The beginning of our RV road trip across Canada…
We left our cottage in Central Ontario’s Kawartha Lakes the morning of Sunday, August 20th, 2023. It was an emotional goodbye with my parents, my brother, and my closest friends, but we were officially beginning our full-time RV life, and on embarking on our big road trip across Canada!
RV Road Trip Across Canada – Leg One:
Driving Across Ontario
If you’ve driven across the country before, you know that driving across Ontario is one of the biggest feats. The first time we did it, I was shocked when I realized how big Ontario really was. It’s not the most exciting. It starts off with a lot of highway and city driving, then gets out to the wilderness for a LONG time. The highlight for me is always the part where Highway 17 winds along the north shore of Lake Superior. That first time you come down a hill and make your way through a cut in the rocks and see the turquoise waters ahead is always breathtaking. We have stopped to camp in one of Lake Superior Provincial Park’s campgrounds for an overnight on this trip before, but this time we wanted to cover a little more ground. When Rocky gets older, I really want to get out and do the Coastal Trail one day. It’s on the old hiking bucket list for another day!
We let Rocky fall asleep in the truck and Stu drove until he couldn’t drive any more, which landed us at the Walmart parking lot at about 1:30am the following morning. Not too shabby!
RV Road Trip Across Canada – Leg Two:
Dryden to Regina
One thing I didn’t disclose yet, is that Rocky had a little accident at preschool a few days before we left, and had a small fracture on his arm. It actually happened ON OUR WEDDING DAY! It had a splint placed back home, but it was recommended that on our travels we stopped at a “bigger city” hospital during our travels to have it x-rayed again to monitor healing. So, we knew this would slow us down a little, hence the late night push the night before. This would land us in Regina, the capital of Saskatchewan!
A lot of people talk about the part of driving through the prairies of Manitoba and Saskatchewan as being the boring part. Is it long, and flat, and not too exciting? Yes, but it does have it’s beauty! Especially in late summer when all the fields are a warm, golden yellow as far as the eyes can see on both sides. Also, for towing: it’s a driver’s dream – straight, and flat!
We drove until dinner time, and got a spot at a campground right on the Trans Canada Highway (King’s Acres Campground), but close enough to town and the hospital. Here we were able to shower, pick up some pizza (we actually still talk about how Regina had the best Domino’s Pizza we’ve ever had), and get a good night’s sleep.
RV Road Trip Across Canada – Leg Three:
Regina to Drumheller, AB
In the early morning, we were into the hospital’s emergency department and x-rayed pretty quickly. They placed a cool, blue cast (we later referred to it as “robot arm”) and we were out of there in about 3 hours total.
We decided after all that driving, and time in the hospital, Rocky deserved some good fun! What better place for a three year old who’s obsessed with dinosaurs than Drumheller, Alberta!? See our post on our stay in Drumheller to find out what we got up to and learn what the fuss is all about!
One thing our three year old is talking about nonstop these days, is dinosaurs. So, we decided to book two nights at Dinosaur RV Park (obviously for the name), to give us enough time to explore, decompress, and let Rocky have some fun. We got there with enough time for Rocky to get out and run around for a while before dinner. He found some kids to climb the giant dirt mountain with, and to dirty up his new cast nicely, haha, it was only a matter of time…
Check out our blog post on our stay here to see what we got up to!
RV Road Trip Across Canada – Leg Four:
Drumheller to Banff and up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper
Now we’re gettin’ to the good stuff! One of the best parts of an RV road trip across Canada: getting to the mountains! We packed up early in the morning and headed west again, this time to do the prettiest drive of all: The Icefields Parkway. If you don’t know what that is, it’s the 230km drive (Hwy 93) that runs north-south from Lake Louise, Banff to the town of Jasper.
First, we stopped to see our big kid, Isaac, who is working in Lake Louise at a resort in town. We dropped off his bike and his winter gear and other things he couldn’t fly with when he left earlier in the summer. It was a short visit, but he’s a working man now! No matter how short, it’s always nice to see your kid and give him a big hug and know they’re doing okay.
From there we got on The Icefields Parkway and headed north through the famous Canadian Rockies! When you’re doing this drive, you’re truly driving through nature. With every turn, you’re greeted with either exceptional mountain views, ice fields, glaciers, waterfalls, or stunning turquoise waters. There’s endless pull-offs that will have any photographer drooling. *Pro tip: the pull-offs are all on the southbound side, so if you’re doing the drive only once, and have the option, I’d recommend coming from Jasper down to Banff. We did it that way the first time we went a few years before.
We made it to our destination for the next few days, Jasper Gates RV Park (their website actually has a pretty comprehensive list of “things to do” in the area). This lovely little campground is a great choice if you were unable to get sites in the national park campgrounds right in Jasper (plus this way you get full service sites if that’s your preference). It’s situated right on Highway 16, about 30 minutes north of the town of Jasper, and if you needed anything you couldn’t get in Jasper, you’re about 15-20 minutes south of Hinton. The campground itself is nestled right in the woods, the sites may seem a little tight for some, but we had no problem parking our 36′ rig, and our site was surrounded by beautiful Silver Birch trees. They have two playgrounds, a super cozy rec room, cabins, motel rooms, hiking trails with great views, and are next-door to Folding Mountain Brewing, which has a good restaurant as well.
