3 week Canada BC trip - Sanity check

[iGrf]

We are from Belgium and planning a three week RV holiday in Canada, starting in Vancouver.
It's our first time in Canada or in an RV but we have roadtrip/camping experience (3 weeks in Iceland with a SUV and tent last year).
We'll rent a Class B, Van conversion in Vancouver in June 2019.

Based on Google maps we are planning to cross to Vancouver Island, spend a couple of days exploring the island to end up at Port Hardy.
Take the ferry to Bella Coola, spend a couple of nights exploring and then drive east towards Williams Lake , visiting Jasper national park and Banf along the way and ending up in Calgary for a quick stop. After that it would be back South to Vancouver.

Picture of highway 20 look pretty ok to me, not worse than some of the roads we drove on in Iceland.
However that was in a small awd SUV and now we'll drive a 2wd camper van.
On top of that I see comments like "and many people who drove on this section refused to drive back"

So is our trip too ambitious and should we look at alternatives or is it not so bad as it sounds and should we go for it ?

[SideHillSoup]

We are doing basically the trip as you Vancouver Island, Port Hardy , Bella Coola , Williams Lake.
You do have a bit of driving to do, but nothing people don't do all the time. From Williams Lake to Jasper on a straight drive is “ about” 6 hrs. Williams Lake to Banff is “about” 9 hrs straight drive. In Canada people do long drives all the time, however you are on Vacation and want to relax, as well as seeing as much as possible.
Hwy 20 and the “Hill” is just that a hill in my books, a very good logging road. Checkout Nimpo Lake Resort just past Anaheim Lake.
Also make sure you have your ferry reservations for the New direct ferry from Port Hardy to Bella Coola. ( The Sea Wolf)
From William lake travel south down Hwy 97 to 100 Mile House then take Hwy 24 east to Hwy 5, which will then take you up to Hwy 16 and on into Jasper.
Hwy 24 has a lot of great little private campgrounds and B.C. Park Campgrounds on lakes that are all over that region.
We camped at Green Lake last summer and loved it. There are three (3) Provincial campgrounds on Green Lake. We stayed at Arrowhead Campground ( one of the three) we just lucked out because we drove up and got a site with out reservations. This campground has all its 16 all on the shore of the lake, and reservations at this campground are highly recommended.
We are doing the exact trip as you in June / July 2019, up until we get to Hwy 5, we are heading south from that point, and where you should be heading north to Jasper. If you follow Hwy 24.
Enjoy your trip.
Soup.
Our campsite at Arrowhead Campgound Green Lake BC ( site #9)

Same campgound same campsite.

[dedmiston]

Moved from Roads and Routes.

[dedmiston]

Greetings to our new members from Antwerpen. I hope you find the answers you're looking for.

I'm going to move your question into the RVing in Canada and Alaska forum, because you'll find more localized expertise in that group.

Enjoy your trip. It sounds like a great adventure.

[paulj]

I did the Hill a decade ago, both ways, in a small SUV (like the Honda CRV), and even did some of the forestry side roads along the way. Coming down can be more of a problem than going up if you don't know how to use the brakes and engine braking - or the RV is heavy for its size.

For camping I suggest using BC Provincial Parks, and where those aren't available, BC 'rec sites'.

http://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/

Also buy the relevant Backroads Mapbooks

https://www.backroadmapbooks.com/backroad-mapbooks/bc-backroad-maps/cariboo-chilcotin-bc-backroad-ma...

You'll be able to find those in Vancouver.

Trying to do Jasper/Banff along with Bella Coola might be trying to do too much.

From Seattle I've driven to Port Hardy twice, once to do Cape Scott, and other to take the longer ferry to Prince Rupert. I'd allow 2 days at least for that leg (I've already seen the southern part of the island several times). A day to BCoola.

I think we did 4 nights near Bella Coola, at a private campground (Gnomes Home, which unfortunately is closed for renovation this year). While you can get to Williams Lake in a day, I'd recommend a night or two along the way. The Chilcotin is a unique area, perhaps the most remote part of BC without going to Alaska.

An alternative to going east to Jasper and Banff from Williams Lake is to explore south along the Fraser and over the mountains on 99 - past Whistler to the coast.

https://bellacoola.ca/

I used an earlier version of this `bellacoola` website plus the mapbooks when visiting the area.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/jxiouXaLQ2UQce8w5

[ScottG]

We drove that route many years ago and it was spectacular trip. I cannot recommend it enough.

[romore]

You will be fine pulling of the road to spend the night on public land, don't do it in national or provincial parks though.Jasper and Banff might be a bit of a stretch given your time restraints, there will be so much to see and do along the way.

[rbrand]

We first did the drive from Williams Lake to Bella Coola in 1972, for an Archaeological dig. It took over 12 hours because we had to repair the road in many places. We did again in 1976 in a Class "B" conversion. (You can see a photo in my profile) The road was much better. It is a well travel highway now.

We have covered all the roads you are planning on traveling. I would highly recommend the trip. But 3 weeks is a really tight time frame.

[iGrf]

ppine wrote:
Your plan is ambitious but you have three weeks.
Some of the main roads in BC and Alberta are long and steep.
Driving a van should be easy.
I would stay longer on Vancouver Island, a great place.
I would slow down and not travel so much.
In Europa everything is close. In Canada everything is far.

Thanks for your suggestion, we are typically ok with around 1000km (650 mils) per week but for now it's still a high level plan and now that I know it's possible we'll get into more details with the actual distances in mind.

[iGrf]

Thank you all for the quick and positive reactions !
Great to hear that it's not as bad as some people make it sound, so we can continue our planning 🙂

I realize that highway 20 is not a high speed motorway and that it will take some time to get there, which is absolutely fine by me.
It's a holiday and the journey is more important than getting there, plus we'll probably stop for the night along the way and break up the drive into 2 parts.

We have a sailboat so I know that I cannot just rely on electronic navigation and need to keep an eye on the map and local surroundings.

Also noted the point that Jasper is a long detour so we'll double check those distances.

Meanwhile I found the below page which describes the tour that we are planning.
http://britishcolumbia.com/things-to-do-and-see/attractions/discovery-coast-circle-tour/

PS : How strict is the 'always use a campsite' rule in Canada ? Would it be ok to occasionally park the van in an isolated spot (dead end road in the woods for example) to spend the night ? Obviously we would only leave footprints !

[ppine]

Your plan is ambitious but you have three weeks.
Some of the main roads in BC and Alberta are long and steep.
Driving a van should be easy.
I would stay longer on Vancouver Island, a great place.
I would slow down and not travel so much.
In Europa everything is close. In Canada everything is far.

[midnightsadie]

have fun and enjoy the trip,

[NMDriver2]

450 kilometers and google maps says it takes 8 hours, so you will be going slow. I suspect most people find driving that slow for that long is why they do not want to do it again. A google search of the highway gives tips, things to do and other good information. Have fun.

[GordonThree]

The proverb "Fortune favors the bold" is a favorite of mine. Sounds like you have a great trip planned. Don't over think every detail, that will only create worry and self doubt.

Keep a strong feeling of common sense with you when deciding where to travel. Don't follow electronic navigation blindly, your GPS and phone are trying to kill you remember. Buy paper maps and study a bit the roads and areas you are interested in, then you'll know if the GPS is trying to get you in trouble.

Just FYI, Jasper is a pretty long drive from Vancouver.

[Orion]

I would imagine people are referring to 'The HILL'
I didn't watch it all but around 4:00 gives you an idea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYc5YPNuy2c