Canada Road Trip: Medicine Hat AB to Kelowna BC

Day 9, 556 miles

The longest day of driving yet. I knew my mum and I were going to come back to the Rockies, so I didn’t really linger, I want it to be fresh for when we come back in a week.

The Canadian Rockies as seen from outside of Calgary/Canmore. I was heading up and over Route 1.

The route from Medicine Hat to Kelowna took me straight through Calgary, then up and over the Canadian Rockies on Route 1. This southern route travels through Banff, Lake Louise, up and over Kicking Horse Pass (5,338 ft) and down the other side into Revelstoke BC. Lake Louise was bonkers with tourists, multiple layers of parking lots and shuttles to even get a glimpse of the lake. I didn’t bother, ugh.

Revelstoke is an old train town, turned Boujee ski town. I only passed through Revelstoke and was reminded over and over of Jackson, Wyoming. There was a train museum, the folks walking around were mix of ski bum/mountain bike dirtbags looking for adventure (I can say that, I used to be one of them and recognize my own…) and vacationers looking for a spa in their Coldwater Creek ranch wear. It had some nice pubs, a few breakfast places and cute neighborhoods but I didn’t stick around. Again, we’ll be back!

Revelstoke BC

Near the eastern entrance.

Some light rain, some fog, some sun. I had all the weather except snow over the Kicking Horse Pass.

These mountains hover around 12,000ft. The tops were often in the clouds.

I pushed on through the foothills of the rockies into the Okanagan, where the valleys began to open up a little to hold two huge lakes, Kalamalka Lake and Okanagan Lake. It’s just so stunning how the mountains just jut right out of the water.

The mountains rising right out of the water.

A day of driving and very few photos. It was beautiful, trust me.

I grabbed a hotel in Kelowna that had a pretty amazing 1970’s bathroom The toilet and sink were yellow too. It was very quiet, I slept like the dead.

Day 10 will be the final push to Vancouver Island. (it also has the most surprisingly beautiful landscape too)