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April 24, 20243 min read

Cross-Country Road Trips: A Guide to Canada's Scenic Routes

Canada has over 900,000 km of roads, making it one of the best countries for road trips. The country has lots of infrastructure for road trip enthusiasts, including free and paid campsites, paved roads, rest stops, restaurants, grocery stores and gas stations. As the second largest country in the world, a cross-country Canadian road trip will take a couple of months. In the next sections, we (FFUN Cars peeps) are going to share and exciting road trip itinerary exploring Canada’s top scenic routes.

What’s Included in Our Canada Road Trip Itinerary

A nice way to explore Canada is through the trans-Canada highway, which spans 7,821 km from British Columbia to Newfoundland. You’d need around 100 hours on the road for this trip. That excludes overnight stops, sightseeing, meal stops or waiting for ferries. However, you probably want to enjoy the national parks, campgrounds, waterfalls, and historic sites.

A well-rounded Canada road trip requires at least a couple of weeks. Our itinerary covers all the best stops for sightseeing and outdoor adventures. Whether you like Rocky Mountains, hot springs, lakes, whale watching, or UNESCO sites, our travel guide has it all. Canada has something for everyone, including big cities, small towns, natural wilderness, hiking, shopping, water sports, kayaking, art, food, biking, camping, and more.

West Coast Rocky Mountains Road Trip

One of the best places to start your cross-country Canada road trip is in British Columbia and the first part of Alberta along Rocky Mountains. Your stops will include the scenic Vancouver Island, Vancouver town, Kelowna, Jasper, Banff, and Calgary. You can also start your trip in Victoria, BC. Top attractions include the Stanley Park and Tofino in Vancouver, Lake Okanagan in Okanagan wine country, Jasper National Park, stunning Banff National Park in Alberta, and Heritage Park Historical Village in Calgary.

Prairie Road Trip

Once you’re done with the western coast, it’s time to move to the Canadian prairies. This road trip explores Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, with stops at Drumheller, Saskatoon, Riding Mountain National Park, Winnipeg, and Whiteshell Provincial Park. You can visit the Dinosaur Provincial Park in Drumheller, explore the South Saskatchewan River for some stand-up paddle boards, or catch amazing views from the Riding Mountain National Park in Saskatoon. Lake Winnipeg and Falcon Beach are other top attractions in this trip.

Eastern Canada Road Trip

A trip into the eastern part of Canada involves exploring Ontario and Quebec, the two largest provinces in the land. The main stops in this Canada road trip include Thunder Bay, Sault Ste Marie, Manitoulin Island, Toronto, Prince Edward Island, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City and Tadoussac. There’s a lot to do between these locations depending on the time of year. Here are some highlights in your itinerary:

· Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park in Thunder Bay · Kayak down St. Mary’s River · Hike the Cup and Saucer Train in Manitoulin Island · Explore Tobermory beaches, caves and grottos at Bruce Peninsula National Park · Visit the iconic CN Tower in Toronto · A day trip to the Niagara Falls is also a · Sandbanks Provincial Park in Prince Edward Island · Canadian War Museum in Ottawa · Old Montreal and Port of Montreal · Old Quebec UNESCO World Heritage Site · Whale watching in Tadoussac’s Marine Mammal Interpretation Centre

Atlantic Canada Trip

Your Canadian road trip from the Pacific west coast will end in the Atlantic east coast. This exploration covers the provinces of PEI, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, with stops including Fredericton, Fundy National Park, Charlottetown, Annapolis Valley, Halifax, Cape Breton Island, North Sydney, Port aux Basques, Gros Morne National Park, Gander, Elliston, and St. John’s. Some knowledge of basic French can really be handy in this trip, but English proficiency will always suffice when exploring Canada. With attractions like Bay of Fundy and Port Royal National Historic Site, the east coast has enough scenic drives to satisfy any outdoor enthusiast.

Plan Your Cross-Canada Road Trip Today

North America offers more than enough scenic locations for road trips. You’ll be exposed to bustling capital city life, serene natural locations, mountains, lakes, rivers, parks, wineries, museums, galleries, shopping malls, restaurants, casinos, and everything else along the away. The best road trips involve a comprehensive plan, so make sure you start planning early to include all the top stops in your itinerary. FFUN Cars is here to get you started – online, in person, or a combination. Shop now and experience the new way of buying a car.


Kasandra Martell

Written by Kasandra Martell

Kasandra is a marketing expert with a specialization in content development. With experience in multiple industries, she provides factual, entertaining, and engaging content for the automotive industry.