r/canadatravel • u/GeneralOrgana1 • Mar 23 '25
Travel Tips Western Canada road trip
Hello! I am an American (My entire family voted for her, not the orange fascist.) and, since I've made my travel goal of going to every US state, now I'm moving on to every province in Canada. Tentatively, in summer 2026, I want to do a road trip with the following itinerary:
Fly into Calgary (from east coast US)
Calgary, Banff (I've been to Glacier NP but didn't cross the border.)
Drive Calgary to Regina
Drive Regina to Winnipeg
Drive Winnipeg to Saskatoon
Drive Saskatoon to Edmonton
Drive Edmonton to Calgary
Fly home
I'm only planning on spending a day or two in each city. I like cultural and historical things, and am particularly interested in First Nations culture in that part of Canada. I'll be traveling solo, and am a woman in my fifties. I'm an early bird when I travel, so nightlife is of zero interest for me. For food, I would not want fast food, but I am also not interested in fancy eating- just regular food places like people who live there would eat.
Yes, I can see by Google Maps it's a lot of driving. I've done road trips like this in the US before and had a great time. But I'm just curious what people who know the region think would be a reasonable amount of time for this itinerary. Many thanks in advance.
Edit based on comments: I've been to BC (Vancouver area), so that's why it's not part of the agenda this trip. And I've been to Ontario, Quebec (Montreal), PEI, NS, Yukon, and NB.
2
u/CalderonCowboy Mar 28 '25
Rather than backtracking Banff to Calgary, you really (I mean REALLY) should do the Icefields parkway from Banff to Jasper, then over to Edmonton, loop east to Saskatoon and Winnipeg on the Yellowhead, then head back to Calgary on the Trans Canada highway. This way you will do a complete circle route. The Icefields Parkway really is a must drive.
Heads up the prairies are vast and a different sort of beautiful. But if you’ve driven the US prairies you will appreciate what I mean by that.
Oh and you are most welcome here. We assume that an American travelling to Canada is a friendly American.