Canadian Summer Road Trip!

[BackcountryNomads]

Hey all, we have been planning a 2 week summer road trip from our home in Bellingham, WA up to Jasper and Banff NP, down to Glacier NP in Montana, then back up to BC and back home.

Rough plan is to go through Whistler up to Kamloops, take Highway 5 to 15 to Jasper, Icefields Parkway from Jasper to Banff, then detour to the Royal Tyrell Museum in Alberta, down to Glacier NP in Montana, then back up to BC and to skirt the southern border along Highway 3 back towards home.

Looking for suggestions on some good overland routes that will fit into my rough plan. We are very flexible on the route, we just want to make sure and hit Jasper, Banff, and Glacier NP along the way.

The only off-road addition I have so far is Gray Creek Pass road from Kimberley, BC to near Nelson BC. would love to incorporate more off-road routes.

Also looking for any can't miss camp spots along the way, as we will be camping for the entirety of the trip.


Here is our rough route so far, definitely willing to change it for can't miss spots!
https://www.gaiagps.com/public/OkyYGcmXvJfX9agREVKvkiYG

Thanks for the help!

 

[OverlandHilux]

Sounds like it’s going to be a wicked trip. Defiantly keep us in the loop with your travels.

Canada is one of the world least explored country’s. Mostly due to our harsh and unpredictable climate haha.

Take lots of pics!


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[titicaca]

What a trip! I’m going to give you some ideas to consider from Alberta prospective. The National Parks are stunning, but very busy, and campsites are hard to get, for good reasons, so be early, and be strategic around the weekends.

1) When heading south from Calgary towards US border, get off Hwy 2, take the spectacular Hwy 22 “cowboy trail” that parallels west of Hwy 2. For a forestry road option, wild/free camping, and off road possibilities, get off Hwy 22, further west, onto Forestry Trunk Road 940 – see this post for a taste: https://www.overlandbound.com/forums/threads/forestry-trunk-road-alberta.529/

2) When heading south cross the border at Chief Mountain (Hwy 6 in Canada). Aside from the fact it is spectacular, and it is closer to to Glacier NP, and there is an important logistical reason as well. Glacier has a Canadian sister: Waterton Lakes NP. It is difficult to get a campsite in Glacier NP, you'll need to be waiting as early as 9am for people to pack up to get a camp, so, to get a camp-site in Glacier, do this: there is a stunning campsite just inside Canada called Belly River (on Hwy 6) from which you get up early, cross the border, and enter Glacier NP, all in time to get a camp on the other side.

3) If you are on a detour to Royal Tyrell Museum, might as well consider, a further 1.5 hours detour to Dinosaur Provincial Park – the place where the fossils actuality come from – camping inside striking badland topography and fossils hunting. The Museum is just in a town.

4) Consider the various off-road options in BC instead of Hwy 3. Get Backroads Maps book:
http://www.backroadmapbooks.com/backroad-mapbooks/bc-backroad-maps/kootenay-rockies-bc-backroad-mapbook/kootenay-rockies-backountry-maps

 

[BackcountryNomads]

What a trip! I’m going to give you some ideas to consider from Alberta prospective. The National Parks are stunning, but very busy, and campsites are hard to get, for good reasons, so be early, and be strategic around the weekends.

1) When heading south from Calgary towards US border, get off Hwy 2, take the spectacular Hwy 22 “cowboy trail” that parallels west of Hwy 2. For a forestry road option, wild/free camping, and off road possibilities, get off Hwy 22, further west, onto Forestry Trunk Road 940 – see this post for a taste: https://www.overlandbound.com/forums/threads/forestry-trunk-road-alberta.529/

2) When heading south cross the border at Chief Mountain (Hwy 6 in Canada). Aside from the fact it is spectacular, and it is closer to to Glacier NP, and there is an important logistical reason as well. Glacier has a Canadian sister: Waterton Lakes NP. It is difficult to get a campsite in Glacier NP, you'll need to be waiting as early as 9am for people to pack up to get a camp, so, to get a camp-site in Glacier, do this: there is a stunning campsite just inside Canada called Belly River (on Hwy 6) from which you get up early, cross the border, and enter Glacier NP, all in time to get a camp on the other side.

3) If you are on a detour to Royal Tyrell Museum, might as well consider, a further 1.5 hours detour to Dinosaur Provincial Park – the place where the fossils actuality come from – camping inside striking badland topography and fossils hunting. The Museum is just in a town.

