Canada/US Route Suggestions

[donandc]

We will be leaving Oregon and traveling back to Georgia in July. We plan to take 2 months and would like to go to Canada to see the Lake Louise area. We are wondering if we should continue through Canada on the Trans Canada Hwy and enter either in Minnesota or Michigan. In other words is there a lot to see on that route? Another option appears to re-enter the US in Montana and take Hwy 2 across. I don't know if there is a lot to see on that route either. We are wanting to spend some time in the upper pennisula in Michigan which is why we are staying north. Last year we did Yellowstone, Tetons, Glacier Park(US side), Custard/Badlands...it was great..so looking for something different on the way home. Any route suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much...

[tbutler]

If you have the time and resources, I'd make the trip through Canada since you haven't been in this area before. You haven't indicated any particular interest so here are a few possibilities. By the way, we've traveled there but don't live there so we'll hope some natives will add their thoughts!

The scenery going north from the Vancouver area on Canada Hwy. 1 along the Fraser River is spectacular. Lake Louise is well worth some time to explore if you like to hike. We visited the Fairmont Chateau on Lake Louise and caught a performance of a Swiss Alpine Horn by a retired Canadian military veteran. It was a truly spectacular setting and the performance was quite moving. We visited with the man for quite a while after the performance. We also enjoyed the shops in Lake Louise including an art shop there that had a wonderful sculpture by an Inuit native, from Baker Lake, Barnabas. Louise decided we had to take it home!

East of Calgary are a number of dinosaur sites including Drumheller which has a number of popular dinosaur attractions including the world's largest dinosaur. The Royal Tyrrell Museum is well worth the visit. They have extensive dinosaur fossils and great geologic information. We pursued many of the hoodoo formations around the area but they aren't as dramatic as others we have seen.

South of Calgary is the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, a location where peoples of the first nations drove herds of buffalo over a cliff. This is evidenced by the discovery of a huge pile of buffalo skulls at the base of a cliff. The museum there details the discovery and the history of the buffalo drives and the people who conducted them. The best of the hoodoo sites is just east of there at Writing on Stone Provincial Park.

In Regina the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Heritage Center (Academy and Museum) is a very interesting stop. We also enjoyed the Royal Saskatchewan Museum.

We had friends to show us around the Winnipeg area and enjoyed several sites there. We toured the Royal Canadian Mint and spent a day at the Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site. We also were lucky enough to visit Gimli, north of Winnipeg, during their Viking Festival. We just missed the 25th year reunion of the crew of the Gimli Glider by a week but did go see the airstrip where this 767-200 which had run out of fuel landed with no loss of life!

We also missed the performance of the RCMP Musical Ride in Winnipeg by a week but were able to see it on a visit to Ashern, a small town north of Winnipeg. Seeing the Musical Ride in a small town location like this was probably the best possible way to enjoy it. They are in Saskatchewan now and will be until June 8 so perhaps you could see them in a small town there.

If you go through Duluth from there on the way to the UP of Michigan, we recommend the Lakehead Boat Basin Campground which is on the parking lot of the Duluth Marina. You can watch the boats come and go including the Great Lakes freighters. There is a vertical lift bridge which admits the freighters to the harbor and you can see it from your motor home. The campground is within easy walking distance of a variety of downtown restaurants and the Great Lakes Aquarium.

We found the drive across this entire route to be very interesting. It is a good look a the northern Great Plains with its massive production of grain crops. There are many "old style" grain elevators. If you like to photograph old barns, farm equipment, etc. you'll have to stop to get pictures of some of the elevators. Also of interest, watch for signs for local attractions. We found an amusing abundance of the "world's largest" items as tourist attractions in the prairie towns. Enjoy your trip.

[Guest BillAdams]

The drive on 2 from BC to Calgary is excellent and I would highly recommend it. The roads are the best I have ever driven and you will be able to visit, Lake Louise (drive up to the ice fields), Banff and Calgary. If you have additional time you can also make the trip up to Jasper. We came back into the States by going S. from Calgary due to other obligations so I cannot comment on the trip East from there but the first part was so nice I think I would have enjoyed traveling as far as possible. Maybe once you are away from the Canadian Rockies it not as great but the part we drove was spectacular.

[donandc]

I have been away from the internet...so apologize for the delay. I want to thank both of you for your responses!

[bizsmith@yahoo.com]

As you work your way across Canada, if you can, dip down to see the Peace Gardens International Park on the border with North Dakota. Impressive.

[Yahtzee]

Hi All,

In September of 2011 we'll spend a month going from Amsterdam, NY to Banff / Lake Louise and back -- camping one week in Banff and another at Lake Louise. We're considering crossing into Canada near Niagara Falls and taking the TransCanadianHighway along the north side of the Great Lakes. Then through Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Regina and on to Calgary and Banff / Lake Louise.

It's clearly longer than a US route but we're wondering if the scenery is worth it (never been that route before) and how are the roads, tolls, etc.?

What about spending the night along the way at rest areas, Walmart, etc.? Are safe places easy to find and frequent?

Any help is much appreciated.

Cathy & Stan

[tbutler]

We traveled roughly this route several years ago. Instead of the Trans-Canada Highway, we took the slower and much more scenic route, Highway 17. That route takes you through Sudbury, and the nickel and gold mining area and closer to the lakes where you will find many waterfalls, scenic valleys and beaches. We enjoyed the nickel mining museum in Sudbury, appropriately called the Big Nickel! Depending on your schedule you might be interested in taking a little more time to explore this area for starters and if you like it you can stay with Hwy 17 or you can abandon it for the quicker tour on Hwy 101 or 11. Thunder Bay has a beautiful park and walkway along the waterfront. We enjoyed a day relaxing and strolling through that area. Out of Winnipeg we took Hwy 16 to Edmonton and then to Jasper. The drive from Jasper to Banff and Lake Louise is absolutely fantastic. As always, too much to see and too little time!

You won't find too many Wal-Mart's in Canada. We didn't boondock except in a few cases. Our trip was more leisurely so we tended to drive a days drive stopping en-route at attractions and then park and stay several days in an RV park. Some days we made good distance, other days we only traveled a hundred miles or so. There are lots of snowplow turn-around aprons on Hwy 17 but the truckers tend to use these as rest stops. We didn't see many actual rest stops with restrooms. We were glad that we had a restroom with us. The truckers on the other hand improvise - and it isn't pretty. Nuff said!

We found the RV parks to be reasonably priced. We even came across a lake-front site on Georgian Bay (Lake Huron). We found it advantageous to dip across the US border to purchase diesel - big price difference. We did that at Sault Ste. Marie and stayed several days to explore the US and Canadian sides of that community. There are excellent opportunities to camp in view of the Great Lakes on the US side. You can watch the shipping going up and down the lakes. There is a freighter that has been turned into a museum there also. The Algoma Railroad has a day trip from the Canadian side that goes north to Agawa Canyon and returns in the afternoon. I mentioned this trip to my mother and learned that I was the third generation of my family to take that trip. Great scenery, and an interesting trip.

When we made this trip, we found the roads to be in excellent condition. I can't remember paying any tolls along the way. If there were any, they didn't make an impression. We'd go back and make the trip again without a second thought!

Enjoy your trip! Start a blog to let us know what you do as you travel.

[Yahtzee]

Many thanks -- we've only got a week to get from Niagara Falls to Banff but we'll take your suggestions to heart.

Thanks again -- we'll see if we can figure out a Blog.

Cathy & Stan

[bizsmith@yahoo.com]

Good luck! We took three weeks and it was not near enough time.