Road trip from AB to BC in winter

[hogujak]

Hi guys,

My wife and I plan on going to Vancouver island in Feb from Calgary.

And just wondering if anybody has done it before.

If it snows few days before we leave Calgary, we will fly there.

I think we will be fine for the most of parts but little worried about driving BC hwy 5 Coquihalla.

We have 2014 passat with winter tires and never had trouble driving around city and hwy in AB.

I don't know should I just forget about driving and get the flight ticket now?

If we drive, we can take our dog too so we will end up saving $7~800(flight,rental car, dog boarding)
for 10 day trip.

[revelations]

Thats 16-18 hours by the time you add the idiotic ferries into the equation.

Keep windshield washer fluid handy and check DRIVE BC for obvious road closures. Pay attention to the weather in Revelstoke/Golden + Coquihalla area as well as a day difference can make a huge difference.

[hogujak]

Originally posted by revelations
Thats 16-18 hours by the time you add the idiotic ferries into the equation.

Keep windshield washer fluid handy and check DRIVE BC for obvious road closures. Pay attention to the weather in Revelstoke/Golden + Coquihalla area as well as a day difference can make a huge difference.

Oh we will stay at Langley for one night and leave early in the morning to take the ferry. Sorry I should have written that.

[killramos]

The drive is fine, done it many times. Just do the calgary-okanogan portion during the day if at all possible.

I have done it at night though. It can be a bit white knuckle depending on the weather.

[Brent.ff]

I did it to fish the Cowichan for a week in February 6 years ago. Was easy peasy, especially with two people. Just try and hit it so you get revvy and coq in the daytime

[eglove]

Just did it at the end of November. Some hairy sections. Prepare for road closures and delays though

[firebane]

Its not so much the Coquihalla you need to work about as the majority of the shitty weather on that road happens around the top of the highway.

Its Rogers pass and the highway into BC that can be brutal.

[vengie]

I've done it 100+ times, as most of my family is in Vancouver.

- Be careful in the mountain passes (Rogers/ Coquihalla) as both CAN be very hairy if it snows. Mainly due to heavy truck traffic and inexperienced drivers.

- Be prepared for any road closures due to avalanches. (Have emergency blankets/ food+Water), I've sat on the highway for ~12+ hrs before.

- If your fuel tank is below 1/2 and you are planning to by pass a gas station, I would turn around and fill up (See above road closures).

Other than that, enjoy the drive, the scenery is beautiful.

If you're not in a hurry I usually stop at these places:

Field AB, Golden, Three Valley Gap, Enchanted Forest (Haven't done this one in a long time though), The Last Spike, Kamloops.

[JustinMCS]

I've driven to BC before in the winter. It gets dark early, it was snowing heavily, couldn't see crap in my old car (bad haolgen headlights) and just ended up following a semi because they know the roads well. It was a butt clenching experience and I would not suggest it. This was before they made road improvements and before you could drive off the side of the road easily. LOL.

[sxtasy]

I just did the drive a few weeks ago and have done it many times in the winter. Be prepared for a lot of rocks on the road and semi trucks driving like complete assholes. I would suggest doing it in daylight, spend the night in the salmon arm area. The Coquihalla is usually well maintained, Golden/Revelstoke area can be somewhat sketchy.

[hogujak]

I dont know if i should take my 4x4truck with all season tires(M+S tire) or FWD car with winter tires.

If theres not much snow on the road, my car with winter tires might be safer but i will probably get some rock chips on the windshield.. lol

[Sugarphreak]

...

[codetrap]

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[Xtrema]

Originally posted by hogujak
I dont know if i should take my 4x4truck with all season tires(M+S tire) or FWD car with winter tires.

I would do the one with winters. Low center + traction > high center + 4wd.

As long as it doesn't snow, it's fine.

If it does snow, you are in the mercy of all the people on the road with you. Done the stretch when it snowed that you can't see more than 2 cars in front of you at night. Try to stay on road only during day time.

[BokCh0y]

I've done it before, many times to be honest - Calgary to Vancouver and back between November and February....white knuckling for sure at times.

But basically what everyone here says about doing it during the day and having winter tires. The biggest thing I would take into account though in addition is what Vengie says about road closures, full tank of gas and having blankets and emergency gear. Getting stuck in a road closure due to avalanche sucks. Even worse if you don't have enough gas and don't have the gear to keep yourself warm.

[Rat Fink]

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[hogujak]

Originally posted by Rat Fink
Used to do it year round with a semi...mostly lumber loads. It's all about reasonable speeds for the conditions. If you want to avoid the Coquihalla depending on road conditions you can take the #1 the whole way...... You'll add an hour or so to your drive but can mean the difference between driving on a wet road and driving on a skating rink with the difference in elevations.

I thought about taking 5a,3 but for some reason i havent thought about taking hwy1. Thanks for the good tip. I dont mind driving extra 1hr at all.

[msixty]

I drive Calgary to Vancouver 5 times every winter, in a 4X4 truck with winter tires. The worst part is inexperienced drivers, if you haven't done winter mountain driving fly.

[revelations]

Originally posted by msixty
I drive Calgary to Vancouver 5 times every winter, in a 4X4 truck with winter tires. The worst part is inexperienced drivers, if you haven't done winter mountain driving fly.

:werd: parked behind some noob, going 50 kph for 45 minutes with, 100s of people behind you is not fun.