4) Consider the various off-road options in BC instead of Hwy 3. Get Backroads Maps book:
http://www.backroadmapbooks.com/backroad-mapbooks/bc-backroad-maps/kootenay-rockies-bc-backroad-mapbook/kootenay-rockies-backountry-maps

Awesome info! Much appreciated. You're making me even more excited for the trip. Thanks for the tips.

 

[JimInBC]

I second the Dinosaur Provincial Park. Head into town for Tyrell It is a great Dino museum. We are going to be in that area in July, our son loves paleontology. Though it will be camping at the Prov. Park.

The mainline parks, Jasper and Banff will be packed. I have yet to be in the area during season when they were not shoulder to shoulder. It was nice running through there this winter. Totally different than summer.

Glacier National in BC is worth looking into as is Yoho.

You said whistler. Are you running up 99? 5 (BC not Wa) misses Whistler.

 

[titicaca]

I'm not too familiar with BC but I'm in planning mode to loop around through the Kootenays late August. So just doing my research, this post has some ideas that will be relevant to you: https://www.overlandbound.com/forums/threads/bc-quick-trip-and-camping.8178/#post-133754
You will be heading home west on Hwy 3 so depending on how much time you have left to go off-road:
- Rossland to Christina Lake (the original old gravel Old Cascade Hwy before Hwy3 was put in)
- Midway to Grand Forks - forestry tracks (or Greenwood area)

Is your preference to wild camp or are you OK with the more organized/managed BC Provincial Park camp grounds?

 

[BackcountryNomads]

I'm not too familiar with BC but I'm in planning mode to loop around through the Kootenays late August. So just doing my research, this post has some ideas that will be relevant to you: https://www.overlandbound.com/forums/threads/bc-quick-trip-and-camping.8178/#post-133754
You will be heading home west on Hwy 3 so depending on how much time you have left to go off-road:
- Rossland to Christina Lake (the original old gravel Old Cascade Hwy before Hwy3 was put in)
- Midway to Grand Forks - forestry tracks (or Greenwood area)

Is your preference to wild camp or are you OK with the more organized/managed BC Provincial Park camp grounds?

We do prefer wild camping, but are not opposed to organized campgrounds. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[RusticMountainAdventures]

When your on highway 99 past whistler it brings you out at lillooet, you could turn north from there and head to 100 mile house. From there you have two options, you could take highway 24 to little fort( if you go through little fort hit the high five dinner) or you could take the canim lake road, from canim lake you can take the fsr road to Clearwater. There are lots of lakes on that route at which you can camp at.


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[RusticMountainAdventures]

Another option is when you get to pemberton, if it’s open take the hurly fsr to gold bridge then out to lillooet, if the hurly is still closed you can take the high line road through seaton portage. If you go this on either of these, make sure you pack fuel, it’s not always available. There’s also a great burger joint in pemberton across from the petro can gas station.


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[RusticMountainAdventures]

Here’s a video I did of our trip to gold bridge.

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[BackcountryNomads]

Another option is when you get to pemberton, if it’s open take the hurly fsr to gold bridge then out to lillooet, if the hurly is still closed you can take the high line road through seaton portage. If you go this on either of these, make sure you pack fuel, it’s not always available. There’s also a great burger joint in pemberton across from the petro can gas station.


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Thanks!

I was planning on the Hurley to Gold Bridge and was just checking out all of the lakes North of Kamloops. definitely have to explore up there and camp at a lake for the night.

 

[RusticMountainAdventures]

Thanks!

I was planning on the Hurley to Gold Bridge and was just checking out all of the lakes North of Kamloops. definitely have to explore up there and camp at a lake for the night.

Yeah there is a ton on country through there, and a fairly good network of FSR roads that’ll let you snake your way north off the pavement, the back roads map books are a good resource, they also make a chip for garmin gps’s.


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[RusticMountainAdventures]

Yeah there is a ton on country through there, and a fairly good network of FSR roads that’ll let you snake your way north off the pavement, the back roads map books are a good resource, they also make a chip for garmin gps’s.


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https://isurvivedthehurley.com

This is the best page to watch for info on the Hurley.


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[RusticMountainAdventures]

Hopefully it keeps raining up here, we’ve already had some wildfires pop up and the fire rating is already on extreme, some areas have a camp fire ban on already, but there is more rain in the forecast, and up higher we got a little snow last night.

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[JimInBC]

Have been watching the fires. Sounds like I will be leaving the fire grate at home this trip. We are at High in places around the island. they keep calling for rain and it does not show.