Trans-Canada Hiway travel

saunts · 03-06-2013, 11:16 AM

We are brand new to Rving and planning a trip from Montreal Quebec to Brittish Columbia along the Trans-Canada Hiway this spring. We would like to travel for 4 or 5 days and then stay at a nice campground for a few days of R&R. I am told that overnite stays at the rest areas along the TCH is NOT allowed, is that correct ?? Does anyone have a list of Walmart stores along the way that allow overnite stays? We enjoy staying at campsites along the water if they are available, as we both fish. Any help with routing...such as steep grades, low overpasses, places to avoid, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Plus, any good short "side trips" for scenery, fishing, etc.
would be great.

rce · 03-06-2013, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saunts

We are brand new to Rving and planning a trip from Montreal Quebec to Brittish Columbia along the Trans-Canada Hiway this spring. We would like to travel for 4 or 5 days and then stay at a nice campground for a few days of R&R. I am told that overnite stays at the rest areas along the TCH is NOT allowed, is that correct ?? Does anyone have a list of Walmart stores along the way that allow overnite stays? We enjoy staying at campsites along the water if they are available, as we both fish. Any help with routing...such as steep grades, low overpasses, places to avoid, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Plus, any good short "side trips" for scenery, fishing, etc.
would be great.

Not sure what you mean by spring but if going through the Canadian Rockies Spring is much later than you might think. Blizzard like weather in June is a possibility.

From Montreal would be quicker to travel through the States to North Dakota and up to Canada then, or even go as far as Montana and then north.

Haven't done it in years but the Trans canada highway north side of lake Superior is challenging and slow ...and beautiful.

Rest areas are definitely not for overnight camnping. Also check when campgrounds open in spring. I'm in the prairies and late May is when they open here.

I always recommend researching Lake O'Hara in Yoho National Park near the Alberta/B.C. border

Also Waterton National Park is a bit of a hidden jem.

How far are you hoping to go into B.C.?

SaskCampers · 03-06-2013, 01:49 PM

Unless you absolutely have some reason you want to travel the trans canada highway, I would also recommend staying south of the border and come across the northern states. There are some rough patches in Wisconsin and Minnesota but not nearly as bad as the roads in Saskatchewan. Also gas is abt a buck a gallon cheaper in the states. FWIW I have not found a wally world in Canada yet that says no to overnighting, I do go and ask the manager of any we stop at to make sure too. We traveled the northern route in Ontario 3 years ago going from Sask to Barrie Ontario and there were some real bad sections on the west side of Hearst Ontario but they were doing some major work to highway 11 so I am not sure if they went that far or not. It is a beautiful drive though.

brookside · 03-06-2013, 03:13 PM

A blizzard in June is a bit of an exaggeration. You'll be fine on your trip. The Rockies are beautiful and worth the trip

Campingnut · 03-06-2013, 03:20 PM

May for sure though lol...

caper · 03-06-2013, 04:36 PM

The TC from the Soo to ThunderBay is full of steep inclines and sharp turns. The road was in great shape Spring 2012. As i sated in the other post the price of gas at Marathon was $1.55 per liter or $5.80 a gal. There are many provincial parks along highway 17 that are on Lake Superior. You will find a Walmart in most larger communities along the route. You most likely will find more truck stops then Walmarts. There is a truck stop at Wawa. How far do you plan on traveling in a day? We average 300 miles when doing the drive around Superior. At that speed it takes us 4 days to exit Ont. Most CG do not open till the long weekend in May (May 24). If you travel in June you will be traveling during Black Fly season. Also is there a reason that you want to go through Montreal? I try to avoid this area when towing.

Barney1 · 03-06-2013, 05:45 PM

The website or smart phone app "Allstays RV & Camp" is a great resource for answering your questions and planning your trip.
It will list Wallmarts that do and don't allow RVs to stay the night, it will list low overpasses on your planned route, it will help with finding campgrounds etc.

I would recommend it.