[hogujak]

Originally posted by msixty
I drive Calgary to Vancouver 5 times every winter, in a 4X4 truck with winter tires. The worst part is inexperienced drivers, if you haven't done winter mountain driving fly.

I have driven to fortmc from edmonton many times when i worked up north. How bad is mountain roads comparing to hwy63?

[msommers]

Are you still requires to bring chains?

Rogers Pass is notoriously shitty.

Personally I'd fly if that is an option. Too many idiots and the chance of sitting for hours on end is higher than you'd hope.

[mr2mike]

Flying there costs less on a seat sale then driving then taking ferry.
Ferry will cost $90 for 2 ppl and car plus any other fees and taxes the BC gov't decides to charge. Then the same fee back.

Unless you really want to see the country in winter, I would fly.

It's not that the roads are insanely worse than anywhere else. It's other drivers, backups, snowplows, trucks, slush, snow, fog, freezing rain and you're doing this over a long drive. Just something to reconsider. I'm sure you COULD do it. Just would you?

[Redlyne_mr2]

I just got back from whistler, roads were dry the whole way, as others mentioned try to make it day drive time.

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by hogujak
Hi guys,

My wife and I plan on going to Vancouver island in Feb from Calgary.

And just wondering if anybody has done it before.

If it snows few days before we leave Calgary, we will fly there.

I think we will be fine for the most of parts but little worried about driving BC hwy 5 Coquihalla.

We have 2014 passat with winter tires and never had trouble driving around city and hwy in AB.

I don't know should I just forget about driving and get the flight ticket now?

If we drive, we can take our dog too so we will end up saving $7~800(flight,rental car, dog boarding)
for 10 day trip.

I'm doing what I hate people doing. Giving the OP advice about something he didn't even ask for...but just to give you something to think about.


Driving: 4 days travel, two nights stopover. (Hotel? $$)
Meals on the drive: $100-150
Gas return: $200-$300
Ferry trip: $200+
Did I mention FOUR DAYS TRAVELLING?!!


Every winter I drive back home. Hwy 1-Coquihalla. And every year I tell myself "never again".
The worst time? Getting stuck in Revelstoke for two days because of avalanche, and only hotel room available wasa $300/night. Plus meals. On the way there, we spent 10 hours sleeping on the highway due to avalanche closure.

BEST case was just two weeks ago. Roads clear and dry, but still dropped $300 in gas and two days travel and that was just to Vernon!!


For a 10 day trip to the island with just two adults?!!
FLY!!!! HANDS DOWN!!
$269/pp return right now. You're there in a few hours. Gives you 3 more days of visiting time.
Rent a car for a week: $200??
Dog sit: friends or a kennel for a $150. Boom. Done.

Unless you really want to drive in slush/ice/snow/traffic/dark/boring....then by all means drive.

[speedog]

Originally posted by C_Dave45


I'm doing what I hate people doing. Giving the OP advice about something he didn't even ask for...but just to give you something to think about.


Driving: 4 days travel, two nights stopover. (Hotel? $$)
Meals on the drive: $100-150
Gas return: $200-$300
Ferry trip: $200+
Did I mention FOUR DAYS TRAVELLING?!!


Every winter I drive back home. Hwy 1-Coquihalla. And every year I tell myself "never again".
The worst time? Getting stuck in Revelstoke for two days because of avalanche, and only hotel room available wasa $300/night. Plus meals. On the way there, we spent 10 hours sleeping on the highway due to avalanche closure.

BEST case was just two weeks ago. Roads clear and dry, but still dropped $300 in gas and two days travel and that was just to Vernon!!


For a 10 day trip to the island with just two adults?!!
FLY!!!! HANDS DOWN!!
$269/pp return right now. You're there in a few hours. Gives you 3 more days of visiting time.
Rent a car for a week: $200??
Dog sit: friends or a kennel for a $150. Boom. Done.

Unless you really want to drive in slush/ice/snow/traffic/dark/boring....then by all means drive.
Listen to this man.

We used to travel out to Kelowna regularly when the in-laws lived there and winter was always a crap shoot. Definitely you do not want to be out there at night for the most part.

We had one trip where we were stopped in Roger's Pass for over 3 hours due to two semi's hitting head on and in that time it snowed over 6 inches which meant all semi's in the stopped traffic had to put chains on as most of them just couldn't get going in the fresh snow. Also in the 3+ hour wait, bathroom breaks became an issue for many, for guys not as much of a big deal but no one was just going into the bush or ditch to do their business because the snow off of the road was 4-6 feet higher than the road surface (PS: keep a 1 gallon ice cream bucket plus lid with a roll of toilet paper in your vehicle and especially so with kids). After we eventually got going, it was such a slog and once in Golden it was after 1AM which meant pretty much everything was closed, eats were only to be had at gas stations.

In-laws once took 4 days to get home to Kelowna because of avalanches. Now this doesn't mean that you may run into this but one never knows. Two people with only a dog, fly and rent a car if possible.

[hogujak]

Thanks everyone.

I will check the weather and if it might snow when we pass the mountains we will just take the flight.

Having a dog and wife loving our dog more than me makes it hard to go somewhere..lol...JK

My dog is only 10-15lbs and i know i can fly with her but just dont wanna make some people who dont like pets around uncomfortable

[Penguin_Racecar]

Originally posted by hogujak


My dog is only 10-15lbs and i know i can fly with her but just dont wanna make some people who dont like pets around uncomfortable

Just remember that people that don't like pets aren't people