are high.

You might want to check the exchange rate your bank is giving you vs. the OANDA currency exchange website (https://www.oanda.com/). You won't get what the "going rate" is but you should get within 3-4% of the open market rate. Banks may advertise they don't charge a fee-it's just hidden in the rate they give you. I can also order money through my bank but it's a royal hosing. My bank charges no ATM fees in Canada, nor does my credit card charge transaction fees. It's not a "one size fits all" situation and is bank-dependent. We just got back from Alberta and using our credit card gave us the best rate, followed by ATMs and banks. Many banks won't exchange money if you don't have an account there or will only do a minimal amount.

We hit a cash machine after crossing into Canada to get Canadian dollars. Don't have to worry about exchange rate.
On close to returning, we count up all the Canadian money and exchange it back by pumping into the gas tank.
Check to see if your bank has an affiliate in Canada. That saves foreign exchange charges (for us anyway} Get a kick back on money spent and put on credit cards. Exchange rate is figured at the time card is used.

Thanks all. About getting money at the border, we stopped at a bank to exchange $300.00 and were treated like cheaters. They examined the bills, asked all sort of questions, etc.
I was just wondering about a better way. No problem carrying Canadian money at all. I do understand the bit about being in a foreign country, and using their money.
See you next year up North.

Excuse me, but on which side of the border did you stop at a bank?

& for what it is worth, the only country where I felt treated like an unrecognizable alien from Pluto was in the US.* The Canadian side always has treated my 'foreign exchange transactions' as a regular happening.

:C
* off the top I've done currency exchanges (one country to another) in UK, France, Denmark (pre Euro), Israel
(and maybe Lebanon), Australia, US.