Six weeks West-Canada - summer 2020: how to travel

[motorcycleboy]

Hi everybody,

(just noticed that I'm a member of this brother- and sisterhood for more then 14 years! That must have been since around the time I was preparing a BMW R80GS to travel the world. Which I didn't, in the end, but I had the R80GS for several years!.
But anyway, that's not the subject of this topic.)

We would like to visit West-Canada for six weeks in July-August 2020. Rocky Mountains, regional parks, some hiking, some camping, riding or driving around and trying to take beautiful pictures. My wife and then 14y old daughter will come too. We like and love nature, riding and hiking and enjoying the scenery.

So I've still got some time to think about how I want to travel over there. And you can help me with that. It won't be a completely organized holiday, that's for sure, because that's way too expensive. And we don't like that kind of perfectly planned journeys, on the contrary, we love to keep all our options open while traveling. So I thought first about renting a big campervan. But again, I'm afraid it'll be too expensive, and anyway I suppose it'll be simply too large and too heavy for some roads/trails... and it'll be very boring too... So perhaps a pickup would be nice, or another car. With some camping gear. Or yes, why not, perhaps we could rent two motorbikes and all the riding gear? And perhaps even with camping gear? I'm an experienced biker, riding around Europe for about 30 years now, trail riding with my beloved KTM 950 Adventure, and even riding around race tracks sometimes. Now that would be something : six weeks of riding with a motorbike through the Rockies, camping where it's possible, taking a nice trail now and then.

But is this feasible? Can this be done? How desolate is the Western part of Canada? How realistic/idiot is this plan to go and ride, with rented bikes and gear, with wife and child? Should I skip this adventurous idea and just rent a plain car and drive from hotel to hotel?

(Extra info: my wife and I we've been to Central Canada 10 years ago. We flew to Toronto, I had a rented car, we stayed some nights at a friend's house, payed a visit to Algonquin Park, Niagara Falls, Killarney Park...)

[markharf]

So far you've said nothing about what your daughter and wife want to do. That seems crucial, since if either of them is miserable (or even mildly frustrated, bored, or feeling disempowered), chances are you'll all feel similarly.

And you've said nothing about what "expensive" means to you. Hotels and motels are "expensive" in Canada, and during that season campgrounds can be, too--or full. A camper--preferably a small one, not a great big huge behemoth--can be cheaper and more comfortable. A camper with an added tent or two gives a lot of options. Renting a motorbike is far more expensive than renting a car, unless you favor Jaguars and Bentleys. A pickup has no advantages that I can see, unless it's towing a trailer or fitted with a camper. Even so, I'd rather have an SUV for towing and a small RV for the other. And a car (or SUV), properly-sized, can carry far more camping gear than a bike, in far more comfort--the rental car concept doesn't limit you to "hotel to hotel."

I've camped and hosteled by thumb, car, van and motorbike all over Western Canada. I prefer the bike as long as the weather is reasonable, but question my sanity when it turns bad...which it does. I like camping, but some people hate it, and I'm getting worse at getting down and back up again when sleeping at ground level. Riding two-up, especially with camping kit, is not at all like exploring by oneself. Etc.

Your question about "how desolate....?" is like asking the length of the proverbial ball of string. There is a lot more space--which some might call "desolate"--than you've seen in Ontario, including up around Algonquin or Killarney. There are places in the north where you can drive for hours, even in peak season, and see only a handful of other people. Of course, the absence of other tourists might suggest there's not too much for tourists to see or do there. There are other places where people much like yourselves vastly outnumber the locals, and it's difficult to find a hardware store for all the t-shirt shops and cute eateries. Hey, there are even a handful of relatively cosmopolitan cities, with city population densities, attractions, and prices.

As an aside, you might think about getting cross-border permission with your rental, whatever you end up doing. It usually costs little or nothing if arranged in advance, and it adds some interesting options.

Anyway, I think your first step is to get wife and daughter involved in the dreaming phase, then the planning itself.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

(Edit for clarity)

[motorcycleboy]

Hi Markharf, thanks for your honest reply. I like that. Really.

About the wife: she was my pillion for many years and many thousands of kilometers, here in Europe. Our holiday planning was like this: "Where are we going this year?" one would ask, ,and the other would say "Well, why let us not ride around Spain this time? Or do you prefer the Italian Domolites? Or England?" and off we would go, just riding around and enjoying the scenery, looking for a place to sleep when the sun starts setting. That was before our daughter was born. We do it in a car now, or a small campervan (think Norway, and Bosnia and Montenegro) and we still don't know where we'll sleep. :-) So yes we like roadtrips and yes we like the unprepared and unexpected. And driving around in a SUV or other car with - f.ex. - a roof tent sounds very good to her. :-) As long as we can see and feel and hear and sense the country we're in, it's good for us.

About the daughter: well, there will be a day that she'll refuse to come with us, but for the moment she has to do with her roadtrip addicted parents. She would prefer 5*-hotels (with swimming pool!) and mini golf of course, like most girls prefer I suppose. But then again: she likes to camp and to sleep in a tent! So every year it's looking for that sweet spot between those two extremes.
Now, we hate being called "tourists", because we see ourselves more as visitors and travelers, and we mostly try to avoid the tourist traps. But alas, we know, we are tourists of course, though perhaps a rare breed, and now and then we visit those tourist traps because it really is too beautiful to miss out. But it wouldn't be the first time we didn't visit some castle or steam train because there were litteraly hundreds of people queueing!
About the emptiness of your country: it's without a doubt a stupid question. What did my friend tell me? 90% of the Canadians live within 100km of the American border?

About renting: so motorbikes are more expensive then cars? Good to know! Normally we rent the most cheap one we can get, like that Dacia (no airco!) in Morocco last year.

About the period: our daughters summer holiday is July and August, so we have no choice. May would have been better, I know, less hot and less tourists. But alas, it's something we can't change.

About cities: ehm, honestly, why should we want to visit cities?

Now, without kidding, this looks nice: https://thegreattrail.ca/ Perhaps this could serve as a lead, no?

Perhaps we should do this when we're older, without our daughter.... my wife almost jumped up and down with enthusiasm when she saw this: https://adventuremotorcycletravel.com/listing/trans-canada-adventure-trail-tcat/

Cross-border? Visit America? Hm, to visit the National Parks in the North West of the USA? Perhaps. Perhaps.

So thanks again for your advise, and if you've got more, just let it come ! I need this sort of discussions because they'll help materialize this adventure.
cheers,
Paul