Looks like eldest_oab will be there next year.
We’re holidaying at home this year to save.
We’ve had some great advice on here before – last year’s Tatra’s, Les Gets and Massif Central all came from STW.

Talk to me about a couple of weeks for an adventurous family.

Mountains, bike and foot, must.
Some canoeing or kayaking, would be nice, maybe a few days exped would be peachy.

– Top tips on where – I’m keen on high Sierra, others on BC.
– Top tips on cost effective ways of doing this (likely first two weeks of July).

We did BC for our honeymoon, in June 2002, pre kids and pre biking but non-biking wise I’d suggest:

Banff, then Jasper via the Ice Field Highway or whatever it’s called – both have hiking and rafting

Lake Louise in passing – it’s just gorgeous.

Train from Jasper to Vancouver via Kamloops

Couple of days in Vancouver itself

All of those should open up a bucket load of opportunities to do other outdoorsy stuff including riding. And to get eaten by bears.

Canmore over Banff every time, cheaper, nicer, more to do
Pity the search function is crap BC been covered a few times, usual recommendations Golden, Fernie, Revelstoke all good.

We would take quieter and more interesting over tourist trail naffness every day.
We would also happily travel less and spend time in one place for a few days/week.

We’re off there for three weeks in July/ August having picked up flights for all 5 of us for less than a grand. What we’re finding though is that Canada is $$$. We wanted to do Tofino on the island but can’t get accommodation for anything less than eye wateringly expensive. Have found similar in and around Vancouver, Victoria. Surprisingly whistler itself seems to be quite reasonable.

Just throwing it out there for something different..What about in and out of Seattle, down to Oregon, hood river, columbia river gorge, bend, portland and a few days on the coast.
That’s on my list and i’m not even close to having done a tiny fraction of BC yet!

Tick.

Really wanna go on a family hol around BC area, hiking mainly, and a few days in Vancouver in 2020.

is that part of Canada where everyone wants to go is $$$.

FTFY

Seriously, many parts of Canada are really affordable and really nice. The popluated bits of BC are expensive, as are the well known tourist parts in the Rockies.

Bend was great, lots of gravel riding, river stuff etc.

Nice Forest mountain biking, some kayaking too.

Not particularly cheap though.

Crater lake nearby.

Had a week in Nevada last year with work, stayed in Reno which is a shithole, was commuting to Carson city, which was a beautiful drive. Also spent some time around lake Tahoe, what a beautiful area.

I’d love to travel round there too.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bhp3AKuB_zp/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=wajnb0ff74ap

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Gorgeous commute this morning through Nevada, not driving btw!. Picture not too bad for a moving car I reckon… . . . #mountrose #stunningnevada #freeway #backseatdriver

A post shared by Greg Bowie (@ayrshirealps) on Apr 17, 2018 at 9:08am PDT

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What a difference a day makes, after the bland grimness of Reno, 30 minutes down the road and you are on another planet of epic, raw beauty. Quite surreal commuting back to the hotel via California…. I so will be back here with my ladies in the future, can't wait. ❤ @mazabout @goatseedegg . . #laketahoe #emeraldbay #heavenlyvalley #california #snapseed #cinc

A post shared by Greg Bowie (@ayrshirealps) on Apr 17, 2018 at 10:11pm PDT

Where is junior staying (I recall previous discussions).

BC is busy in peak season (and 1st 2 weeks of July is definitely peak season) so you’re going to have to plan ahead (which you’ve got plenty of time for).

This is on my to-do list (and is a bit off the radar compared to the honey pot areas)

http://wellsgraypark.info/canoeing/

Avoid the main triangle of Banff, Jasper etc and things will be far cheaper.  Rogers Pass is as spectacular if not more so than Banff with a fraction of the people.  Of course the fact that most peaks are 1600m+ of vertical from the highway means you actually have to earn the view but I think that won’t be an issue for you.

How willing are you to go cheap? Lots of options to camp in BC parks (and even just BC forests) but the sites are basic.

Feel free to pm if you want specific thoughts / advice.

Camping is a step too far for mrs_oab – we do it in the hills and on River banks, but a fortnight wouldn’t agree with her.
We regularly do youth hostels.

And Wellsgray is on the ‘maybe’ list.

If money is an object, your pounds will buy more in Canada than they will in the US.

