travel advice please, Bozeman to Vancouver BC

[debthaven]

Hullo Friends

DH and I have 5/6 days to drive from Bozeman to Vancouver BC. We are planning to take the Crowsnest Highway, even though it's not the most direct route. That leg is just DH and me.

The rest of our trip is already planned, with a posse LOL. 

We don't need to see a million things along the way. We just want to make wise choices about what to see/where to stop for the night.

We will be leaving Bozeman at 4 pm on Day 1 of that leg, so late start that day. (We are taking our friend to the airport.) We want to arrive at Vancouver airport before noon on Day 6.

The other days (days 2/3/4/5) are full days. We plan to leave early to get wherever we want to be by lunchtime (even late lunchtime) then enjoy the stop.

We are fine with up to 5h of driving per day, although we'd prefer 3-4.

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

*Tagging travelnut11 *

[chiver78]

also tagging The Walk of the Penguin Mich

[debthaven]

Thanks chiver78 ! Tagging plugginaway22 and Knee Deep in Water Chloe and Bonny too.

[chiver78]

I almost tagged Chloe as well, wasn't 100% sure. hopefully the ladies can help! 

[Deleted]

Are you from Bozeman?  I'm going to have the kids out there in couple weeks.  Crap.  I need to start planning.

[weltschmerz]

Sorry, all I know about Bozeman is that Sheldon Cooper had his luggage stolen there.

[debthaven]

Definitely not minnesotapaintlady LOL. I'm originally from NY, I live in a suburb of Paris. I'd have loved to meet your kids and help you out, but no, I'm definitely NOT in/from Bozeman.

I had to google Sheldon Cooper weltschmerz .

ETA: For clarity, I'm NOT asking about Bozeman. I'm asking what to see/where to stop for the night on the road from Bozeman to Vancouver BC, taking the Crowsnest Highway.

[Deleted]

Coeur D'Alene, ID is one of my favorite towns, but if you're taking the Crowsnest, you won't be anywhere near there. 

[debthaven]

No indeed not but thanks minnesotapaintlady .

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Sorry, that's much further north than I live and have visited. Have fun!
Beware the Bozites! (That's a Sheldon Cooper reference.     

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

When are you going?  The only place I have been along it is Osooyos a few years ago. I have also been to Hope.  It is mostly farmland, as I remember.  I seem to think we took this route from Salmon Arm one year.

Osooyos is a big vacation spot on the lake in a not very big town.  All I remember is paying an obscene price for our Best Western there because I only booked a month before we left.  We had a family reunion up there, but drove through the North Cascade pass to get there since it was in July and open.

Staying in Abbotsford or Chilliwack might be good final stops before hitting YVR.  Abbotsford is right on the border (we’ve run up to Costco up there a few times and have met MIL for dinner there too) and it is only about an hour away from the airport, depending upon traffic.  There is a tunnel and a bridge to go over the Fraser River, and both tend to back up badly during rush hour.
 

[shanendoah]

Stop the first night in Helena. It's the state capitol.

You are going to be going to be going right by Glacier National Park. Go there. It will be worth it. (I would choose Glacier over Flathead National Forest, but they kind of flow into each other. I am guessing Flathead Lake will be a little out of your way. It's a cool damn, and I used to go to camp there on the lake, so I'm fond of it.
Otherwise, I would definitely try to take some time on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation if you can.

Once you get out of Montana, though, I am not much help.

[plugginaway22]

Been to Bozeman many times, usually then headed east to Livingston and Big Timber, south to hot springs and Yellowstone.  I would go to Glacier Natl. Park, I have been to a lookout just outside of Bozeman, I thing 3 Forks?  Head waters of the ?? river?  Bridger Bowl is the ski resort nearby.  Montana is absolutely gorgeous to drive anywhere, there truly is nothing like those big blue skies!  Sounds like a great drive, get a small SUV for the mountains.

[travelnut11]

Haha Debt! Did you tag me for my travel prowess or did I at some point mention most of my family lives in MT? When are you going? I'm taking my oldest daughter to see my grandmother the last week in July. That would be hilarious if we crossed paths!

I don't have much on Bozeman as I haven't spent much time there but it looks like you don't need that intel anyway. From Bozeman in the afternoon on Day 1 I'd probably drive to Helena (< 2 hours) and wander around. I haven't spent much time there but have been researching it lately as I'm going to take my daughter there on a mini-roadtrip. It looks like there are interesting things to look at downtown and its worth a stop. Day 2 I'd get up early and head to East Glacier Village (east entrance to Glacier Park about 3 hours) though again I ask...when are you going? The Going-to-the-Sun Road often closes in early September. On the west side of Glacier you should be able to find a place to stay in Columbia Falls or Whitefish (this is the swankier of the two and probably more expensive). After that I've got nothing and while I've been to Vancouver I have not driven the Crow's Nest Highway so can't help there.

If you are going at a time when the Going-to-the-Sun road is closed then I would maybe reroute a bit. Spend the night on Day 1 in Helena as planned then maybe head to Flathead Lake via Garnet (interesting little ghost town if you're into that sort of thing). My stepdad (currently) and mom (before she passed away) live/d in the Polson/Flathead Lake area so I'm familiar with it so if you do go this route I can provide specific recommendations. Flathead Lake is really beautiful and Polson is a nice lake town. Or you could stop an hour earlier in Missoula which is a nice college town and then head north to Polson/Flathead Lake. Go around the lake through Kalispell and you're on your way to Canada!

Hope that helps!

[debthaven]

Thanks everyone, this is a great help!

We are much more into parks/nature than cities, so I have booked our first night at East Glacier. It's a longer drive than we planned but we'll wake up at Glacier National Park, so worth it to us.

I'm in and out today so I can't do much more right now.

Travelnut I didn't know you were from there lol. We will be there around mid-August, so it doesn't look like the timing will work out.

I LOVE the idea of the Going-to-the-Sun road so will book the next night on the west side of the park as suggested.

Thanks again!

[debthaven]

Booked Whitefish for the second night.

That leaves us just 2 nights before we need to be in Vancouver, so unfortunately those will be long drives. Booked a hotel near Castlegar BC. I still need to book the last night.

Again, it's worth it to us to see Glacier.

Thanks again everyone!

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

If you want a hotel near the airport, YVR is in Richmond, not Vancouver.  My MIL used to live there and her house was about 20 min to the airport, so we used to long term park there when we fly out.  

[Peace77]

Be aware that in that part of the country, services such as gas stations and restaurants can be far apart so you will need ro plan ahead.

[travelnut11]

Awesome Debt! You will have a great time. I feel compelled to clarify that the entrance to the Going-to-the-Sun-Road is actually in St. Mary about an hour north of East Glacier Park Village. I recommended the latter because IIRC it has more amenities (eg. lodging/food) than St. Mary or Babb. I hope I'm recollecting that accurately as we've never needed to stay overnight since I have family on both sides of the park.

Don't let your gas tank get too low as this is a desolate area and be sure to drive carefully! A car went off the road just yesterday.  

[debthaven]

I actually tried to book in St Mary but there was nothing available.

[Bonny]

Jul 9, 2019 13:44:09 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Thanks chiver78 ! Tagging plugginaway22 and Knee Deep in Water Chloe and Bonny too.

Sorry, I got nothing. I haven't been to that part of our big country. Looking forward to your trip notes!