Help crossing Canada

[AllenT1946]

Hi all
I'm planning a trip starting mid June across Canada. I will enter B.C. on hwy 97 in Washington, follow that north to 97c to hwy 1. From there I plan on going east all the way to Nova Scotia. Any problems taking hwy 1 with a 42' MH with toad over to Calgary? Any sugestions for routes and must see places along the way? We are in no hurry and want the most scenic routes.
All sugestions welcome.
Allen

[Sea_Dog]

When you get back to Cooperstown for the ball games,
you will be a half day drive from Niagara Falls
Be sure to cross over to the Canadian side,
much more scenic than the US side.

Also a good KOA with a shuttle service
downtown and to the Falls, casino, etc.

[pappcam]

Uncle Rj wrote:
Allen - Your route is ok and shouldn't be an issue. There are a couple of less desirable stretches for a large MH and toad, but they are not that long:

1) Kelowna - there really isn't a simple way through there other than the main road which is usually VERY busy. Try to do this either early or late in the day to avoid the traffic.

2) Golden - there is a very curvy stretch just past Golden on the TransCanada but semis travel it all the time so just take your time and you'll be fine. Best to do this in the daylight.

3) Calgary - there is a ring road around Calgary now, but even taking the TransCanada right through the heart of the city isn't too bad.


Recommended stops :

1) Summerhill winery in Kelowna. Good wines and great restaurant with a nice view.
2) Radium hot springs - would be a side trip off the TransCanada but this road is nicer and the springs are good. Lots of RV parking there too.
3) Lake Louise is beautiful and worth a stop. I would not recommend staying at the campground there unless you are comfortable sleeping with earplugs. (The train tracks are very close, and they are busy.)
4) Icefields parkway - north of Lake Louise. Take the Toad up to the Columbia Icefields and do a tour. Some of the best scenery in the world.
5) Banff - Tunnel Mountain campground is ok and right next to town. No fires in most of it though. The convenience to Banff is really good. Lots of stuff to do in Banff too. It is very touristy though.
6) Calgary - you might be close to Calgary during the Stampede. If you are, make sure you go to the Chuckwagon Races. The rodeo is good too.
7) Drumheller - Check out the Tyrell museum.

From Drumheller to ........ Winnipeg there is not much for scenery or at least it is a lot different than the first part of your trip. 🙂

Enjoy and welcome to Canada. Just say "sorry" and "Eh" lots and you'll fit right in.

I can vouch for the bolded... 🙂

[Uncle_Rj]

Allen - Your route is ok and shouldn't be an issue. There are a couple of less desirable stretches for a large MH and toad, but they are not that long:

1) Kelowna - there really isn't a simple way through there other than the main road which is usually VERY busy. Try to do this either early or late in the day to avoid the traffic.

2) Golden - there is a very curvy stretch just past Golden on the TransCanada but semis travel it all the time so just take your time and you'll be fine. Best to do this in the daylight.

3) Calgary - there is a ring road around Calgary now, but even taking the TransCanada right through the heart of the city isn't too bad.


Recommended stops :

1) Summerhill winery in Kelowna. Good wines and great restaurant with a nice view.
2) Radium hot springs - would be a side trip off the TransCanada but this road is nicer and the springs are good. Lots of RV parking there too.
3) Lake Louise is beautiful and worth a stop. I would not recommend staying at the campground there unless you are comfortable sleeping with earplugs. (The train tracks are very close, and they are busy.)
4) Icefields parkway - north of Lake Louise. Take the Toad up to the Columbia Icefields and do a tour. Some of the best scenery in the world.
5) Banff - Tunnel Mountain campground is ok and right next to town. No fires in most of it though. The convenience to Banff is really good. Lots of stuff to do in Banff too. It is very touristy though.
6) Calgary - you might be close to Calgary during the Stampede. If you are, make sure you go to the Chuckwagon Races. The rodeo is good too.
7) Drumheller - Check out the Tyrell museum.

From Drumheller to ........ Winnipeg there is not much for scenery or at least it is a lot different than the first part of your trip. 🙂

Enjoy and welcome to Canada. Just say "sorry" and "Eh" lots and you'll fit right in.

[almcc]

A couple of other suggestions. Forillon National Park on the Gaspe was a great stop for us in the past. Link

Also Kouchibouquac National Park in New Brunswick was excellent:

Link:

Just a comment about the french-English differences in Quebec. Having spent some time camping on the north shore east of Quebec City you could find some potential difficulties based on our experiences. You shouldn't have a problem if you emphasize that you are from the US, us Canadians probably have a more difficult time.

My wife is fluently bilingual (brought up as a unilingual Francophone) but she isn't from Quebec, we haven't had good experiences on the north shore east of Quebec City. When we went through there even our kids had a bad experience, they were being educated in French immersion at that time, the local kids treated them badly. At this point my wife doesn't initiate conversations in French to folks from Quebec who we meet in our travels for this reason. This is in spite of her being able to "sling" French with the best of them, from "down country French Canadian" French to Parisian, having been a bilingual CSR for a number of years.

Having worked for a company for 30 years with facilities in Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City you should know that there are substantial differences in Quebec as you go through the province. Even some Fancophones from our Montreal facility moved back to Montreal after being transferred to Quebec because of these differences.

