Touring British Columbia

[riltri]

We are considering taking our 5th wheel to British Columbia next fall (2021). We have never been there, so we are starting our trip planning from scratch. Once there we will have about 4 weeks to explore.

Suggestion regarding resources, literate, personal experience, etc will be greatly appreciated!!!

[SideHillSoup]

StirCrazy wrote:

profdant139 wrote:
Someone suggested waiting till next year -- but will the smoke be any different? Ten years ago, we could count on clear air in September in the Canadian Rockies. But for the last several years, it has been bad.

yes it will, we havent had smoke in the interior for at least three years now. the two befor that was a little haze off and on the clear for a few years befor that. this year is probably the worst in a long time as the whole southren interior of BC is covered with firesso it comes in from every direction. normaly here on a bad year it will be mostly clear then blow in for a couple days. this year its pretty much all haze with the odd clear day then it blows back in at night. my buddy just drove to alberta yesterday and he didn't hit clear skys till jasper. this fire season will most likly go down as a record season for BC.

Steve

I live approximately 5.5 hrs drive south east of Steve, we also didn’t get hardly any smoke the last 2 summers.
We do get smoke for time to time in the “fire” months not just from fires in BC, but also from the western USA as well.
Figuring on when / where/ and for how long the smoke will invade an area is like saying the Leafs are going to win the cup this year, it’s just unpredictable.
If you decide to come next year, you could run into the same smoke and or wild fires again.
I posted that picture of our Main Street in town with all the smoke 4 days ago, and then the next day skies were clear. The 28th was the last day for us valley dwellers to see blue sky’s. Today I can’t see the tree tops 1000 ft away from our house.
We took a drive up onto the mountain passes yesterday to get “some” fresh air and blue skies. We had to get up to 5800 ft to get out of the really bad smoke.
My brother in-law was camping in Banff last week for 3 days, no smoke, today, it’s “kinda” smoky, but nothing near as bad as us.
So it’s a **** shoot.
Calling for 10 mm of rain tomorrow and we are all crossing our fingers.
Maybe by September “IF” we start getting more rain... it will help, but the fire service people are saying theses fires will smoulder until the snow flies.
......

Soup.

[ssthrd]

Not to deter you but........Not just BC, I'm afraid. We just completed a trip from Vancouver Island to Nova Scotia over three weeks, and didn't have a single day where we were not driving thru smoke. BC was by far the worst. Have to play the return trip by ear in a month or so. Not sure which route thru BC will be best then.

So many variables when travelling thru BC. Even if there is smoke where you plan to go, I'm positive that you will love it.

[StirCrazy]

profdant139 wrote:
Someone suggested waiting till next year -- but will the smoke be any different? Ten years ago, we could count on clear air in September in the Canadian Rockies. But for the last several years, it has been bad.

yes it will, we havent had smoke in the interior for at least three years now. the two befor that was a little haze off and on the clear for a few years befor that. this year is probably the worst in a long time as the whole southren interior of BC is covered with firesso it comes in from every direction. normaly here on a bad year it will be mostly clear then blow in for a couple days. this year its pretty much all haze with the odd clear day then it blows back in at night. my buddy just drove to alberta yesterday and he didn't hit clear skys till jasper. this fire season will most likly go down as a record season for BC.

Steve

[SideHillSoup]

Our Oldest Daughter lives between Banff and Calgary, so we got to enjoy the drive through Kootenay and Banff National parks all the time.
This is just after Numa Falls, and before the BC / Alberta Boarder ( Kootenay National Park)

[profdant139]

I should also have asked whether you need hookups and how long your fifth wheel is.

The whole Icefields Parkway area is worth a couple of weeks -- here's a sample -- this is looking down on the icefield from the Wilcox Pass area. Wilcox Campground is well located, but I don't know if it can accommodate your rig:


Click For Full-Size Image.

The other issue is the dog -- are dogs allowed on trails in the Canadian National Parks? I don't think they are in the US parks.

[riltri]

profdant139 wrote:


Focusing on riltri's question, I have a couple of questions of my own, to narrow things down. Riltri, what sorts of things do you enjoy? Are you a hiker? A biker? Do you like to spend several days in one place, or do you like to move your campsite frequently?

One more random observation: DW and I have done a lot of traveling in North America. The Canadian Rockies, from Peter Lougheed in the south to Jasper in the north, are the most spectacular mountain range we have ever seen.

We are very active.....enjoy hiking, white water rafting, run almost daily once settled into a park and touring historic sights. We will have a 70lb dog with us. Prefer to find 4 locations to use as home base for a week each.

[profdant139]

Someone suggested waiting till next year -- but will the smoke be any different? Ten years ago, we could count on clear air in September in the Canadian Rockies. But for the last several years, it has been bad.

And that is true, of course, for the entire Western USA, as well as Canada.

The immediate problem is a backlog (so to speak) of timber killed by bark beetles, all dried out and ready to burn. I don't know how many years will pass until that is no longer a significant factor.

But the alternative is to just sit home and grumble, which is what we (DW and I) did last year. So my advice would be just to hit the road and hope for the best.

Focusing on riltri's question, I have a couple of questions of my own, to narrow things down. Riltri, what sorts of things do you enjoy? Are you a hiker? A biker? Do you like to spend several days in one place, or do you like to move your campsite frequently?

One more random observation: DW and I have done a lot of traveling in North America. The Canadian Rockies, from Peter Lougheed in the south to Jasper in the north, are the most spectacular mountain range we have ever seen.

