Who wants to tell me to drive across Canada?

So, I’m driving from Los Angeles to Michigan next month. I am fortunate that I am able to take some extra time so I don’t have to be particularly direct about it. I enjoy road trips and this will be more about the enjoyment of driving than it is about getting from a to b.

I’ve done different variations of west to east / east to west drives. So I wanted to try something I haven’t tried before. Also, in addition to looking for a new west to east experience, I haven’t driven the West Coast yet.

So, I’m thinking of driving from L.A. to Vancouver then going east across Canada. My only Canada experiences have been Toronto and Nova Scotia, so I think it’ll be good to see more.

I’m figuring on a route something like:
Vancouver -> Calgary -> Regina -> Winnepeg -> Sault Ste. Marie (then into Michigan)

Who wants to tell me it’ll be really cool?

Who wants to tell me it’ll suck?

Drive across Canada.

I’d do it. The Canadian Rockies are gorgeous, and the north side of Lake Superior is also quite nice. You’ll probably strike some boring moments across the plains, but it’ll be worth it for the rest of the trip.

Have fun!

Go for it. The long tedious drive across the Great Plains* is no worse North of the 49th Parallel and the drive across BC and into Alberta and the drive around the North shore of Lake Superior are well worth it.

As you go from BC to Alberta, be sure to take some time to see Lake Louise (go up to see the lake; don’t just wave at the town from the Trans-Can Hwy), and Banff. (If you really have time to spare, head North from Lake Louise toward Jasper to see the Athabasca River and Columbia Ice Fields. I’d say the same for going back into Montana to visit Glacier National Park, but I’m not sure how good an idea it is to go border hopping, these days.)

  • I actually enjoy a lot of the Great Plains, but simply driving across them is tedious.

When I’m retired, I’m going to drive from St. John’s to Pacific Rim National Park–ocean-to-ocean, North America at its widest point. I wish I could do it right now.

This is almost exactly what we did on our honeymoon a couple of weeks ago. It’s the most incredibly fucking beautiful place I’ve ever seen. I don’t know how to word that more strongly. Please do it. Please go. You will not regret it.

The border hopping experience was pretty interesting too. We had to pull up into a garage and let them go through all our belongings and our vehicle. They were pretty thorough (although they could have been more so, if you know what I mean and I’m sure that you do.)

I’m doing the Vancouver marathon. Do you need a passport or birth certificate to drive to Canada, at least by May 7th? Does it make a difference if you stay overnight?

I’ve been going straight to the source: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html and it looks rather ambiguous. A family friend of mine recently missed a flight to Mexico because he didn’t have a passport (he had been to Mexico several times and never needed a passport up till a month ago).

Next time, don’t ride your lawn tractor. :smiley:

It is only 285 miles from Banff to the Manitoba border–and that is passing through Calgary and Medicine Hat. I agree that it is well to check road and lodging conditions before taking off and all the Great Plains can be a task to drive, (Saskatchewan is longer, flatter, and has fewer trees even than Alberta), but it can be done. It is no worse than the eight or ten weeks that a day’s drive seems to take to cross the Dakotas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, etc. (bienville is going across Alberta–Lake Louise to Walsh–not heading for the Arctic Circle on the McKenzie.)

(Alberta has on-line highway route information. Other provinces may, as well.)

Totally do it. The TransCanada Highway (aka the #1 Highway) that you’d be taking from west to east has plenty of stops along the way - maybe not at 4:00 am, but if you drive during normal driving hours, you’ll never be more than a couple of hours away from a gas station/restaurant/rest room. Heck, if you need to stop anywhere along the way, you’re never more than a short walk away from a family that will look after you in an emergency.

So, you’ll be stopping in Calgary to meet some Dopers, right? :smiley:

Wait a minnit - 285 miles from Banff to Manitoba? I think you are incorrect, Tom. At 100 mph (a little fast, but not outrageously so), that would take 2.85 hours, and I know that it takes a couple of days to get from Banff to Manitoba. Perhaps you mean the Saskatchewan border?

A quick look at Mapquest for Banff-Virden, which seems to be about 800 miles. Now, I know you Albertans aren’t the speediest of drivers in the world, but two days?

I suppose it depends how far/how fast you want to drive. Calgary to Regina is just under 500 miles. It’s not a problem driving that in one day: leave one city 8ish in the morning and you’ll be in the other around five in the afternoon. That’s really doing it by not stopping much except for gas and bathroom breaks. It’s not that bad a drive, and it’s pretty common for people here to drive that distance for a long weekend. Regina to Winnipeg is another 350 miles, so yeah you could go from Calgary to Winnipeg in a day, but it’d be a long one.

I’ve done the BC portion of that trip a lot (and the very western Alberta portion once). It’s quite pretty…

The biggest weird thing for me were the lack of highway dividers. It constantly seemed like I was allowed to drive too fast (according to the speed limit) to merely be separated by a foot wide strip of paint.

You’re right. I had meant Walsh, AB. I have no idea why I typed Manitoba.

Is that an offer to cut down on my lodging costs??? :smiley:

No, wait seriously- is it??? Happy to do as much e-mail correspondence as is neccessary to convince each other that neither of us is a total ax-murdering freak. :slight_smile:

Have you read featherlou’s posts? That would be a LOT of e-mail.

I’m finally getting a reputation around here! Oh, wait…

Go for it. The prairies will be busy as you come through. Delay it a bit and you’ll see green fields as far as the eye can see (which is pretty much clear across Saskatchewan :stuck_out_tongue: ).

The drive you propose to do is really great…until Winnipeg. I echo those who say you should make a point of stopping in Banff/Jasper when you’re in Alberta.

But from Winnipeg around the north shore of Lake Superior is a lot of nothing. I’d recommend heading south into Minnesota and then driving across Wisconsin in order to reach Michigan…much more fun stuff to do, much more facilities to make use of.

As for staying at our house - I would definitely have to ask my husband about that. “Hey, honey, some guy I don’t know from the internet wants to stay at our house. Is that good for you?” :smiley:

I was thinking more along the lines of a Calgary Doper Dinner. We had tentative plans to go to the Chili Club Thai House a while ago that fell through, and I still want to go there.