CA West Canada Planning a trip from Bellingham, WA to Banff --> Jasper -> Lillooet -> Vancouver

[JJLove]

Going on a road trip from Northwest Washington to Banff, Jasper, Lillooet, and Vancouver before returning home. The plan is to stay on highways mostly and in hotels (we aren't roughing it lol), but I thought there might be some nice trails to check out along the way. if anyone has a good side trip around any of these locations/routes to and from, let me know.

I would say my experience/confidence in mountainous settings is at a novice level right now.

I did find Mamquam Forest Service Road near Squamish which appears to be an easy forest road into some nice landscapes. Any feedback on that one would be welcome as well.

Cheers everyone!

 

[Alanymarce]

Ideas:

On the way east from Abbotsford take the trail up to Chilliwack Lake – not far and worth a visit.

Take the Crowsnest Highway east from Hope. There are some side roads into the mountains which are interesting.

Then either head north to the TransCanada and take that to Banff, or head further east on the Crowsnest to arrive at Lundbreck Falls and then north to Banff via Highway 40 along the front range. From H40 you can continue via Kananaskis or take the road through Spray Valley Provincial Park – the lake is a good stop and then you continue down to Canmore.

There are side roads around Banff – for example up to Lake Minnewanka.

From Banff take Highway 1A not Highway 1 – with good walking trails at various points. Moraine Lake is a good side trip, as is Emerald Lake.

From Jasper you could take the route to Prince George and then south to Lillooet via Williams Lake, once again there are lots of side trails you could take.

From Lillooet you could take the road up to Lake Garibaldi then return to head south to Squamish (we haven't travelled this road but have taken all of the others, some a while ago now).

 

[JJLove]

Ideas:

On the way east from Abbotsford take the trail up to Chilliwack Lake – not far and worth a visit.

Take the Crowsnest Highway east from Hope. There are some side roads into the mountains which are interesting.

Then either head north to the TransCanada and take that to Banff, or head further east on the Crowsnest to arrive at Lundbreck Falls and then north to Banff via Highway 40 along the front range. From H40 you can continue via Kananaskis or take the road through Spray Valley Provincial Park – the lake is a good stop and then you continue down to Canmore.

There are side roads around Banff – for example up to Lake Minnewanka.

From Banff take Highway 1A not Highway 1 – with good walking trails at various points. Moraine Lake is a good side trip, as is Emerald Lake.

From Jasper you could take the route to Prince George and then south to Lillooet via Williams Lake, once again there are lots of side trails you could take.

From Lillooet you could take the road up to Lake Garibaldi then return to head south to Squamish (we haven't travelled this road but have taken all of the others, some a while ago now).

Thanks for all this info! I'll start looking all these up on maps!

 

[jeremy5000]

Are you prioritizing seeing wildlife or hiking? I did a very similar trip back in June and my wife separated our itinerary for short walks (<1mi), short hikes (1-3 miles), hikes (3-8 miles), wildlife hotspots (bears, moose, etc), and food stops. I can send you anything and everything, as well as some cabin recommendations, hotel recommendations, and various side route recommendations from my spreadsheets. Our trip all said and done was about 2 weeks, which felt just about right.

 

[JJLove]

Are you prioritizing seeing wildlife or hiking? I did a very similar trip back in June and my wife separated our itinerary for short walks (<1mi), short hikes (1-3 miles), hikes (3-8 miles), wildlife hotspots (bears, moose, etc), and food stops. I can send you anything and everything, as well as some cabin recommendations, hotel recommendations, and various side route recommendations from my spreadsheets. Our trip all said and done was about 2 weeks, which felt just about right.

Thanks for offering all the info! Our trip was a few weeks ago and it sounds like we organized ourselves similar to how you did with lots of twisty roads to boot! Thanks again!