[SideHillSoup]

And today clear skies.
Yesterday we were inside all day, today it’s coffee on the sundeck.... so far

[SideHillSoup]

StirCrazy wrote:

dkilley wrote:
I know this is in alberta but consider spending a couple of days at Tunnel mountain rv park (national park) in Jasper. Our favourite rv park of all time.

only problem with this is tunnel mountian is in Banff.

I am not sure where you are coming from, but I can tell you this fall BC will most likly still be covered in smoke the way the forest fire season is going now. a lot of places are under evacuation alerts and such. unless you are going to vancouver I would not comitte any money to reservations or such so you can cancle if conditions are not improved.

Steve

Good point Steve, I never saw the date, yes this year would not be a good time to visit southeastern BC

Castlegar today.

[StirCrazy]

dkilley wrote:
I know this is in alberta but consider spending a couple of days at Tunnel mountain rv park (national park) in Jasper. Our favourite rv park of all time.

only problem with this is tunnel mountian is in Banff.

I am not sure where you are coming from, but I can tell you this fall BC will most likly still be covered in smoke the way the forest fire season is going now. a lot of places are under evacuation alerts and such. unless you are going to vancouver I would not comitte any money to reservations or such so you can cancle if conditions are not improved.

Steve

[riltri]

Awesome information!!! Thanks so much!!

[SideHillSoup]

There are a lot of places to visit up here. Banff / Lake Louise (LL) and Jasper are located in Canadian National Parks ( Canadian Rocky’s) and are very popular, so even in September if you have a “guesstimate” of when you will be in the area make reservations.
Note: the campground in LL is right by the CPR mainline Railways that crosses Canada.
Between now and when the National Parks system open for reservation for 2022, make an account and familiarize how it works well before the reservation opening date. Theses three towns I listed are very very very busy, and a reservation with hookups is a must.
Parks Canada
British Columbia Parks system also have a reservation system so same goes here with getting familiarized with it before next spring. However, 98% of all BC parks stop taking reservation after labour day weekend, and most close up for the season the last weekend in September. You can still drive in and get a FCFS site, and some of the park facilities may have also closed for the season on Labour day weekend. On the BC Parks page for making reservations you it will tell you how big a rig will fit into the site and most have pictures as well.
BC Parks
Lots of Private campgrounds all over BC and there are a lot of hidden gems out there. Easiest is to just Google a town or area you will be in a type in Campgrounds, most show up.
Some of the areas you should be googling over the fall and winter are: Okanogon Valley, Thompson Region & West & East Kootenays
As I live in the Kootenays check out:
Slocan Lake, Kootenay Lake, Arrow Lakes, Jewel Lake, Christina Lake, Moyie Lake, Kootenay River, Columbia River, Wasa Lake, towns of Nelson, Castlegar, Rock Creek, Greenwood, New Denver, Silverton, Ghost town of Sandon, Kaslo, dry docked paddle wheeler SS Moyie, Nakusp, Kimberley Revelstoke. Revelstoke Railway Museum,
Railway cam
Spiral Tunnel, Rogers Pass, Golden, Raduim Hot Springs, Fairmount Hot Springs, Ainsworth Hot Springs , Nakusp Hot Springs, Halcyon Hot Springs, Fort Steele Historic Site. Kootenay Lake Ferry, which is the longest free ferry ride in the world. Creston Valley ( fruit and Vegie, Hwy Stands)
Most of theses committees that I listed are small towns with a scatter of small cities, and most have small community campgrounds. As well PC Parks are scattered everywhere and some are not close to towns.
Note: there are two differnt ferry systems in BC. The Inland Ferries ( fresh water ferries) in BC, are all free.
Inland ferries
The BC Ferries Corp. cost $$$$, theses ferries are located on the BC coastal areas of BC ( salt water ferries)
BC Ferries

BC Hwy Cams
The Kootenay region alone from ( Alberta Boarder) east to west is about 5.5 to 6 hr drive, USA boarder) south to north is a 5 to 6 hrs drive. So there is a lot of other places you can see in BC, and hopefully others from theses areas will chime in with that info.
Your biggest dilemma is how much road traveling do you want to do, and or how much relaxing do you want to do. As in days between travel time.
Good luck with your quest and adventure.
Soup.

This picture was taken in June from our BC Parks campsite on Kootenay Lake.

[Orion]

Spend some time in the Rocky Mountains which straddle the BC/Alberta border. The Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper is one of the most scenic drives in the world.
The Okanagan Valley in the middle of the Southern part of the province is a semi arid, scenic valley that is full of orchards, Lakes and vineyards.
Vancouver is a big, bustling, multicultural city, with a dramatic location surrounded by ocean with a high mountain backdrop.
Vancouver Island has the lovely old, colonial. harbour city of Victoria with its Butchart Gardens, Empress Hotel, wonderful museum, parliament buildings and whale watching. Farther up the Island are massive forests, huge trees and the stunning and wild West Coast resorts of Tofino and Ucluelet .
Just a few, there are MANY more!

[Reisender]

riltri wrote:
We are considering taking our 5th wheel to British Columbia next fall (2021). We have never been there, so we are starting our trip planning from scratch. Once there we will have about 4 weeks to explore.

Suggestion regarding resources, literate, personal experience, etc will be greatly appreciated!!!

Spend some time on the island. Butchart gardens. Victoria (our capitol). The parliament buildings etc.