Sort of but it’s worth doing some detailed comparisons. Food and petrol both more expensive in Canada than in the USA for example.

A week in Revelstoke would be fantastic. You could look on VRBO or Airbnb for accommodation. Of course one of the reasons it’s less well traveled than Banff is it’s halfway between Calgary and Vancouver…..  Never been but Nelson area also gets good reviews.

I was going to say affordable = camp most of the time, use motels and hostels every few days. But you do have to pay more for your luggage on the flights over. Also gives you much more freedom to go backpacking and getting into the wilds.

There isn’t much flat water in the mountains for long (multiday) options. But some great options:
– Bowron Lakes (BC, remote, 3-4 day loop)
– Sea kayak with orca in San Juan (US side) or from Campbell River (Vancouver Island)
– Yellowstone area there are lakes you can multiday canoe, but you need to plan ahead for permits and canoe hire is not as cheap. Also see e.g. Upper Snake River Idaho float.
– Salmon River (river of no return) Idaho rafting. I think the outfitters require guided trips so $$$$ but fantastic remote trip.
– Utah canyonlands Green River float 3-4 days, walk up side canyons, because its linear the transport will cost a bit.

For me, mountains and hiking I would head to Yellowstone and Grand Teton but only if you’ll camp. Accommodation is $$$$ and July is peak season. But get permits and get into the mountains and it is amazing, wild, wildlife and geology.

The high Sierra might be quieter to the BC mountain circuit if you head around the ‘back’ around Independence.

Utah is probably too hot by July (but equally can still be snowy at Easter). Probably better in October school holidays.

What BearBack said –
Seattle – Mt St Helens – Columbia River – Bend

Travelled inland on the way down, there’s a western style ghost town somewhere en-route that we thought was great fun exploring. Then return trip was along the coast. Stunning coastline. Just be sure to book especially if you end up there on some sort of public holiday, or you’ll end up sleeping in the bed of the pick-up while your (now ex) wife sleeps in the cab with the little’un.*

*Or not, you may be luckier than me 😉

We had our honeymoon in BC in 2004, no biking but did Vancouver, flew to Kamloops then did a few days canoeing and camping in Wells Gray Park – was brilliant. The onto Jasper, Yoho Park, Banff and out via Calgary. Loads of walking and having the car meant we could drive along, stop and do whatever took our fancy. It was organised for us though, stayed in B&Bs along the way.

Went back to Van 2 years ago, it’s grown a lot since the early 2000’s, city is bigger, more high rise and lots more homelessness. It didn’t feel as nice.

Spent 3 nights on Van island in Victoria, I think I could have spent the while 2 weeks on the island, it’s lovely, more relaxed than the mainland and no less beautiful. If it wasn’t so far away I’d want to spend more time exploring there.

In the lucky position of having done both, three times each, various (long) routes. Both avoid the Olympic Mountains – which always looked pretty interesting. If I were going again, that’s where I’d head. Seattle for me was a bit dull – like an holiday in Canary Wharf. Portland is just confusing, with a big drug problem. Vancouver was more violent than New York – one morning there was a dead guy outside our hotel, shot through the head, just lying there (not that he had much choice). Between the original two, it’s pretty impossible to chose. Both big miles, both stunning. The Portland / Seaside (Astoria – love that place) / Bend triangle has more varied and accessible scenery though, so if I had to chose, that would be the one. Canmore was great for cycling and beer though! As was Bend…. Whichever you do, stunning. Oh, and you’ll put on a stone.

Hope is a great place, Rambo First Blood was filmed there 🙂 Fantastic vibe, very chilled and loads to do if you time it right. Hopeis pretty much on every top 10 of Canada attractions.

The San Juan islands are a kayakers heaven. Catch the ferry from Anacortes. We took bikes and camped in the state park on Shaw island. The most unspoiled but home to loads of Boeing and Microsoft executives. Bill Gates and his mum and dad have hooses there. We took day trips to the other islands which were marginally more developed

Nip further down into Washington. Climb Mt St Helens. You’ll need a permit from the ranger station in Cougar. Crater Lake is pretty spectacular on a good day. Bend and Portland are cool towns. Manzanita has a great beach and burrito shop. Camp in the State Park there

I’m heading back to Oregon in September. Friends have boomed a fire lookout for a couple of nights. A dream fulfilled