We love Jasper, and wanted to take a break from driving to spend a little time here, see what we got up to in this post!
RV Road Trip Across Canada – Leg Five:
Jasper to Prince George, BC
After getting our Jasper fix, we continued on west towards the city of Prince George, BC. Now, this may not be exciting for you, but it was for me! You see, my best friend up and left me and moved all the way there many years ago. Since then, she has built her career, home and family there. Since we both had our kids during COVID, we hadn’t been able to meet each other’s yet, and finally, now was the time! Much easier (and better) than packing up and flying across the country with toddlers and babies, right?
So that’s what we did, we drove to her place just outside of town, parked right there on her front lawn and “moochdocked” there for two and a half weeks. Stu had to fly out to Kitimat for work, so Rocky and I dropped him off at the airport, and while her husband worked all day, we co-parented her newborn and two year old, and three year old Rocky all together, and it was so much fun! Sure, there were some difficult days, where we were counting down the minutes until bedtime so we could crack a yummy local bottle of wine and continue binging Ted Lasso, but I’d do it all again in a heartbeat! We had days where we just hung around the house and let the kids play while taking turns tackling baby-related things, and we had days where we packed them all up and went out to explore Prince George and the surrounding area.
RV Road Trip Across Canada – Leg Six:
Prince George to Cultus Lake via The Gold Rush Trail
The time went way too quick. Stu was back before we knew it and it was time to pack up again and keep heading west. We said our teary goodbyes (I may have gotten a tad too attached to her kids… I knew this would happen DAMNIT), and we were off on to our next destination. We took Highway 97 south out of town and followed it as it winds along the Fraser River and eventually meets up with our old friend, the Trans Canada Highway One…
Not only did this drive have stunning views, but it was just COOL. It’s wild to imagine the people and families coming through these mountains by horse and wagon during the big quest for gold back in the 1800’s. Here you feel like you’re truly connecting with history. You can just feel it in all the little towns that were originally comprised of just one little roadhouse to stop in at along the way. Hence the name of towns like “70 Mile House” and “150 Mile House”. There are plenty of interesting historical sites to see during the trip if you have time. We were on a mission to get to our final destination, and unfortunately, toddlers aren’t really into history yet… I enjoyed reading the old stories while driving on this site.
Rocky’s favourite part of the drive was going through the tunnels that go right through the mountains in the Hell’s Gate area. We also had some fun pulling off to stretch our legs and check out the Old Alexandra Bridge in the same-named provincial park. The bridge was a part of the Original Cariboo Wagon Road, built in the 1860’s, to provide safer and easier travel for newcomers. The original bridge was built in 1863, while this second one was completed in 1926 after the first was destroyed in the flood of 1894. It was a magnificent piece of history to see in person.
We made it to Thousand Trails Cultus Lake campground in late afternoon, with enough time for the boys to sneak a dip in the lake and us to go for a nice little bike ride. I was surprised at what a pretty drive it was into this area. The lake was alive with boats and watersports. There is quite the adventure park nearby, and BC Parks has several areas for camping along the lake as well!
This was the first time we were able to utilize our new Thousand Trails Camping Pass! This is actually the only Canadian location Thousand Trails has at this point. We’re hoping they acquire more!
RV Road Trip Across Canada – Leg Seven:
The FINAL LEG – Cultus Lake to Vancouver Island
This is where things get really exciting for Rocky: You see, all along, since we left Ontario, we’ve been telling him we’re going to “The Island”. He has been talking about “going to the island” nonstop, that he gets to take our truck and trailer on a ship there, it’s been his thing he’s been looking forward to all along, like it’s some magical place (well, he’s not wrong) . It’s what’s made all the long travel days worth it for him… and finally, the day is here!
We had an early morning leaving Cultus Lake to make our way the 9:30 sailing from Tsawwassen ferry terminal, just south of Vancouver. One thing that was great about sailing from here was that there was an outdoor playground right beside where you park in line while you wait to board. Since they require you to check in an hour prior to check in time, this is a big saviour! Asking a toddler to do a long car ride, then sit in a car and wait before doing a two-hour sail just isn’t fun for anyone involved.
The other cool thing about this terminal: it’s the largest ferry terminal in North America! It’s located at the end of a 3 km/2 mile long causeway that comes from mainland BC out into the Salish Sea. Another fun fact: BC Ferries is the largest passenger ferry system in North America and the third-largest in the world!
When our time came, we squeezed our tiny home into the bottom of the ferry, and made our way up to the top deck so Rocky could have the best views of the sea and first glance of “The Island”. We were lucky enough to see a Humpback Whale spout way off in the distance too! It was a two-hour ride, and we stayed up top in the sun the whole time, with Rocky running around excitedly yelling “we’re going to the island” to us over and over.
We arrived at Duke Point, got off smoothly and made our 15-minute drive to our new home: Living Forest Oceanside Campground & RV Resort. After all the anticipation, planning, and travelling, arriving there was slightly surreal. We had finally completed our RV road trip across Canada and were finally realizing our dream of living on Vancouver Island, and that’s what it felt like: a dream!
Stay tuned to see what life was like on the island for us!
