Banff to Vancouver - driving in March
 

Aloha! I've posted a few questions regarding our trip in March and finally decided on an itinerary. Then, we heard that there's a lot of snow and driving condition are not the greatest. We are arriving at the end of March; staying 2 nights in Vancouver, 4 in Kamloops for skiing, 2 in Canmore as our base to Lake Louise and Banff (just found out the Icefields are closed so we took that off the itinerary), and because of rental car prices, we are driving from Canmore back to vancouver. We were planning to drive nonstop and spend the last night in Vancouver. Someone suggested stopping somewhere between Canmore and Vancouver and not doing the 10 hour drive as road conditions are quite bad. Any suggestions as to where to stop or even if we should stop? I was thinking of stopping in Kelowna but read that Kelowna to Vancouver is 3.5 hours. Any help would greatly be appreciated.

Vancouver to Kelowna is usually closer to 5 hours if you take the Coquihalla, or 7 hours if you take Hwy 3 through Manning Park.

The road conditions may or may not be bad - you can never predict in advance. That's part of the problem. We drove Jasper to Vancouver last February, and the roads were perfectly clear (and best of all no traffic!!), so that we were able to make very good time.
However, it is a long distance to drive, and because of the unpredictability of the weather it's best to be prepared for the worst. The good news is that accommodation is easy to find in March, so you don't have to reserve ahead of time, and can go as far as the road and weather conditions allow. I would suggest diriving as far as Kamloops (from Canmore) and then seeing if time/roads are good enough to permit you to go a bit further (Merritt). Personally I don't like driving the Coquihalla (Kamloops to Hope) in the dark - although it is an excellent highway, the higher passes are subject to fog and precipitation (snow when it's cold and rain otherwise, could even be freezing rain).

Good luck!!

canmore to vancouver is a long days drive but, 80% of the time the road conditions are just fine. whenever travelling through this area, you have to take into account that a storm could hit. if it happens, you need enough flexibility in your schedule to stop at a hotel overnight somewhere.

Thanks for the updates! I appreciate your input.