Follow Along our Travels!

Growing up in the desert Southwest, there’s something about the endless green of lush forests, snow-capped mountains and long, clear lakes that stretch for miles—it really speaks to me and amazes me every time. We knew when we went back to the Rockies above the border, we would aim to explore a different area in a different way. And boy we did…

The set up of this trip was intentionally different from our previous jaunts to the Canadian Rockies. For one, we brought our sweet little dog, Miya. (Yes, it is fairly simple to import/export a dog in Canada!) Because of this, we thought it best and easiest to rent an RV to cruise around in rather than try to find pet friendly hotels or tent camp (tent camping + dog + grizzly territory = out of my comfort zone!). This allowed us to still explore some more remote areas but offered us the comfort of a roof and a bed. The RV ended up being a great call for many reasons: weather in June was variable, quasi-dog friendliness in certain areas let us keep her in the rig while we grabbed food, and we all got better sleep this way!

We also knew that with the pup, we wouldn’t be able to do all of the hiking we wanted to do (while she is actually a good hiker for being as small as she is, dogs aren’t allowed in the back country during this part of shoulder season due to on-going avalanche danger). So we approached this trip with a explorers mentality — really looking to see if the places we went would be worth going back to for a longer trip. Spoiler Alert: FOR SURE!

I’ve decided to break up the highlights into two sections because the trip was organized that way. The first part we stayed in RV parks in towns and rented a car to day trip out to some more remote areas. This meant less lake/forest time but also the ease of driving without the RV so we covered more terrain. The second part of the trip we stayed in more remote areas (no cell service – yay!) and were more immersed in nature.

Highlights from Part 1 of the trip Kelowna to Revelstoke:

The highlight of this section of the trip is definitely the two national parks: Glacier National Park and Mt Revelstoke National Park. We will definitely come back one day (without the dog) to explore these areas further.

• Revelstoke is a great base area to explore this region. It is a small little town nestled in between some large mountain ranges and sits right on the Columbia river. The town has some great food which is actually my highlight here. There is a German/Indian/Thai restaurant called Paramjit’s Kitchen that was FANTASTIC. Talk about unique fusion food. Definitely worth going to if you are in town!
• Glacier National Park (Canada side). If you’ve read any of my National Park posts, you know that Glacier National Park is my favorite on the US side of the border. I was so excited to see its continuation on the Canada side. Sadly we didn’t get to do any hiking due to shoulder season closures (they were due to open 1 week after we got there) and the pup. However, the beauty on this drive alone as well as the potential we know is there will be the reason we come back to this region.
• Golden, British Columbia. This is another small little town nestled in mountain ranges on the other side of Glacier National Park. This is also only about 1 hour west from the famous Banff-area landmark Lake Louise which means it would be a great homebase to stay if you wanted to explore both Glacier National Park and the lakes of the Banff region. What I loved about this area is that we found multiple little off-shoots roads that get you further into the mountains. They were rugged and remote but took us to some gorgeous vistas. You could do some great boondock RV camping or tent camping out of here too.

Highlights from Part 2 of the trip Kootenay Lake, Slocan and Naskup:

This section of the trip was more of a traditional “camping” experience with the RV. We had some places with partial hook ups but also got to experience “dry camping” in the RV (not as intimidating as I thought it would).

• Davis Creek Campground at Kootenay Lake was one of best views from a campsite that I’ve ever experienced — and that includes backpacking campsites. We got super lucky being there mid-week and off season to have a lake side spot. This campground is at the start of the almost 65 mile long lake (yes, 65 MILES!) which means there are mountains on each side of the lake providing views for seemingly forever. The campground has a nice “beach” (rock beach) and even has an off-leash dog area! I kept saying it felt like cheating since we drove right up and spent the day in such pristine beauty but were able to sleep in a bed at night. I think I get the whole RV life thing after this spot!
• Kaslo: On the way to Slocan, we stopped a small little town on the lake called Kaslo. It was the cutest little area with about two blocks of retails, restaurants and coffee shops. We were stopped by several people (our pup is a magnet for conversation) and they were all so kind and lovely. Truly the epitome of stereotypical Canadian niceness. There is also the SS Moyie National Historic Site which is an old steamboat and museum that was pretty cool too.
• A ferry ride! I don’t know what it is about me and ferries but I’m kind of obsessed with them. The fact that you just drive your car, truck, RV onto a boat and it transports you somewhere else is fascinating and cool to me. What is unique about the ferries in this area of British Columbia is that they are part of the roadway system which means you don’t pay/reserve anything to be on them. You just drive to the end of a road which terminates at a lake and this is the way you get across them. Pretty amazing.
• The biggest town (outside of Kelowna) that we stopped in was Duncun. It is nestled into a hill and is quite cute (I actually looked up to see if a Hallmark movie had been filmed there because that’s what it looks like). This was a great stop to grab lunch and ice cream (it was warm that day). If we had more time, there is a great beach (with actual sand) and park that was dog friendly. Next time!
• Camp Valhalla is a privately owned campground that looks and feels like it could be adult summer camp. There are free to use kayaks, a dog beach with sand, a regular beach and play area. They sell ice cream and the grounds are beautifully maintained. We were mostly huddled in the RV watching a thunderstorm pass through (which was pretty awesome actually) but this is a spot I would recommend for tent or RV campers in that area.

Tips/Things to Know about British Columbia RVing:

• Since we were traveling in shoulder-season a lot of advertised activities (boat rentals, SUP rentals) and restaurants were either not operating or operating on very limited hours. This was fine obviously since there were plenty of other activities to keep us occupied but it is a “good to know” if traveling here during these months.
• British Columbia has some interesting dog rules when it comes to dining with your pet. Most places (kind of) allow dogs on a patio. The catch is they have to be outside of the patio (so basically tied up outside of the railing). Now this fine if the weather cooperates and/or that area is shady but when we stopped the “outside of the patio” area was on concrete and it was warm. Lucky we had the RV so she could just hang in there but this is another thing that is different from the US so wanted to point it out.
• Make sure you rent an RV that makes sense for your purposes. We loved our RV “The Summer Wind” and our experience with the owners of it. They provided everything we needed including a dog bed for Miya, condiments for the fridge (big bonus if you’ve ever had to buy a whole thing of ketchup for a two day trip), and the most comfortable camp chairs I’ve ever had. They gave us confidence in the RV with their thorough review of the electronics, pumps, etc prior to leaving and they were so kind. This RV was perfect for 2 people and a dog. I would highly recommend!