Best route from Lake Louise to Seattle

[John Stephens]

I'm planning out next summer's vacation and need some experienced help on highways traversing the Canadian Rockies.

We are interested in driving from Glacier NP to Lake Louise. We have taken the Icefield Parkway from Banff to Jasper NP but missed Lake Louise and want to pick it up this time. If anyone knows of any reasonably priced RV parks in that area, please speak up.

From there, we want to drive west and south to Seattle, and eventually make it to Lincoln City, OR. It appears the best road to take is TC #1 From Lake Louise to Kamloops and then drop south on #5, but when reading up on TC #1, it appears it has some pretty dangerous stretches of road that can oftentimes be closed due to avalanches. Is anyone familiar with this highway and can advise me if a 39' gas coach + towed vehicle can make this trip? I can't find information on grades but see RV parks along the way, so I must assume RV's can make it, but should they?

From Kamloops to Seattle, is there an advised or preferred route to take? Do you have to drop south all the way to Tacoma and then back north in order to visit Olympic NP? I assume taking a ferry with a coach + toad will be out of the question.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Skookum]

I can only speak for the portion getting from the Canadian border to Olympic National Park. As the road goes, yes, you would need to drop down I-5 and then take SR-16 through Gig Harbor and keep heading North/West. 16 is tolled in the Eastbound direction on the West end of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. They do take card payments as well as cash. Alternately, you can go farther south on I-5 and catch 101 and follow that Northbound onto the peninsula.

You could potentially take a ferry (Washington State Ferries - Washington State Ferries | WSDOT). I do not know the length limitations on any of the routes. Cost is likely to be well north of $100 - you can check their fee schedule for charges by length and axle, and any height restrictions. Making reservations for your crossing are strongly encouraged (most popular routes have moved to reservations). The one variable that can be "iffy" is the tides. Low tides create excessive slope on the loading ramps. Long wheelbases or long overhangs over your axles might hang you up (and that's one heck of a scene when it happens!).

 

[TonyL]

We have considerable knowledge of campgrounds near Lake Louise and the Trans Canada highway 1. The biggest issue at the moment is the major road works just East of Golden. I'm not sure when they are due for completion. The rest of the road to Revelstoke will depend on your confidence. Depending on what time of year, avalanches shouldn't be an issue but there are a series of snow sheds as you climb up Rogers pass that are a little narrow. Having said that, we've done that road several times in A and C class, but all were hired. There is another route further south going from Banff across to Radium Hot springs.
Whichever way you go, you will encounter reasonable gradients as you are in the Rockies. There's nothing that should bother a well maintained unit however.
From our very recent experience with the campground at Lake Louise, I wouldn't ever stay there again. Ridiculous prices for a very poorly maintained site. Either go a little up the parkway to Silverhorn creek, no hookup but some very large sites, or stay in Banff and use the toad.
I could recommend lots of other routes but they will depend on how long you are planning to take in Canada.
We recently did highway 3 West to East from Osoyoos to Cranbrook and had a really nice trip.Let me know if you would like more details.

 

[John Stephens]

I can only speak for the portion getting from the Canadian border to Olympic National Park. As the road goes, yes, you would need to drop down I-5 and then take SR-16 through Gig Harbor and keep heading North/West. 16 is tolled in the Eastbound direction on the West end of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. They do take card payments as well as cash. Alternately, you can go farther south on I-5 and catch 101 and follow that Northbound onto the peninsula.

You could potentially take a ferry (Washington State Ferries - Washington State Ferries | WSDOT). I do not know the length limitations on any of the routes. Cost is likely to be well north of $100 - you can check their fee schedule for charges by length and axle, and any height restrictions. Making reservations for your crossing are strongly encouraged (most popular routes have moved to reservations). The one variable that can be "iffy" is the tides. Low tides create excessive slope on the loading ramps. Long wheelbases or long overhangs over your axles might hang you up (and that's one heck of a scene when it happens!).

Thanks for the advice. I'm still debating on spending the gas money to see Olympic NP, not being sure what there is to see in the park. I'm looking to waste a few days between Canada and Lincoln City because I need to take a couple of extra weeks to get to my next destination - Southern Utah. I don't want to make it there before September and right now, the itinerary has me reaching it by mid-August. I guess if the timing is right, we can take in a Mariners game while in Seattle, and visit the Space Needle.

I figured taking a ferry with a rig as large as ours wouldn't be feasible.

 

[TonyL]

We did the Olympic NP back in 2019 and loved it. We followed the 101 from Olympia up the East side, across the top and down hugging the Pacific coast. Crossed the Megler Astoria bridge and stayed on the 101 right down to the Canadian border. Found some really good campgrounds and some superb casinos to stay at.
It's a journey we would definitely do again.

