My wife wants to see all fifty states - we're missing Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, and Louisiana. And now she says she wants to see all ten provinces, too. (We've been to Ontario, and she's seen Alberta and probably British Columbia.)
Her idea for the next trip involves going back to Niagara Falls and spending more time, then a couple of other places in southern Ontario. From there we'd go up and around to the Trans-Canada and take it to British Columbia, then stop at the Peace Arch before continuing to her mother's house in south-central Washington. Non-stop, that's about 52 hours, and we found the hard way we don't want to drive too many hours a day with a camping trailer. (I don't know if we'd have it for this particular trip.)
Any experiences or suggestions?
Quote from: elsmere241 on September 09, 2022, 11:00:19 AM
My wife wants to see all fifty states - we're missing Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, and Louisiana. And now she says she wants to see all ten provinces, too. (We've been to Ontario, and she's seen Alberta and probably British Columbia.)
Her idea for the next trip involves going back to Niagara Falls and spending more time, then a couple of other places in southern Ontario. From there we'd go up and around to the Trans-Canada and take it to British Columbia, then stop at the Peace Arch before continuing to her mother's house in south-central Washington. Non-stop, that's about 52 hours, and we found the hard way we don't want to drive too many hours a day with a camping trailer. (I don't know if we'd have it for this particular trip.)
Any experiences or suggestions?
Where are you starting from?
Right now, we'd be starting from Wilmington, Delaware.
The Trans-Canada passes through some extremely remote territory in northern Ontario, so just make sure you're prepared for long distances without fuel/restroom stops if you do take that route.
The only recommendation that I would make is that instead of doing the Trans-Canada the whole way, to branch off in Manitoba and do the Yellowhead Highway as far as Jasper and then drive the Icefields Parkway down to Banff before crossing into BC. One of the best drives in North America. I also surprisingly liked Saskatoon if you want a place to stop for the night.
Quote from: webny99 on September 09, 2022, 03:59:14 PM
The Trans-Canada passes through some extremely remote territory in northern Ontario, so just make sure you're prepared for long distances without fuel/restroom stops if you do take that route.
So I've heard.
Thanks for all your suggestions - I'll keep them under advisement. It may take a while to see all we want to see in Canada.
Meanwhile, Alisa still hasn't seen Kentucky even though we've gone past it many times. (I knew we should have crossed the bridge from Cincinnati just for her to clinch it.)
Quote from: webny99 on September 09, 2022, 03:59:14 PM
The Trans-Canada passes through some extremely remote territory in northern Ontario, so just make sure you're prepared for long distances without fuel/restroom stops if you do take that route.
That's definitely true for the Northern Ontario branch of the TCH, through Cochrane, which is also exceedingly boring. Not so much for the more southern and scenic, and less remote, Lake Superior TCH branch through Sault Sainte-Marie.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on September 09, 2022, 04:48:07 PM
The only recommendation that I would make is that instead of doing the Trans-Canada the whole way, to branch off in Manitoba and do the Yellowhead Highway as far as Jasper and then drive the Icefields Parkway down to Banff before crossing into BC. One of the best drives in North America. I also surprisingly liked Saskatoon if you want a place to stop for the night.
The Yellowhead is yet another branch of the TCH.
I agree with the OP's general preference for the main TCH route west of Sudbury ON (getting there from Toronto via ON 400 and ON 69 picks up part of the Georgian Bay TCH segment). But your suggested detour via Jasper BC is good.
Saskatoon has good lodging options, but so does Lloydminster AB/SK and to a lesser extent Yorkton SK, if stopping there works better for the itinerary.
Quote from: oscar on September 19, 2022, 12:35:15 PM
Quote from: webny99 on September 09, 2022, 03:59:14 PM
The Trans-Canada passes through some extremely remote territory in northern Ontario, so just make sure you're prepared for long distances without fuel/restroom stops if you do take that route.
That's definitely true for the Northern Ontario branch of the TCH, through Cochrane, which is also exceedingly boring. Not so much for the more southern and scenic, and less remote, Lake Superior TCH branch through Sault Sainte-Marie.
In addition, the OP mentions a camping trailer. There used to be an excellent campground near Cochrane at Greenwater Provincial Park, but the province has shut it down and is letting the park return entirely to nature. All the more reason not to bother taking the northern route in Ontario. The Lake Superior route offers some other options, such as Manitoulin Island; if the OP is interested, the ferry from the Bruce Peninsula to Manitoulin is something different, and there are some decent places to stop on the Bruce Peninsula as well (Sauble Falls Provincial Park can be a decent stop if it's not too early or too late in the year, as the falls themselves can be an enjoyable swim).
We have a camping trailer now - that is getting repaired at the moment from all the bumps and scrapes from this summer's trips. Having taken it across the country and back (with lots of diversions) I don't think it would work for the plan I envisioned in the OP. We're still thinking about things.
Quote from: 1995hoo on September 19, 2022, 12:49:45 PM
The Lake Superior route offers some other options, such as Manitoulin Island; if the OP is interested, the ferry from the Bruce Peninsula to Manitoulin is something different, and there are some decent places to stop on the Bruce Peninsula as well (Sauble Falls Provincial Park can be a decent stop if it's not too early or too late in the year, as the falls themselves can be an enjoyable swim).
Vehicle reservations on the ferry can be hard to get in season, so book ahead. That'd also make sure the ferry is running during your trip.
I had wanted to take the ferry when I was in Ontario this summer, but no vehicle space was available.
First, we've decided we can't afford to keep the trailer. We will be selling it after it's all fixed, and we can come up with the difference between what it's worth and what we owe. (That entails selling one of our other cars - long story.)
Also, we're thinking now toward taking Canada in smaller bites. Thanks for the suggestions about Banff and Jasper in Alberta.