Canada Roadtrip🇨🇦

Our road trip started from Vancouver, where we had already booked a Wicked Campervan in advance. The check-in was quick and to the point. Just at first glance, it was clear that we would have to make some compromises, such as no refrigerator or sink.. Well, we would manage. Full of anticipation, we set off with our hippie bus out of the city. We were surprised how quickly we were in the wilderness on the Sand and Sea Highway. The panorama was fabulous, with mountains on the right and the sea on the left. However, the smoke was quite dense, as it had been for the previous weeks. Canada is currently struggling with severe wildfires due to prolonged drought. On the way, we also saw two beautiful waterfalls. Before it got dark, we went in search of a campsite. Squamish was our first overnight stop. The campground was beautifully situated at the edge of the forest, with signs warning of bears everywhere. Just 100m from the campsite was a wellness center with a swimming pool. The lady at the reception explained that it would be cheaper from 9 to 10 o'clock, just $2. What a bargain.. we didn't have to be told twice and soon relaxed in the bubbling pool. The next morning, we set off again, as the journey is known to be the goal. Today's destination was the famous Olympic village of Whistler. On day 2, we stopped at Alice Lake Provincial Park to take a 4 lake hike. At the entrance, there were several warnings about bears. I had a very uneasy feeling, especially since we were almost alone on the trail. We walked through the forest, passing by the four beautiful lakes. Fortunately, we didn't come across a bear. We continued towards Whistler, stopping along the way to see another waterfall. When we arrived in Whistler, we realized that there were almost no campsites or everything was fully booked. We took a stroll through the village and left disappointed. 40 km further, we finally found a place to stay near Pemberton. On the way there, I could hardly believe my eyes, a bear was leisurely walking on the meadow, with its 3 babies in tow. The first bear seen in Canada and with three adorable babies. Overjoyed, we spent the evening on our campsite right in the forest. The next day, we continued towards Lillooet. On the way, we visited Naira Falls. After a short hike along a crystal-clear river, we arrived at the waterfall and were impressed by the enormous amount of water. We continued on a pass towards the mountains. Along the way, we stopped at Joffre Lakes Provincial Park, which includes three beautiful turquoise blue mountain lakes. We were very enthusiastic about the lakes and the beautiful mountain panorama. In the afternoon, we finally reached our destination, Lillooet. Lillooet is a small former gold mining town surrounded by mountains. The smoke got denser and we couldn't see much of the mountain world anymore. Later, we even saw a fire helicopter taking off. We cooked our dinner together and were glad when it started to rain a little. I hope they can get the fires under control soon.
The next day, we set off early towards Clearwater, which was quite a distance away. After hours of driving through endless forests, we finally reached our destination. There wasn't much to do in Clearwater itself, but there were supermarkets and a gas station. After replenishing our supplies, we drove to the nearby town of Valemount, where we set up camp for the night. We went for a hike and visited salmon jumping up the river. Every year, the salmon return from the sea to the rivers to lay their eggs, exactly where they hatched themselves. Pretty crazy!
Unfortunately, the nights got colder and the weather wasn't on our side this time. Regardless, we headed to our next national park, Wells Gray Provincial Park. Here, we wanted to spend a night. The park had many beautiful attractions, waterfalls, and numerous hiking trails. In drizzling rain, we set off for a hike and marveled at the many beautiful waterfalls. After a night in the park, we headed to our next highlight on our route, Mount Robson National Park. Mount Robson is the tallest mountain in the Canadian Rockies. Unfortunately, the rain got worse and we were already thinking of canceling our planned hike, the Berg Lake Trail. After a short time, we decided to take the risk after all, as we had rain jackets with us. We hiked 12 km through forests, past turquoise blue rivers, marmots, and even a mountain lake at the end. Unfortunately, we couldn't see much of the mountains as the weather remained bad and the clouds covered everything. After hiking half the day, we arrived soaking wet and happy back at the van. We headed straight to the campsite and warmed ourselves up with soup and tea. After a short nap, we woke up surprised to find the sun shining for the first time in days. We walked to the village and were even able to see Mount Robson.
The next morning also greeted us with sunshine. Hooray, the weather was on our side again. So, the journey continued towards Jasper National Park. Once there, we first settled into a new campsite. But we definitely wanted to take advantage of the nice weather. Therefore, we quickly set off to Magline Lake and Medicine Lake. Both lakes were incredibly beautiful, surrounded by the stunning mountains of the Rocky Mountains. At Magline Lake, we took a short hike and were lucky to see a moose splashing around in the lake. Since we had time, we also visited Magline Canyon. The canyon is really impressive, with powerful rushing water and a breathtaking panorama. On the way back, we saw several elks with their calves.
The next day, the weather worsened again, so we decided to take a day off and do some laundry. We drove to the nearby town of Jasper, found a laundromat, and explored the village in the meantime. We also bought warmer clothes, gloves, and thick chalet socks. Afterward, we continued our journey and made occasional stops at places that caught our interest. We visited a lake and the Athabasca Falls, both of which were incredibly beautiful. We were truly amazed by the beauty of Canada's nature. Today, we camped at Honeymoon Lake, the most beautiful campground we have had so far. We took our camping chairs, had a beer, and made ourselves comfortable by the lake.
The next morning, we continued our journey through the famous Icefield Parkways. The weather was, to put it mildly, completely awful. Nevertheless, we continued on winding roads, past glaciers. We took a short walk at the glacier, but we couldn't stand it for long, as it was simply too cold. The rest of the day, we spent in our camper, with pouring rain outside.
The next day, we set off early to our next destinations. When we arrived at Peyto Lake, we had to walk a bit and were surprised by the beautiful panorama on the lake. The same goes for Bow Lake, which we reached shortly afterward, it was fantastic. Canada really has so many lakes and stunning nature to offer. Incredible! In this sense, we continued to our next lake, Lake Louise. It was also beautiful, although a bit crowded. We spontaneously decided to make a short detour to Yoho National Park. After securing our sleeping spot, we visited Emerald Lake for a walk. What can I say, the lake was also incredibly beautiful and not too crowded. Among all the lakes, I think this one is my favorite. And to top it off, we visited the Takakkaw Falls, which were also beautiful.

