lovingretirement

I thought I previously read about two different driving options from Vancouver to Jasper, I a little quicker, the other longer but more scenic. However, when you want to find something again, you can't. We're trying to decide where to make our midway stop overnight, but not sure of the best route to take. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

tovarich

We took our midway stop near Wells grey park which we visited in the afternoon.Two great waterfalls.Paul

lovingretirement

thanks. remember where you stayed??

lovingretirement

tovarich: sorry. forgot to ask if you remember the route you took.

tovarich

We took the road to Kamloops and stayed in Clearwater not far from the wells gray park entrance.We stayed at the Wells Gray inn.The nedtday we continued on road 5,visited MT.Robson and stayed at Becker chalets not far from Jasper on the Jasper-Banff road but a wonderful place near the river and with a gourmet restaurant.Paul

ltt

vancouver, whistler, lilloett, stay the night in clearwater. visit wells grey and then onto jaster.

lunabug

Probably the two options would be for Vancouver to Kamloops, three if you count Itt's recommendation of Whistler / Lilloett.
You can go Vancouver - Hope and over the Coquihalla to Kamloops or you can go Vancouver - Hope and up the Fraser Canyon - Hell's Gate - Spences Bridge - Cache Creek - Kamloops.
The Coquihalla is a four lane freeway that goes straight up over the mountains and is about 90 minutes shorter than the Fraser Canyon but we took the canyon last Summer after many trips over the Coquihalla. It was more scenic, less traffic and Hell's gate is an interesting stop.

Borealis

There's a lot to see between Vancouver and Jasper - you'll be driving across the entire mountain province of British Columbia into Alberta.
As other posters have mentioned, the fastest (and shortest) route is the Yellowhead - which is Vancouver to Hope, up the Coquihalla to Kamloops, then north and east to Jasper. This route usually takes us about 9 hours to drive, so it can be done in a day (the worst/slowest driving is getting out of Vancouver!!!). I think that the whole route (well, except for the flat agricultural Fraser Valley near Vancouver) is scenic, but it's not spectacular scenery, just pretty scenery.
If you are planning to drive in two days, let me recommend driving Vancouver to Kelowna (on the Coquihalla Connector), spend a few hours in Kelowna (scenic location in the Okanagan Lake region), then drive to Revelstoke and overnight there.
The next day drive Revelstoke to Golden, Lake Louise and up the Icefield Parkway to Jasper. Although you'll be driving the Icefield Parkway twice with this itinerary, it's well worth it because it has the most spectacular scenery anywhere in Canada, plus when driving in opposite directions and during different times of the day, the views will be different enough that you'll enjoy it!! The only sight on the other route (Yellowhead) that you will miss when driving option number 2 is Mount Robson (it's about an hour driving west of Jasper townsite).

lovingretirement

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for your suggestions. Always look to the forums when planning our vacation. I don't think we'll do an all day drive from Vancouver to Jasper. Would like to do it more leisurely so for now, plan on spending the overnight in Kamloops.

TracyB

We are planning a drive Edmonton to Jasper to Vancouver with our small dog! We always fly, but this time want to drive and see the scenery! Any recco's for routing and where to stay with a dog?? Thanks

leeleelew

Would any or all of these routes be open in mid May? Would there still be a possibility of snow and closed roads?

krp329

There is always the possibility of snow flurries, at any time of the year, especially at higher elevations, but in mid-May, it's not terribly likely, and the roads will be fine. It would be a rare event to have a storm severe enough at that time of year to close any highways.

However, in the national parks, there are some roads that are not yet open for the season. The Cavell Road in Jasper NP usually opens in mid-June. The Miette Road opens in mid-May. In Banff NP, the Moraine Lake road opens in late May.