Why Taking the Train Across Canada Changed Me
 

Hi!

I've just gotten back to Montreal after having taken VIA's Canadian train in a sleeping berth to Vancouver, spending several days in Vancouver and returning the same way.

Once out of the Toronto suburbs, the ride was a sheer delight. After passing through the attractive lakes and often well-to-do handsome cottages of popular-with-Torontonians Cottage Country, the train entered the Canadian Shield, where it would stay for 24 hours.

What I was expecting would mostly be dull vistas of endless trees with the occasional lake ended up being almost non-stop stunning views of unspoiled (undeveloped) rushing rivers & lakes surrounded by boreal forest.

Approaching Winnipeg, the Prairies were next, and for about another 24 hours. What I thought would be flat-and-deathly-dull was far from both. The big sky of the Prairies with the patchwork quilt of yellow canola fields, green grasses in points I found varied and was kind of mesmerizing to watch, being able often to see in all directions to the horizon. But contrary to popular myth, the Prairies were not flat in quite a number of places, with often attractive hills and valleys in western Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan. As luck would have it, after Saskatoon, for the first time in my life, I saw the Northern Lights shimmering in the darkness of the wee hours of the morning, almost worth the whole trip in itself.

Winnipeg itself I had about an hour to explore while the train was serviced. The Red River is truly a reddish-brown and was quite swollen due to recent flooding. I enjoyed perusing the aisles of the fresh-food counter at the Forks Market and crossing by bridge the Red River to see a former archibshop's house and a cemetary in Saint-Boniface. My impressions were quick but I think I wouldn't mind exploring Winnipeg more in-depth some day.

Several hours after Edmonton (the station unfortunately is a long way out of the city and seems the most chaotic and ridiculously-small-for-a-city-this-size station I've seen anywhere in Canada), the Rockies become visible in about Hinton, Alta. The Rockies certainly did not disappoint, even with mountain goats grazing on a meadow right before the tunnel into Jasper Provincial Park. A totally unexpected pleasure for me was the beautiful milky emerald green colour of the water caused the glacial silts (rock flour) of the lakes & calm or rushing rivers (such as the Athabasca Lake & River, Moose Lake). The mountains unsurprisingly were varied and spectacular vistas of them were a constant from Hinton onward. The train stops for about an hour-and-a-half in Jasper Village, which although a bit hokey touristic for my taste, was "cute" did have some lovely homes and mountain views.

Once the train joins it not far after Jasper, the Fraser River follows the train all the way to Vancouver. This second-longest-river that starts and ends in Canada was a delighful, gorgeous partner for the journey. We passed right by Pyramid Falls as it rushes over rocks forming a rainbow (gorgeous) and also passed close to Mount Robson (largest in Rockies) and Mount Baker in Washington State.

The train ride I would divide more or less into three parts 1) Canadian Shield 2) Prairies 3)Rockies. Although many people opt for only doing the 3) Jasper-Vancouver leg, I'm glad I did the whole trip, and to be completely frank, I found each of these 3 sections equally enjoyable and scenic but for different reasons. As always, type A go-go-go personalities probably won't enjoy. I would recommend a curious train novice to try an overnight portion (i.e. Jasper-Vancouver) at most though to ensure you can sleep well. Only convinced train lovers should consider the 3-day journey; make sure to bring plenty to do (knitting, reading, crosswords, etc...).

This ride gave me a whole new appreciation for Canada, and a good feeling inside that we have not *yet* developed and spoiled it all in this country. It made me want to fight to preserve this great beauty and bounty for future generations to enjoy also. I had always just thought before that Northern Ontario and much of the Prairies were just a dead bore; this trip made me respect each of these regions for their innate beauty and preservation of much of their land. Even though I tend to be a city guy, I felt pleased that there *aren't* cities, suburbs and towns for miles. I feel this trip has forever changed my perspective.

DAN

PS I will post a separate entry on my mind-opening stay in Vancouver!

What a brilliant trip report, Dan!

It's funny that you mentioned the "Big Skies" and the quilt-like appearance of prairie fields. After having lived here since 1977, and after having been enamoured with the mountains all that time, it has only been quite recently that I have come to appreciate the prairies. I now find them beautiful.

The only parts of Ontario that I've seen have been Ottawa, Toronto and Niagara. The wilderness areas of Ontario sound wonderful.

You have injected me with enthusiasm for this journey. I like trains, and my husband is an even greater enthusiast of trains than I am. Ironically the trains on which we have travelled have been outside of Canada. I bet this train ride would be an easy sell.;)

Looking forward to the sequel.

Thanks again, Dan.

Hi Dan, we returned only this week from visiting Toronto and were already thinking of going back and take a train West to Vancouver so your posting is most welcome. Great posting. One question at what time of day did you take the train coming out from Toronto. ?What kind of accomodation do you recommend. We are seniors and most like there will be a discount for seniors on the train because we found discounts all over. Thank you for your help.

Thanks Judy!

I'm glad you enjoyed my trip report. This was my first time west of Toronto in Canada, so everything I saw was for the first time. Coming from Calgary, you'd probably want to see the Edmonton-Vancouver route first just to see how you like it (how well you sleep etc...).