The next day, we returned to Lake Louise to hike the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail. I had heard many positive things about this hike and was very excited. The first part led along the shore of the lake through the forest, then it became quite rocky and we had a view of the many glaciers all around. We even saw an avalanche from a safe distance. The avalanche was incredibly loud but really interesting to see something like that live. The last part was quite steep and exhausting. Happily, we arrived at the destination, a mountain hut. To fortify ourselves, we had a nice hot chocolate.
The following day, we spent in the village of Banff.
After the last few strenuous days, we took a relaxed day in the village.
The journey continued towards Radium Hotsprings. A small cozy village with many mountain goats on the road. Unfortunately, we couldn't find an affordable accommodation or campground, so we moved on. After a few kilometers, we finally got lucky and found a cool Native American campground by the lake. We enjoyed the sunset by the lake with a beer and then cooked a delicious dinner.
Thanks to a tip from other campers, we visited hot springs nearby the next day. The road eventually ended and we drove 20 km on unpaved roads into a valley. In the end, we were surprised by the beautiful hot springs. The Lussier Springs were nestled between the forest and a river, and it felt incredibly good to bathe in them. Later that same day, we continued to Cranbrook. There, we treated ourselves to a proper hotel room again. After two weeks of sleeping in the camper, we noticed that our backs were starting to hurt. We thoroughly enjoyed the night.
The next day, we continued to the next town called Creston. After settling into the campground, we visited a nearby winery. The winery was fantastic, and after a wine tasting, we enjoyed a glass on the terrace and took another bottle home.
The weather was great again, and on our side, allowing us to enjoy the late summer. The next destination was the small town of Nelson. Lars found a great campsite right on the waterfront. Here, we wanted to relax for a few days and take care of our hard drive, which broke a few days ago. It was very frustrating for us because all of the photos from our trip were on the hard drive. So, we took the hard drive to a repair shop and hoped for success. We explored the city a bit, Lars finally went to the hairdresser, and we chilled at the campsite. Unfortunately, the repairman had bad news for us, he couldn't fix it. Devastated by the loss of all our photos and videos, we returned to the campsite. I don't know why, but I wanted to try it again and miraculously, everything worked again, all the photos and videos were there again. To this day, I don't know what the repairman did, but he did it and didn't even realize it.
The next day, we headed to Osoyoos, an Indian reserve. There, we found a great accommodation by the lake. After going for a swim, we went to a nearby mini golf course. By the way, summer had returned and we were really happy about it. After Lars won once again, we played a few rounds on the arcade machines and relaxed with wine in the evening.
On the way back to Vancouver, we made another stop at Manning Park. One last time, we enjoyed nature and hiked through the park, basking in the sun's rays by the lake.
The last stop of our trip was in the town of Hope. We strolled around the city, where a festival was taking place. Nearby, there was a waterfall that we visited. Unfortunately, the weather turned really bad again and it poured rain.
The next day, we were relieved when we arrived back in Vancouver and could sleep in a real bed again. After cleaning the car, we returned it the next day. Then we went straight to the airport. The next trip took us back to the USA to Denver. from there, we started a road trip across the USA with Lars' mom Daniela and Andreas. But more about that in the next post.

Thank you Canada! It was incredible! We love the nature there and the incredible vastness! We felt very comfortable ❤️