 

[John Stephens]

We have considerable knowledge of campgrounds near Lake Louise and the Trans Canada highway 1. The biggest issue at the moment is the major road works just East of Golden. I'm not sure when they are due for completion. The rest of the road to Revelstoke will depend on your confidence. Depending on what time of year, avalanches shouldn't be an issue but there are a series of snow sheds as you climb up Rogers pass that are a little narrow. Having said that, we've done that road several times in A and C class, but all were hired. There is another route further south going from Banff across to Radium Hot springs.
Whichever way you go, you will encounter reasonable gradients as you are in the Rockies. There's nothing that should bother a well maintained unit however.
From our very recent experience with the campground at Lake Louise, I wouldn't ever stay there again. Ridiculous prices for a very poorly maintained site. Either go a little up the parkway to Silverhorn creek, no hookup but some very large sites, or stay in Banff and use the toad.
I could recommend lots of other routes but they will depend on how long you are planning to take in Canada.
We recently did highway 3 West to East from Osoyoos to Cranbrook and had a really nice trip.Let me know if you would like more details.

Thanks for the information. I read that the roadwork east of Golden isn't due for completion until 2024, and that's one of the things that concerned me about taking this route. I assume since you said you took this route that the snow sheds are tall enough for a Class A. I considered taking #3 south of Radium Hot Springs, but we liked the Icefield Parkway so much, we wanted to see more of the Canadian Rockies further north, and thought #1 would be the way to go as long as it isn't too dangerous. I have driven this coach up the Parkway and through the US Rockies three times without issue (knock on wood,) so I assume as long as I don't run into grades greater than 8-8.5%, it should be all right. Confidence isn't an issue, as I've taken mountain roads in this coach with sheer drop-offs that were only a lane and a half wide.

Thanks for the advice about the campground in Lake Louise because that is where I was planning on staying. When we were at Banff three years ago, we stayed at the Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court so we could have FHU, so it appears that is where we will need to find a reservation again.

If you think Hwy 3 will provide nice scenery for us, we'll consider that route. I'm in no hurry to get through Canada and can spend a couple of weeks there.

Do you have any idea when Park Canada will begin taking reservations for next summer? So far, you can only go to the end of March. I remember having to go online as soon as the park system opened in order to get a reservation for Banff, and then couldn't get what I wanted at Jasper. They fill up quickly.

 

[Skookum]

Thanks for the advice. I'm still debating on spending the gas money to see Olympic NP, not being sure what there is to see in the park. I'm looking to waste a few days between Canada and Lincoln City because I need to take a couple of extra weeks to get to my next destination - Southern Utah. I don't want to make it there before September and right now, the itinerary has me reaching it by mid-August. I guess if the timing is right, we can take in a Mariners game while in Seattle, and visit the Space Needle.

I figured taking a ferry with a rig as large as ours wouldn't be feasible.

Hurricane Ridge is breathtaking and there's all sorts of hiking in the park. To the West on the coast is Forks, and Cape Flattery (Northwestern most tip of the state).

If you don't want to do Olympic NP, there's always Mt. Rainier. Or, St. Helens... it's been about 20 years since I've done the tour and stopped at all the observation points, but it was pretty amazing!

 

[TonyL]

I think parks Canada open for reservations around February. We booked around the second week in March and didn't get all that we desired. The trailer court at Banff, whilst not scenic, does provide excellent public transport in and out of town. You couldn't pay me enough to stay at lake Louise again. The actual lake is spoilt by the hideous hotel there. Far better is Moraine lake which is off the Lake Louise road, but you will need to get there early. The parks have reduced parking there by over 50% and want you to use the shuttle bus at $25 a person!! (Backhanders me thinks )
Also, everything in Lake Louise village is priced at tourists. 4$ for a small bag of ice will give you some idea.
The route 1 isn't that far North of the Banff Radium route. We didn't use highway 1 even though it was open in June as the works still resulted in traffic queues. We had never done the Eastern section of highway 3 before, but have used it West of Osoyoos to Hope several times. The snow sheds have good clearance as it's a major truck route, it's the width of the carriageway that's the concern. Definitely fold in the mirrors.
If you can manage with no hookup and limited generator hours, Silverhorn campground would be ideal to cover the southern end of the Icefield parkway. It's a relatively new site with many large pitches and stunning location. It's about 30 miles north of Lake Louise.

 

[John Stephens]

Hurricane Ridge is breathtaking and there's all sorts of hiking in the park. To the West on the coast is Forks, and Cape Flattery (Northwestern most tip of the state).

If you don't want to do Olympic NP, there's always Mt. Rainier. Or, St. Helens... it's been about 20 years since I've done the tour and stopped at all the observation points, but it was pretty amazing!

We stayed in a very rustic park between Ranier and St. Helens last year and had some really bad experiences when leaving the state going east. Got caught in 60 mph crosswinds that took part of our roof. By the time we made it home to SW Florida, we had run through two severe storms that made the roof leak all the way to the ceiling. Coach was totaled by the insurance company and we bought it back. We're still getting it worked on, but at least now, have a new roof coating.

When we were there, we didn't think much of Ranier and weren't able to visit St. Helens because the road from the north was still snowed in. It was June. If I could teleport myself from Canada to Oregon and skip Washington completely, I would. But since we're going to have to drive through it, I figured Olympic NP might be something to see. I'll have to research Hurricane Ridge since I'm not familiar with it.

 

[steveblonde]

From Lake Louise head east on Number 1 take hwy 93 to radium cranbrook and spokane