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Canadian Rockies

L

LeeJones

New member
A buddy and I are thinking of heading up and touring around the Canadian Rockies. We'll be heading up from Oregon and will have the first 10 days of June for the ride. We're planning to camp. I would be intersested in any recommendations you might have on:
- must do roads :thumb
- must avoid roads :uhoh
- must see locations :thumb
- brew pubs :drink
- campgrounds :snore
- anything else of note

Lee...
 
Ahhhh....where to start.....

Must do roads:

31A between Kaslo and New Denver, B.C. This is the Glory Road, Canada's Targa Florio. DON'T MISS THIS ONE (sorry Greg). Stay at the Mariner Hotel/Inn in Kaslo: it's very basic but inexpensive, and the pub's in house (get a room on the east side, away from the pub).
The Duffy Lake Road, between Pemberton and Lilloet B.C.
The Cowboy Trail Highway 22, between Highway 3 and Highway 7, in Alberta
The Icefield Parkway, Highway 93 between Lake Louise Junction and Jasper (watch for Queen's Cowboys).

Roads to avoid:

The Trash Canada, except the Rogers Pass section between Golden and Revelstoke (watch for Queen's Cowboys). But in early June it won't be too bad.

The main thing is that early June is a good time to go. Even if it snows in the passes, the ground will be warm enough that it will melt. And anywhere you go in the Rockies, you'll find beauty.

If you're in Calgary, don't miss Original Joe's Restaurant and Bar in Kensington (1220 Kensington Rd. N.W.). In Banff, the Rose and Crown pub is good. If you're in the Banff Springs Hotel, the Rundle Lounge has stunning views, and the Chateau Lake Louise has one (I forget it's name, but tell the concierge you want to drink beer and see the Lake) that's even better. These latter two are pricey, but worth it.

There are some good regional motorcycle touring guides available, and I'll get you the titles shortly.

Rinty
 
The Kananaskis Highway.

Look for Crowsnest on Hwy 3 in Alberta (a great road itself...) and just east of town, there is a small town called Coleman.

Road 940 heads north from there. Note that some of this road is dirt but absolutely no problem for any motorcycle. (I rode it on a Goldwing....)

The road takes you through rolling farmland with the Rockies to your left the whole way (assuming that you're riding north).

About halfway to the TransCanada, the road intersects with Road 40 and continues north.

40 interesects with the TransCanada just east of the Banff National Park entrance.

Ian
 
rinty said:
Ahhhh....where to start.....

Must do roads:

31A between Kaslo and New Denver, B.C. This is the Glory Road, Canada's Targa Florio. DON'T MISS THIS ONE (sorry Greg). Stay at the Mariner Hotel/Inn in Kaslo: it's very basic but inexpensive, and the pub's in house (get a room on the east side, away from the pub).
The Duffy Lake Road, between Pemberton and Lilloet B.C.
The Cowboy Trail Highway 22, between Highway 3 and Highway 7, in Alberta
The Icefield Parkway, Highway 93 between Lake Louise Junction and Jasper (watch for Queen's Cowboys).

Roads to avoid:

The Trash Canada, except the Rogers Pass section between Golden and Revelstoke (watch for Queen's Cowboys). But in early June it won't be too bad.

The main thing is that early June is a good time to go. Even if it snows in the passes, the ground will be warm enough that it will melt. And anywhere you go in the Rockies, you'll find beauty.

If you're in Calgary, don't miss Original Joe's Restaurant and Bar in Kensington (1220 Kensington Rd. N.W.). In Banff, the Rose and Crown pub is good. If you're in the Banff Springs Hotel, the Rundle Lounge has stunning views, and the Chateau Lake Louise has one (I forget it's name, but tell the concierge you want to drink beer and see the Lake) that's even better. These latter two are pricey, but worth it.

There are some good regional motorcycle touring guides available, and I'll get you the titles shortly.

Rinty
Click to expand...

All that, plus I highly reccommend highway #6 from Vernon to Nakusp BC. Nakusp is a nice little town with some nice camping spots and some good pubs (Wylies I think is one). Also a fabulous hot spring just a short jaunt out of town. The Big Eddy pub in Revelstoke has pretty good grub (or at least they used to), and the KOA in Revelstoke is really nice and resonably priced if you don't mind some train and highway noise. If you do find yourself travelling the #1 (Trans Canada) highway through Banff National Park, pay for the day pass and use the Bow Valley Parkway between Banff and Lake Louise instead. Its not a fast road, but its much more enjoyable than the main highway, plus there are a couple of sightseeing stops along it. Another alternative route is to head from Golden down to Radium and back over to Lake Louise on the #93.
 
canadian rockies

Lee:

Vision's recommendation of the Kananskis Highway (40) is a good one, but it's closed for the winter until midnight on June 14, from the Peter Lougheed Park turnoff, south to the north end of the forestry trunk road (940). The turnoff is about 10 km north of Highwood Pass. The trunk road is rideable on a street bike, but very dusty, and most people would find 22, which is paved and which parallels it, equally scenic.
There are campsites everywhere, and in early June there should be lots of room, even in Banff, Jasper, and Lake Louise.

P.S. If you need emergency work done on your bike during your trip, the resident genius in Calgary is Dave Anderson at Anderwerks BMW.

I did that a few years ago... Bradford Benn
Click to expand...

Brad: I really enjoyed reading your travelogue on the trip into our "back yard". Thanks for all your work.

Rinty
 
canadian rockies

Lee:

The Toad Rock campground that Burnzilla linked is right in the middle of the primo Kootenay riding area. The Glory Road is just north of there, as is Ainsworth Hot Springs, where you can go for a nice soak in the cave. I would suggest that area as a must do. By the way, the ferries in that "inside" area (Crawford Bay to Balfour; Shelter Bay, Faquier to Needles) are all free, and they will usually let bikes on first, so you get to do an unobstructed sprint after unloading.

Rinty
 
rinty said:
Lee:

Vision's recommendation of the Kananskis Highway (40) is a good one, but it's closed for the winter until midnight on June 14...
Click to expand...

:doh man, i have issues with that! :p

P.S. If you need emergency work done on your bike during your trip, the resident genius in Calgary is Dave Anderson at Anderwerks BMW.
Click to expand...

i rode with dave through hell's canyon (burnszilllllllllla...) back in 2001 on the way to redmond. man, he can ride and does he ever do great work on motorcycles.

ian
 
Canadian Rockies

One word...Awesome!
 

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That is a bit early for steady good weather; it'll probably be hit and miss for you. If you need to you can get warmer by going into the Kettle Valley and Creston region instead of Banff. I love the finger lakes region (Arrow, Columbia, hit Ainsworth on Kootenai Lake - hey, Kootenai beer!) also. Balfour Ferry, a big yes! Kimberly, outside of Cranbrook, is Bavarian-cute. Nelson is wonderful. Crowsnest is great fun. Or just take Hwy 93 or 95 back down to the US if it gets cold.
 
Thanks!

Thanks much for the great info. This is why the forum is so valuable. You just can't get this type of info anywhere else.
Lee....
 
Have a good trip. Concerning Montana's comment about the weather, if it cools down and starts raining, just try to keep to the lower elevations and cross any high passes at 1 PM or later. Even if you encounter a bit of snow while crossing a high pass, it won't stick because the ground will be too warm. The passes I'm referring to are Rogers, Kicking Horse, Vermilion, and Salmo Creston. You shouldn't have any problems.

Rinty
 
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