I wanted to give you a complete picture, as indicated it probably won't have an effect on your trip, but I thought that you would welcome the additional information.

[sheltieRV]

donn0128 wrote:
The corssing is a mixed bag. One of my worst experiences, they did a full search of the RV. After a long days drive it was really exsparating. Locals told me a lot of drugs try crossing this border crossing, so they are on the look out.

They seem to be hung up on Poultry this year. No chicken, turkey, eggs. Doesn't matter if it is frozen or processed.

[sancoots]

In the west make sure to spend some time in Banff and take day to drive the icefield parkway to Jasper if you have never done it. There is one long climb, but if you take your time, you should be fine. These higways are well travelled by rvers and the scenery is amazing. From Jasper you can either go back down highway 93 (icefield parkway) or head east on the yellowhead highway 16 toward Edmonton. The campground in Banff and Jasper national park do fill up on weekends, but in June you should be fine during the week.

[luckyd]

A must see is the Bay of Fundy.
You will need two days......one for low tide and
one for high tide.
Highest tides in the world.

Prince Edward Island......take the ferry across from Nova Scotia
drive up the Island and take the Confederation bridge back.

You get on the Island FREE....you pay to get off.
The ferry will be free the bridge will cost $60.

If you go the other way, the bridge is free but the ferry will cost
several hundred.

DO YOUR RESEARCH

[John___Angela]

Welcome to Canada. Enjoy your trip. You will have no problem with a language barrier in Quebec. Although there are many francophones who speak little or no English generally speaking it is no more of a travel impediment than travelling in Europe or Latin America. I think Quebec is probably one of the most interesting provinces to travel in in Canada and without a doubt Quebec City is still my favourite Canadian city. Stay at the KOA just out of town and take the free shuttle. Easy to use up a week just in that city.

Build lots of memories, be safe and enjoy.

J and A

[rwbradley]

BTW on my last trip out East, I stopped at two national parks along the route in Quebec, and yes strictly speaking they are not run by Parks Canada, I often forget that things are done differently in Quebec. There is Parc National du Mont Oxford near Montreal. I would recommend that one. There is another one near the New Brunswick boarder, Parc National du lac Temiscouata. It is a nice park and very new, but I would not recommend it as a stop over on a cross country trip. It is less than 1km from the Trans Canada Hwy as the bird flies, but because there is a lake between it and the Trans Canada, it means an over 30km drive around the lake on back roads. On the north loop, the Park is not well marked and much of the route is gravel roads.

[rwbradley]

JackD no offense meant. Quebec has far more culture than Ontario but for someone from the US south they may not know that French is even spoken in Canada. I have have never had issues in Montreal or Gatineau but have had issues in other parts of the province. I am not sure if it was not able or not wanting to speak English, but my French is barely strong enough to have a conversation.

[lonnie4801]

In 2007 we made the trip from Saskatoon, across Canada to Newfoundland, going through Nova Scotia. You can see my trip log at the website in my signature.

Go to "2007 Trip Log - Newfoundland", then there are 2 sub headings that cover the trip, "Central Canada" and "Eastern Canada".

If you have the time I highly recommend a trip around Gaspe Peninsula.

We are currently in Saskatoon and will be leaving here on June 1st for another trip across Canada enroute to Newfoundland. However, we will be going via the Trans Labrador Highway this time, not through Nova Scotia.

Will post travel information as internet is available.

[vic46]

It will likely be a busy 2 months. Welcome and enjoy. Have a look at the Canada Border Service website to familiarize yourself with the don'ts!

[AllenT1946]

Vic, we will be leaving Calif. on 6/15 and our next "must be somewhere" date is Aug. 20 in Pa. for the Little League World Series. In between is totally open.
Allen

[JackD]

rwbradley said:

Just a note on the province of Quebec, it is primarily French speaking. But if you take AutoRoute 20 (also part of the TransCanada hwy) all the way across the province to Rivere du Loup you will not have issues with the language at gas stations and restaurants along that route. By the way I would recommend if you are going thru Montreal during the day, do not take AutoRoute 20, it goes thru downtown and it can be quite busy. I would take the bypass, AutoRoute 30, I believe the tunnel under the St Lawrence river has a toll though, If you are concerned about the language and stopping in Quebec, you could target National Parks, as they are a federal government service, they are required to speak both our official languages.

Don't worry a second about the language issue in Québec. Being surrounded by nearly 350 million unilingual anglophones, a very large percentage of Québecers are bilingual.
Going across the province of Québec on highway 20 you will eventually get to Riviière-du-loup (Wolf's River),... yes,.. eventually.... more than 500km down the road.

I believe the tunnel under the St Lawrence river has a toll though,

There is no toll going through the tunnel and you do not have to use that tunnel while going through the bypass (beltway highway 30)
There is only one toll and it is located outside Montréal at the beginning of Highway 30.

If you are concerned about the language and stopping in Quebec, you could target National Parks, as they are a federal government service, they are required to speak both our official languages.

Again, there is no concerns with the language issue in Québec and targeting a National Park (Federal government service) to relieve your eventual non-concerns, you will have to find something else as there is no such thing as a Federal National Park in Québec on, or even close to your route to Halifax.
Have a very nice trip.