Advice on 1st time RVing in Canada

[mmorgancfdc@aol.com]

In Sept. 2010 my wife and I will be traveling from North Carolina to Banff. I may need to go thru Toronto 1st. If we go to Toronto, does anyone have any experience on heading west thru lower Canada by taking 17west above Thunder Bay and then #1 west thru Manitoba, Sask., and into Calgary? How are road sizes and conditions, deisel availibility, campgrounds, emergency mechanical assist. if needed? Any help or advice would be appreciated.

[tbutler]

We've been traveling in Canada for several years now. Hwy 17 north of Lake Superior to Thunder Bay is the scenic route. We drove it with no problems. The road is (was) in good shape (when we traveled it several years ago). There are campgrounds along the way though don't expect luxury campgrounds. Most Canadian camping is more frugal. Full hookups are called three way hookups and you don't always find them in Canada. Also, 30A electric is pretty much the standard. Some campgrounds have limited numbers of 50A sites. Near North Bay we stayed at a campground and had a lakefront campsite which gave us a spectacular view of Georgian Bay.

Diesel availability is no problem though they sell fuel by the liter in Canada and the price is higher than you will pay in the US. You will find yourself traveling with many trucks on Hwy 17. We met a trucker at a campground in North Bay and he recommended taking Hwy 11, said it would be much faster. Our priority was seeing the countryside along the lake and we disregarded that. We had a wonderful experience on Hwy 17. Apparently many truckers thought the shorter route saved them enough fuel to pay for the slower travel.

We drove Hwy 1 from Winnipeg to Regina. It is a major highway and again was in excellent shape. From Regina we headed north to Saskatoon and Edmonton before continuing to Jasper National Park in Alberta. We have generally found the roads to be in excellent shape. I would not hesitate to plan to travel any of these roads.

In Regina, there is an excellent Provincial Museum and also the RCMP Training Center which has a museum of the Mounted Police and offers tours of the training facility. In Winnipeg we enjoyed a visit to the Canadian Mint and Garry National Historic Site. Enjoy your trip there are numerous things to enjoy in Canada.

[homefreefmca]

Welcome to Canada.

Just like the USA, our highways are pretty much the same as yours Isn't there always some construction going on somewhere? Tourist information locations should have info on roads under repair or construction. If you are going to take the Lake Superior route along Hwy. 17, please, do not be in hurry as there are many beautiful sites and places to see - in Ontario - (besides Toronto and Niagara Falls), Sudbury -The Big Nickel, Wawa - the statue of the Canada Goose( there is campground west of the turn off about 7-8 miles) Thunder Bay - The Terry Fox memorial (I believe the annual Terry Fox run has raised Over $400 million for cancer research and treatment - worldwide, since this annual run was started in memory of Terry). MANITOBA - Winnipeg - visit the Canadian Mint. See where the Red and Assiboune rivers come together and enjoy the shopping at The Forks. There are some nice campgrounds just north of the city. In Saskatchewan, there is of course the RCMP museum. Also a casino if you enjoy that from time to time. Regina has several campgrounds east of the city full hook-ups. As you travel West on your journey I hope you have an opportunity to stop along the way and meet the local people. Once you get West of Winnipeg you will experience some of flatest land you will ever see. In some places it so flat you can see a good 15 -20 miles. As you go through Alberta you will eventually see the majestic Rocky Mountains. They ARE a site to behold if you have never seen them before. Enjoy your trip and safe traveling.