Planning a drive from Los Angeles to Banff

Open to any recommendations on good overlanding and hiking spots in Pacific Northwest and British Colombia.

Also wondering what I need be careful bringing camping gear across the Canadian border. Like should I leave my hatchet behind? Obviously not going to try and bring any guns with. I heard that I can't have bear mace on hand either.

Plan is a ways out, probably in June.

 

You have time, familiarize yourself with what the laws are. I’ve been through Canada legally with guns, hatchets, bear spray, the works.

No need for you to take a gun but camping gear such as a hatchet and bear spray won’t be an issue.

 

Subd

 

Boarder crossing should be pretty straight forward depending on CoVid requirements, which are constantly changing.

The Walgreens free rapid test met the requirements for crossing when we returned from the USA last week. Hatchet won’t be an issue, if you’re bringing knives keep them to fixed or folders, no autos and even assisted might be a gamble. Not sure on the bear spray, but it’s cheap and readily available.

Not sure the route you plan on taking, but there is a ton of camping and hiking in Southern Alberta, Crowsnest Pass area if you’re looking for an alternate on the way back. Camping within the national parks tend to fill up months in advance and there is no dispersed camping within the parks.

Can’t help much on the British Columbia side of things, but there are some great groups on Facebook and even the Canada sub forum on this site that might get a few more responses.

The Dyrt app works well in the US for dispersed and paid camping sites, Boondocking app also works well including Canada

 

Whats your setup

 

Just noticed the pup in your profile, if they’re coming with, make sure you have proof of rabies, and not just a tag, but a letter from your vet.

 

Yeah, brought him across before. Drove from LA to Toronto. I didn't do any camping that time though.

 

I’ll also add that late May/early June can be a strange time of year weather wise here in Alberta, could easily snow or be 80-90F.

 

Is that dependent on the altitude I am at, or just about everywhere is liable to have a strange weather? Planning to swing through Vancouver area first, I imagine that is slightly more mild/predictable with the coast nearby.

 

BC will be nice and mild, more so once you get near the Rockies, mid June shouldn’t be an issue. But to give you an idea, Sunshine Village, the ski resort in Banff doesn’t close until the last week of May. Conditions aren’t great by than, but you can still get some turns in.

 

Fill your fridge/cooler after you cross the border. Don't have anything that looks like a plant or a seed or you'll need to leave it behind. I've heard you can't take bear spray across the border.

Banff is beautiful, but Canada's idea of a national park is pretty different than the US. More than enough opportunity to hike around Banff. IMO Jasper has more places to hike. If you do head north of Banff, it would be good to see Moraine Lake, Lake Louise, and the Athabasca Glacier. I'd never seen a Glacier up close before and was happy I paid for the bus tour.

 

This is actually a great point. Our National Parks, well Banff in particular, is a massive tourist trap. Don’t expect Death Valley or Joshua Tree type of places. Jasper is great but is 4 hours north of Banff. Waterton Park is another great park where you can hike and camp for days and not run into many people. It’s right on the Montana boarder, it actually boarders Glacier National Park.

 

Damn, looked up the glacier bus tour. That thing is a pretty cool vehicle

 

It is. I think the driver said it's a 6x6 powered by a Mercedes diesel. The ride was only a mile or two each way including going up what looked like a 45 degree hill. But standing on the glacier...I thought it was well worth my money.

 

I'd say Banff is similar to South Lake Tahoe (california reference) with a small lake. Mostly a tourist town surrounded by good scenery - while there's lot of outdoor stuff to do, it's not obvious where to go to start. But being a town can be good too if you're traveling with family, you don't have to rough it every night. Lots of restaurants and shops.

I combo'd Glacier National Park along with my last Banff/Jasper visit. Glacier is definitely worth seeing too.

 

Agreed, Banff is gorgeous and I certainly wouldn’t try and sway anyone from seeing it.

Just depends I guess on what a persons expectations are. If your expecting to explore back roads in your truck within the park and really get away from people well, that’s not going to happen. BC is a great place to find old forestry and service roads, and camp wherever your heart desires. The National Parks don’t offer that kind of freedom.

 

If you're looking for wild camping not in a national park get yourself a copy of Backroad Mapbooks for BC or Alberta, or just sign up for the app https://www.backroadmapbooks.com/ It will give you all sorts of options for camping, hiking, fishing etc

You can't really go wrong with any of the national or provincial parks if you're looking for camping convenience. All of the parks are full of things to do and see. They were turned in parks after all for a reason

 

Awesome this is the kind of insight I was hoping for. I have been to Lake Tahoe a couple times in the last year so that is a perfect reference for me. I also go out to Joshua Tree/29 palms and such for the BLM camping areas.

 

Did a similar trip in September and just FWIW:

(1) we found the Banff area campgrounds to be exquisite--tidy, assigned parking, free hot shower, free firewood, just really lovely, I am not fond of the NPS campgrounds but these were way better and worth the coin

(2) the scenic Banff Upper Hot Springs in the town of Banff were closed due to COVID (and I think still are) but we found well-maintained and probably more scenic hot springs down toward Idaho called Lussier Hot Springs (15 minutes down a great wide gravel logging road and a short hike down some well-built stairs)

(3) found the poutine in B.C. to be better than that in the eastern provinces (surprisingly), and especially the breakfast poutin at Eggsmart in downtown Banff

(4) Glacier NP is surprisingly close to Banff and worth hitting up on the way there or back given how long of a haul it is up to that part of the continent

(5) Collective Craft Beer in Calgary (Collective - A Craft Beer Shop (collectivecraftbeer.com)) and The Beer Den in Cochrane (The Beer Den | The Beer Den - Craft Beer Cochrane) were both well-stocked and knowledgeable--they had a comprehensive selection of beer from Canada and the U.S., including some hard-to-find gluten free beer from Quebec (Helix!)

(6) watch the Jim Gaffigan special on Canada, ideally before you go and again after (we did it on the drive)

(7) Banff is basically Aspen with some French subtitles, so go in with some expectations on prices and it will feel like a bit of a scene (though the surroundings more than make up for both)

 

Bringing my girl from Toronto, so she'll be the judge of poutine preferences. I am expecting some stuff to be closed, but should still be enjoyable. Great information and pics, I really appreciate it!