Trans-Canadian Highway

I'm gonna drive from Vancouver to St. John's in May! Tell me about your favorite attractions and restaurants along the way, or post stories from your trips on the TCH. Protips for the prairie provinces extra-appreciated.

me = green with envy.

AB: Drumheller and the big ol' dinosaur museum is cool, along with the whole badlands area. Touristy as hell, but fun.

SK: If you're taking the northern route, Batoche is a cool spot to stop (about an hour north of Saskatoon). Historical interest, and just a really pretty location, too. In general, getting off the TCH and driving on some of the smaller roads in SK is nicer, if you have time. If you're on the southern route, the Cypress Hills are supposed to be something to see, and the Qu'appelle Valley, too, but I haven't been to either.

ON: All around Lake Superior is great and worth many stops along the way, and I like the north shore of Lake Huron, too. Smoked Whitefish for sale near Sault Ste Marie! Dip your toes in Superior for a second or two at Batchawana Bay or Montreal River Harbour! Rumour has it that some of the best poutine you will find is available in Sturgeon Falls (between North Bay and Mattawa) from two competing chip trucks, just off the highway on Main Street.

My in-laws live in North Bay, and yep, the best poutine lives in Sturgeon Falls...also the best nanaimo bars and butter tarts!

SF is between N.Bay and Sudbury, though.

Once, while driving the TCH between N. Bay and Mattawa, we encountered a woman on a bike being towed by a team of sled dogs!

argh, yes, of course, re: SF. Been a while since I was in that area. Wish I had more advice....this thread reminds me of how little of my own country I've seen.

fuck. let me tell you something: the trans-canada between calgary and, let's say, moose jaw is my favorite stretch of road in the world. mountains are amazing, but i love suddenly descending from foot hills to dead flat prairie as you cut through the suburbs of calgary, which spread across the prairie further and further each time i drive thru. when you get thru calgary and you're suddenly on the flat land... it's beautiful, any time of year.

the thing with saskatchewan and eastern alberta and manitoba is just spending time ducking into the towns along the way. like, basically pick at random along the route: spend an afternoon just walking through medicine hat or something. they've got these old downtowns that have been preserved excellently because nothing has moved an inch in these towns in a couple decades. i can't tell you how much i love moose jaw, and i can't recommend enough just walking around it, but any town, any town, just take your pick along the route. shit, i actually love the yellow head, too, if you're into that. it's a cool drive, from edmonton east on the yellow head. if you go that way, north battleford is another immaculately preserved town, where you can hear cree on the radio and go to scandanavian bakeries on narrow downtown streets that look like they must have looked in about 1977, with lots of gloomy brick hotels called, like, THE IMPERIAL or whatever, abandoned SAAN stores, grimy chinese restaurants, and all the methadone clinics and storefront revival churches that have moved in.

and fuck, i love that drive from winnipeg to east, too, going into the trees, but for some reason i always do it at night, going thru the trees in the middle of the night listening to coast to coast am driving behind a semi, morning coming up just as i get to kakabeka falls or around there.

so, no specific advice but i love driving the trans-canada and the coolest thing is just fucking around and having a look at anything you think deserves a look.

i'm free in may and am offering to act as your guide to the trans-canada for a small daily stipend. i can point out good cheap motels in small towns, scan am radio for you, drive when you get tired, and share interesting anecdotes about past trips.

Love dylann's description of North Battleford.

May I also suggest—rather foolishly—camping? The month of May is too early but lake culture is a huge, huge part of life in this part of the world.

Try to take in a proper resource colony if you can, e.g. a town like Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. Twenty steakhouses, twenty liquor stores, twenty bars, and a Wal-Mart. Niiiiice.

Winnipeggers are special people.

but i love suddenly descending from foot hills to dead flat prairie as you cut through the suburbs of calgary

having had this particular experience I can confirm that it's amazing to go from the heaviest mountains you've ever seen to basically NOTHING in a span of a few miles...

can i post pictures?

the last time i did a long trans-canada drive was last summer, when my girl and i drove from winnipeg to vancouver

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i72/deerawn/honda.jpg

The stretch coming out of the mountains further south is fantastic, too. Crowsnest Pass, Pincher Creek, etc.