routes through praries and rockies: trans Canada or other?

matthew

matthew

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I've been mulling over maps the past few days trying to come up with a rough route for my cross country trip. The Trans Canada highway will most likely have the most gas stations amenities but might be boring. I wouldn't object to taking other highways to see different sights. It seems as though southern Sask has some nice badlands that the Trans Canada doesn't go through ( I might be wrong) I don't want to miss out on the good stuff in BC though.

Based on Google Streetview, the Trans Canada passes through some amazing scenery in BC. I was looking at taking the most southerly route, Hwy 3 into Vancouver, but I don't want to miss the big peaks of the rockies

I'm looking for some input on this one.


Thanks
 
Well, i was just living in Alberta for the past year (working in the oilfield) and then decided to move back to Toronto in February. I drove my car back and honestly the Hwy 1 Trans Canada all the way across all the provinces are beyond beautiful scenery, Northern Ontario has alot of bending roads, but once you get into Manitoba/Sask/Alberta, you're mostly going up and down and doing very wide bends and mostly going in a straight line. Also be careful in Northern Ontario as the highway roads there crossing into Manitoba were a bit scary, the roads aren't in the greatest conditions, other than that most of the drive wasn't bad at all
 
Assuming you are staying in Canada on the way there, I took the trans canada from Toronto to Regina. I wouldn't call it boring if you've never seen it before. You could alternatively take roads next to the trans canada in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. they will be much quieter. Either way, it's lots of KMs of flat straight and green.

Once you get to Regina, you can either head north, or go to Moose Jaw, then head north. On the way to Saskatoon, you'll go through the some interesting riding. I enjoyed riding through them. Keep in mind, it's still Saskatchewan. The real fun is in Alberta and BC.

From Saskatoon head to Jasper via Edmonton. Take the Icefields Parkway down to near Calgary. But get on the Kaninaskis Trail. Take that down and then down to Southern Alberta. Connect to Highway 3 in BC and take that to Vancouver. I really enjoyed hwy 3.

http://goo.gl/maps/E5smu

I had not been to the Badlands so I cannot say whether they are worth the detour. I did however go to Drumheller Dinosaur Museum North East of Calgary, and I really like it there.

Hope this helps.
 
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The Trans-Canada really doesn't do justice to the Prairie provinces. If you've got the time, hug the border until you're south of Calgary. Rolling hills in places, dead-quiet grasslands in other. Then take 22 north ("The Cowboy Way") to Bragg Creek, and you can hook up with the Trans Can again. If you stay south along 3 you'll travel through the Kootenays and the Okanagan. Really beautiful country.
 
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