Hutch333id · 03-06-2013, 08:24 PM

If you do use the TCH and are in Alberta there is a nice campground alongside the Bow River in Cochrane. It's about 12kms north of the highway. Has full hook ups, etc. nice town too. Within striking instance of Banff, Kananaskis country and the Rockies.

caper · 03-06-2013, 08:53 PM

If you stay on the TC you will not have a problem with low bridges. This the the main highway that starts in Newfoundland and ends in British Columbia.

caper · 03-06-2013, 09:10 PM

There are Walmarts at North Bay, Sudbury, The Soo, Thunder Bay, Dryden. There is a large truck stop at Wawa. The KOA at Thunder Bay is easy off and easy on right beside the TC. This campground won the KOA camp ground of the year in 2011. Sleeping giant provincial park is near Thunder Bay. It would be wise to carry a 5 gal Jerry can of gas just in case. There are many dead spots for cell phone service when traveling Northern Ont. The DW and I have taken this route from just south of Ottawa to Victoria BC 5 times. We have done this route the last 2 years. If you need and info PM me. i will try to answer your questions the best I can. We usually travel this route late fall and early spring before most CG are open.

dwaynerz · 03-06-2013, 09:21 PM

when driving commercially, toronto traffic seemed more of a problem than montreal, but i didnt get to montreal as much as i got to toronto or ottowa.

and please be good neighbors and send us some tim hortons coffee. and the red green show too while your at it

rce · 03-06-2013, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brookside

A blizzard in June is a bit of an exaggeration. You'll be fine on your trip. The Rockies are beautiful and worth the trip

Yes the canadian Rockies are always worth the trip, heaven on earth.

I will add though I am still not sure after 40 years if my wife has forgiven me for taking her camping on our honeymoon to Waterton in late May/ early June.

Trust me a blizzard in June is possible, I speak from experience.

Unlikely though.

brookside · 03-06-2013, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rce

Yes the canadian Rockies are always worth the trip, heaven on earth.

I will add though I am still not sure after 40 years if my wife has forgiven me for taking her camping on our honeymoon to Waterton in late May/ early June.

Trust me a blizzard in June is possible, I speak from experience.

Unlikely though.

Anything is possible - but not the exception to the rule.

Icefields parkway is amazing

caper · 03-06-2013, 10:19 PM

Things to see along the TCH. First picture is of the Terry Fox Memorial. The second is the sleeping giant in Lake Superior, the third is somewhere in then prairies and the last is just starting to enter the Rockey mountains east of Calgary.

SaskCampers · 03-07-2013, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caper

There are Walmarts at North Bay, Sudbury, The Soo, Thunder Bay, Dryden. There is a large truck stop at Wawa. The KOA at Thunder Bay is easy off and easy on right beside the TC. This campground won the KOA camp ground of the year in 2011. Sleeping giant provincial park is near Thunder Bay. It would be wise to carry a 5 gal Jerry can of gas just in case. There are many dead spots for cell phone service when traveling Northern Ont. The DW and I have taken this route from just south of Ottawa to Victoria BC 5 times. We have done this route the last 2 years. If you need and info PM me. i will try to answer your questions the best I can. We usually travel this route late fall and early spring before most CG are open.

There is also a very nice campground in Kakabeka Falls (Happyland Campground) we stayed at. Reasonable prices and the scenery in the area is beautiful and it is only a short run west of Thunderbay just off 17.

caper · 03-07-2013, 07:25 AM

Happyland CG is a nice place to stay. It is closed most times when we are traveling the area. The first year we went west we stayed there.

saunts · 03-07-2013, 12:04 PM

Caper, Is the TCH one road, or a mixture of other roads ? When I got my routing instructions from Good Sam Club it indicated a bunch of roads EG: route 11, route 17 etc.
Thanx for your help

saunts · 03-07-2013, 12:11 PM

Better book a trip to Hawaii to make up for the "cold honeymoon" ha ha
Thanks for the tips

saunts · 03-07-2013, 12:20 PM

Wow....Great pics
Can't wait to see in person

Yukon Don · 03-07-2013, 12:21 PM

In Ontario, Highway 17 is the TransCanada. 11 runs north from North bay and curves around to the west. It and 17 meet up again in Nipigon and from there to Thunder Bay it is known as 11/17. They split up again after T-Bay.

11 is an easier drive grade-wise. 17 follows the shore of Lake Superior and has both spectacular scenery and lots of steep grades.

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