where to stop for the night

Proud Canuck -- I have never camped in Canada, so forgive me if you think this is a weird question. Are there any provinces in Canada which would allow a person towing or driving an RV long distances to just pull into a rest area, truck stop, visitor's center, forest service road, etc to overnight rather than drive tired on the road without sleep? We have even asked managers' at Wal-Marts here in the US because it was late and given permission to overnight in their parking lot rather than risk an accident on the road. I have a few Canadian friends, and they are the type who would be compassionate and even allow me to overnight in their driveway if it were necessary.

BobsYourUncle wrote:


One place I have seen where there are places to stop is off Hwy 93 heading from Lake Louise towards Jasper. If you head north at the Sask Crossing turnoff there are a number of places where you can overnight including a few Government CGs. Not sure on their closing times though.

A lot depends on how far you will go in 1 day too.

Parks Canada Rangers will stop and ask you to move on if they find you overnighting anywhere but in a campground. All campgrounds north of Saskatchewan Crossing are already closed for the winter. At Jasper, the Wapiti campground is open till Oct 11.

Oh and when you are camped within sight of "someone" and "they" might "wonder what you are doing" and "report you" to "authorities"...

And said "authorities" roll up on your quiet peaceful camp where your tires are sitting on the ground god forbid,

Have a half bottle of whiskey in your hand when you answer the door.

"I don't think I should drive on ossifer..."

I love roadside areas over campgrounds, amongst my top picks are rest areas. There almost always picnic tables, walking trails if you have a puppy to dewater, often a scenic view, etc. Out of “tourist season” you often have the place to yourself.

In this case I’ve used the Wire Cache Rest Area several times in that area.

Itl”s located here. 51°41'05.3"N 119°25'15.8"W

Try Waitabit Creek in Donald just off Hwy 1. If you want to take the long way round try Cherryville on Hwy 6.

Trevor

Flyboy320 wrote:
We re headed Salmon Arm to Calgary on Friday. Hiway fully open 8 Oct at noon to 12 Oct at noon MST.

Just saw that, was hoping it would have opened first thing friday morning.. might have to go to jasper first and come home that way.

Steve

Have a look at the iOverlander app

We covered part of the route this summer on our Ferry trip to Alaska, then through Canada. One of our favorite nights in our truck camper is the Beaver River Recreation Site. It is about 4 hours east on Kamloops on the way to Mount Robson Provincial Park and Jasper. It is near the town of McBride. Room for about five campers on a nice river. Check out this spot on free campsites.net. We also stayed at the Lake Louise overflow parking lot, about four or five miles south of Lake Louise on the road to Banff. Free overnight parking where the shuttles take tourists to Lake Louise. Enjoy your trip

We re headed Salmon Arm to Calgary on Friday. Hiway fully open 8 Oct at noon to 12 Oct at noon MST.

Something you may want to consider as you head towards Banff:

I assume you'll take Hwy 1 through Golden. They are doing major roadwork on the twisties heading out of Golden and the road is closed a lot of the time. Depending when you go through you may have to detour via Radium. Check the DriveBC website for accurate info. I think they mentioned being open for Thanksgiving weekend last time I looked.

One place I have seen where there are places to stop is off Hwy 93 heading from Lake Louise towards Jasper. If you head north at the Sask Crossing turnoff there are a number of places where you can overnight including a few Government CGs. Not sure on their closing times though.

A lot depends on how far you will go in 1 day too.