Ky, through Canada to Glacier National park

[jimw606]

Thinking of making the trip to Glacier NP.
Sure would like to see Canada. Is this a good idea?
Go from the East to weat on the Canadian side.

[jimw606]

Thanks guy's Quit smoking in 1986, and quit drinking a little later. ( I had to,it made my truck drive funny).
I think we will probably go from Duluth and up to Thunder Bay.
Everything is still in the planning stages.
We sold our fifth wheel last year, and now have an 18' TT. We are going to make a few short trips in it, to see if we can handle a month or two in it.

[DaveG39]

be wary of the "hiding". A few years ago an RVer tried that crossing in the New York area and had his RV confiscated for smuggling. I always give the border agent a list of what I am carrying in the way of alcohol and, when my wife was a smoker, a list of cigarettes. I usually took enough wine for the trip and paid the national and Province duty. I'll pay the few bucks duty rather than take a chance on falsely declaring anything.

[Jim_Shoe]

Crossing the border into Canada isn't like it used to be. Here's some info from AAA. In addition, I'd recommend talking to your bank to see if you can get some Canadian currency before you leave the US. If not, your local American Express office can convert some for you. The smallest denomination for paper money is 5$ CN, but they use $1 and $2 coins. (Loonies and Toonies). Once you leave the border area, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. in small towns won't know current exchange rates, and may not even accept US dollars. Happened to me. Gas stations accept credit cards, but when I went through, you couldn't pump your own gas. Attendant required. Tim Horton's is the place for coffee and they're everywhere, like Starbucks here.
Also, if you're a smoker, hide some US cigs in your rig from customs. They're very expensive in Canada. (And I didn't tell you that).
Canada uses the metric system. Here's a link to conversion tables. That got me once in a deli. They were selling lunchmeat by the gram. So I just ordered 8 slices. Mile markers are Kilometer markers north of the border, those are on the speedometer on most US cars, but if you're approaching an underpass, you need to be able to convert meters to feet quickly. I just put a sticky note on the dash with the height of my rig in meters.
Now that I've convinced you to stay south of the border - don't. Its a beautiful country and an adventure.

[paulj]

The OP is in KY, essentially due south of Sault Ste Marie.

So they could go north through Michigan, and NW to Minnesota. Aiming for Winnepeg would be the most direct route to Canada and points west. Duluth to Thunderbay adds miles, but is more scenic.

[loulou57]

jimw606 wrote:
Thinking of making the trip to Glacier NP.
Sure would like to see Canada. Is this a good idea?
Go from the East to weat on the Canadian side.

When you say from east to west are you actually talking east as in the maritimes.
A lot of people do not realize it takes about 3 days to travel right through Ontario.....about 27 hours just driving time.

[jimw606]

Thanks everyone. I think I may want to enter west of Lake Superior. I am going to stay out as long as I can, and see as much as I can.
Everyone has given me a lot of food for thought, so I had better get to planning. Thanks everyone.

[paulj]

Regarding 'seeing Canada':
The TransCanada across the north shore of Lake Superior follows a rugged and wild lake shore - more remote than the US counterpart
The rest of the way to Manitoba is lakes and forest, much like northern Minnesota
Manitoba to Alberta is prairie, much like South & North Dakota and eastern Montana
West of Calgary you are in reach of a large cluster of mountain parks:
USA Glacier NP
Waterton NP
Kananaskis Country Alberta parks
Banff NP
Kootenay NP
Jasper NP
Yoho NP
Glaicer NP (in BC)
Revelstoke NP

Given enough time a possible loop would be:
Calgary - Banff, side to Yoho, Jasper, Mt Robeson PP, Kamloops, Revelstoke, Glacier, Golden, Radium (Kootenay), BC93/US93 to west side of Glacier, US2 or Going to the Sun to east side, US2/I94 back east.

[GoPackGo]

You might want to pay attention to when the roads open. Just looked and the park is projecting that the earliest date that all of Going-To-The-Sun Road will be plowed and open is 21 June.

[crabbin_cabin]

Point of clarification - Glacier National Park in Montana does NOT enter Canada. Waterton National Park, in Alberta, is a separate entity, as is Canada (LOL). The two parks do abut each other! Also - to visit Waterton NP you better have your passport with you or you might face a long delay getting back into the US.
One more point of confusion - Canada does have a Glacier national Park - in central BC reached via the Trans Canada Highway.
Questions about traveling to either the Canadian Glacier or Waterton NPs should be asked in the Canada forum.

[beetle1]

We will be at Polson, Mt. for June as a base to visit Glacier from the west side, hoping for some good weather in mid-June.

[GordonThree]

I visited GNP last summer, in August before crossing into Canada on US-89 / Alberta 2. Spent a few nights at St. Marys, just inside the park's eastern gate. The entire CG was buzzing about a black bear nearby eating berries, but I didn't get to see her (or him?).

Getting across the eastern plains of Montana was rough, it was 90+ °F pretty much all day, but what a relief when I crossed into the park and started up the grade into the mountains, so much cooler.

The Canadian port of entry on US-89 was great, lots of room and at least at 8am, no traffic.

Did not spend much time on the Western side of the park, or visit the Canadian portion at all... things to do next time!

[iawoody2]

Just be prepared for the much higher prices in Canada and budget for it. We have done this trip and felt the higher prices where well worth the experience.

[Likes_to_tow]

Glacier is the most beautiful place we have visited. May I suggest traveling out on one route and returning on another. This way you see more country by making a big loop. I'm not sure how scenic southern Canada is. Someone else may be more experienced at that. I can tell you we visited the Glacier Park that extends into Alberta and visited the Prince William Hotel. We made this a day trip from our base camp in Glacier on the US side. It was well worth the effort to visit this historic place. Be sure you visit all the hotels in the Glacier area. The lobbies are very beautiful. Plus you can have lunch and shop some. Another word of caution, beware of forest fires. If we have a dry summer and fires become widespread in the park it can ruin your visit. Smoke filled vistas make horrible memories and pictures! We have been in the area three times and on two of those forest fires and smoke became a significant issue. One other time we were headed to Glacier and actually turned south to visit Yellowstone instead. Fires had all but closed Glacier National Park!!! It's a long trip to Montana from Kentucky. To have it ruined by smoke is a horrible thing. Also under no circumstances do you carry a firearm into Canada. I've heard they have zero tolarance for guns, even in your camper. You are in for a wonderful trip.

[loulou57]

Excellent idea. We would love for you to visit our country.