Reading my report, I realize that I mention nothing of the food, which was innovative, delicious, and often Canadian (wines, meats) and gourmet; the meals and a bon voyage and passing-through-the-Rockies glass of champagne are included in the price of the ticket. The service was superb; VIA treated us like we were royalty. Films, video games and board games are available in an activity room. This train ride really does Canada proud. Bravo.

Graziella--

The train leaves Toronto at 9am; it's only 3 times a week (Tuesday Thursday Saturday I believe, but you'll want to check that. For such a long trip (3 days), you'll definitely want to go Silver & Blue class (way too long to even consider Comfort class), which will give you access to the first-class dining, showers and dome cars. I took the lower berth; the bed was extremely comfortable. If you're trying to save some money, the berth is an adequate way of making the trip (there's a curtain for privacy at night). However, if you want more privacy throughout the journey and are more than one person, you might want to consider a bedroom.

Best wishes, DAN

Hey

I wanted to add that the train was only one hour late coming into Vancouver (apparently due to a lot of "money trains" as they call these freight trains) and on-time on the return journey into Toronto. I understand that this is not always the case, but I was very impressed for a 72-hour trip how well they did.

DAN

Beautiful report Dan. Thanks.

Hi Dan,
Just starting to organize a trip like this for next July. You are an inspiration. Can't wait.

Thank you Daniel, now I have to wait for our next trip to Toronto. We enjoyed it so much this year that God willing we shall be there next Summer for a longer period and going West.

Interesting report! This is a trip we've often talked of doing...you've just made it sound even more worthwhile than we suspected!

Katherine, Hannahsnana, Graziella, Tucker,

Thank you all for enjoying reading this report. It's words like yours that inspire me each time I take an eye-opening trip to make sure to include a report on Fodor's Forums.

DAN

I have just begun to do some research for a trip fro next year. My considerations have been,

1. Do you think much is missed during the nighttime hours.

2. have done 1 prevous train trip on Amtrak from Cincinnati to Washington DC about a 12 hr. trip. I loved EVERY minute of it.

3. Have read that some rec. the Rocky Montaineer because it runs only during the day.

4. I've done some reading about Group tours which include either the Via Canadian or the Rocky Mountaineer.
any recommendations as to weather this is a good way to go?

Thanks for your trip review, I welcome any input. thanks, ML

Wannacruise

Here are my thoughts:

1. Do you think much is missed during the nighttime hours...

It's good to remember that this question is linked to what time of year you go... Taking this trip in mid-July, it was only really dark somewhere closing on 10:30 pm and light at perhaps 4 am. Closer to the summer solstice, it might be light even later. Late fall/winter would be a different story altogether.

Jasper-Vancouver, mid-July, considering that we were in the Rockies at about 1pm, this gave me a good 8-9 hours of daylight Rockies viewing; we were well into B.C. before darkness fell. You are probably passing some Rockies in the BC Interior at night, but honestly the 8-9 hours gave me all the Rocky fill I needed.

2. If you loved Cincinnati to DC, I think you're likely a perfect candidate for loving the Canadian. You'll enjoy seeing the differences between VIA and Amtrak as well.

3. Rocky Mountaineer. Can't really comment, although I know it's private and more expensive. Likely very pretty also; takes a different route as I understand; I believe goes to Banff and Calgary?

4. No idea about the group tours; I bought my ticket independently.

>>>Rocky Mountaineer. Can't really comment, although I know it's private and more expensive. Likely very pretty also; takes a different route as I understand; I believe goes to Banff and Calgary?<<<

The Rocky Mountaineer offers two routes:

(1) Calgary - Banff - Lake Louise - Kamloops - Vancouver

(2) Jasper - Kamloops - Vancouver

Topping for gta694's question.

What a delightful report! How many days were you away? Where is your Vancouver report?

What a wonderful report, Daniel!

May I point out another feature of this trip that will interest train buffs and maybe others? Unlike all of AMTRAK and most European trains, this trip, and several other ViaRail routes, features classic old but restored stainless steel rail cars. They include not only the coaches and sleepers but elegant dining cars, vista dome lounges, and the tear-drop shaped parlor cars at the end of the train.

This cross-Canada train is not only a superb sightseeing experience, it is a wonderful train experience.

i drove across and back in the summer of 2005. i actually really appreciated the prairies (i've done the trip at least 10 times as a kid so it was not new). yes they are flat and not as spectacular as the mountain areas but there is still a lot of beauty to appreciate. i think i prefered the route along the transcanada as compared to the yellowhead. fabulous country we live in.

Hi Yeadonite,

I took this 12-day trip last July so the Vancouver trip reports ("Fool Visits Vancouver"; there are 3 parts) are now buried in Fodor's archives. If you'd like to read them, select British Columbia in the Topics box and type my name in the SEARCH function.

It's nice months later that people can still enjoy & make use of these trip reports. Cheers! DAN

Dan, you did it again! I love reading your reports!

Great report - I did this trip when I was a teen a thousand years ago or so; have also done the Rocky Mountaineer with a cousin from England - it was fabulous, travel only in daylight hours, good meals, pricey but worth it.