can someone help? Trip of a life time

[manuela13]

My husband and I, we are planning a trip from Toronto canada
to California through the U.S and coming home through Vancouver B.c Alberta etc. Going there through U.S coming home through Canada. How long of a drive and what is the best route and where can i find the maps that are easy to follow. Thanks a million i will post back to let you know about our trip. I figure we might as well do this while we are somewhat young my husband is 50 and i 41. thank you so much

[Mass Tim]

Sounds like you've got quite the adventure to plan there!

How long of a drive and what is the best route and where can i find the maps that are easy to follow.

Most of us here use a combination of paper and electronic maps. I have never been steered wrong by the Rand McNally atlas. You can get this at your favorite behemoth chain store for as little as $5.00 US. We also have an entire page dedicated to map recommendations.

The best route is a matter of personal preference - are you looking for speed, open highway, roadside oddities?

The driving distance can vary greatly depending on what you are interested in seeing and how you route yourself. Even "California" is a vague destination, given its 155,959 square miles of land.

Are you interested in seeing some of the National Parks, big cities, other?
These are just some of the things to think about before narrowing down your options.

[RoadTrippers A & R]

We drove up through B.C. a while back and loved the Auto Ferries.
We stayed at the Empress and had their famous tea lunch.
It wasn't cheap, but it was very good if you like that kinda thing.

[Chugach Rider]

I'll let others give you advice on Cali as I have only driven around northern California. But once you hit Oregon I highly recomend:
1) Driving the Oregon Coast (one of the prettiest coastlines in the world)
2) Exploring Wilamette Wine Country (Pinot Noir Specialty)
3) Visiting the Olympic Penninsula in Western Washington for great camping, hiking and hotsprings
4) Hoping on a ferry in Port Angeles to Victoria and then to Vancouver
5) Taking the Sea to Ski Highway out of Vancouver to Whistler and then continuing on to the Trans Canada Highway. Make sure your brakes and your pacemaker are in working order as this trip once past Whistler has some SERIOUS grades.
6) From there through the Canadian Rockies and Banff for amazing scenery leading to one of my favorite cities in North America - Calgary.
7) Then it is on to the Trans-Canada Highway home.

Just typing about this trip gets me excited. You'll have a blast.