Who has traveled the Trans-Canadian Highway?

Question

I'm wanting to drive all the way across the Trans-Canadian Highway (traveling from the central U.S.). I just wondered about how long this would take, fun things to see, ways to save money on the road, etc. Thanks! :)

Answer 1

I have done the drive many times.

You have answers that pretty well cover Eastern Canada so I will not redo that. There is a northern route and a southern route through Western Ontario. The Northern route - through Kapuskasing is rather remote - lots of trees, some wildlife and a few small villages. Depending on what interests you this may be a choice. It is also relatively fast as there is very little traffic on it. (but don't get carried away with speed. The gendarmes will get you speeding here too!  :o)  )The southern route has a lot more to see, goes through a lot of interesting towns and is much slower going.

You can cross the Prairies very quickly. They are best seen in the fall. Stop to catch Winnipeg and Regina on the way. Keep an eye out for the Cyprus Hills on the south side of the highway. They were the setting in a number of early cowboy movies, especially the ones where the Indians come over the rise.

Relatively speaking, you are not far from Calgary. If you find yourself there in July , be sure to check out the Calgary Stampede (3 - 14th this year). Lots to see here - The Dome, all the Olympic sights from the 1988 Winter Olympics. Calgarian's tend to be friendly folks so just ask around. There are great restaurants, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, museums etc. Take a short (about 60 miles) detour north to Drumheller to see the Dinosaur Museum, dig for fossils and a host of other things.

80 miles west on the TransCanada is Banff National Park. Tons to see there. Natural spas, wild animals, native memorabelia etc etc.Play golf at the Banff Springs Hotel golf course maybe. DO NOT FEED the animals. Every year just about some tourist thinks he can outsmart a bear - you can't and you can't out run them either, so look but don't get friendly.

You are in Mountains from here on out. Much of them in National Parks. You will pass through medium sized towns and small villages. Keep an eye out for some of the fabulous engineering by the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Eventually you will find yourself in a semi desert -The Okanagan. They use irrigation and grow some of the best fruit known to man. I like this part of the world in May when the fruit trees are in blossom. This is the only place in Canada where I have ever seen Rattle Snakes. but they are shy so unless you go looking for them you likely will not see them. They are also less dangerous than their American cousins.

If you do the Hope/Princeton Highway out of here, prepare to go up, way up and prepare for some juicy switch backs (although I understand they have straightened several of them out. Be sure to stop by the Hope Slide  site - January 9, 1965. Johnson Peak collapsed sending tons of rock, mud and trees onto the Crowsnest Highway. A close look and one can still see the scars made on the mountain facing it.

Once you come down the hill into the City of Hope, you are basically out of the mountains and within easy reach of the city of Vancouver but don't miss out on the towns and cities in between.

Or you can bypass the sights in the mountains by taking the bypass. Nothing much to see but it is an experience driving on top of the world. - Coquihalla Highway (Highway 5)

To do this right, take a few years sabbatical. Or pick the spots that really interest you, and drive like crazy to get to them and then stay and enjoy. Or come up every year and do a bit.

Answer 2

quick answer there is lots to see and do check with the provincial tourist info office at the border of each province for things to see and do.

Driving from one end to the other (except for the ferries BC, & NFLD) should take you about 14 days at driving about 5 to 6 hours a day.

good luck and save journey

Answer 3

We've done the whole thing, from sea to shining sea, in two trips. There are plenty of small motels on or very close to the road. We stopped at each provincial border at the tourist office, usually on the highway and planned from there.

You would need at least two months to see anything at all, and preferably three. We had a rule that we stopped Saturday night in a small town and stayed until Monday morning, to join in.

It was wonderful - enjoy.

Answer 4

Canada's a HUGE country, and it's a long drive from Victoria BC to St. John's Nfld. Assuming you sat in your car and drove 12 hours a day, never stopping anywhere but to sleep and refuel, you could get across Canada in about two weeks. But what kind of a vacation would that be? ;)

Take a month or two and really enjoy it. Especially the Atlantic Provinces and Quebec. Quebec is very different, especially from the US point of view. The Atlantic Provinces are gorgeous. You'd have to go off the TCH in New Brunswick to get to Prince Edward Island, but it is well worth the trip. And you can drive from one side of PEI to the other in a day.

My personal recommendations of places to stop:

St. John's Nfld., Charlottetown PEI, Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto. I've never actually set foot east of Ontario. I understand there's a considerable bit of land between Toronto and Vancouver, some of it might be worth checkin' out. ;)  

Saving money on the road? Well, first up, gas prices in Canada are higher than in the US. Canada's average price is already above 4 dollars per gallon. (4$ per gallon is roughly 1$ per litre. In my city right now, gas is at 1.326$/litre, and in the rest of Atlantic Canada it's about ten cents less. That puts it around 5$ per gallon ...) So budget LOTS for gas!