Cross-continent road trip

[no one 0]

Jason and I are in the preliminary stages of planning a cross-continent road trip for next summer.

It'll be from northern California to Toronto (Ontario, Canada), and back.

Problem is, we have only 2-3 weeks to work with.

We want to hit Yosemite, Mt Rushmore, and maybe Banff (staying 1-2 days at each location, max). And of course, visit my family and friends in Toronto

Is this roundtrip do-able, or will we get no rest at all?

Yosemite's relatively close to where we live, so we *could* save that for a later date...

We'd love to fly to Toronto, and then rent a vehicle to drive back, but it seems that most if not all RV / car rental places do not do one-way Canada/US rentals (pick-up in Canada, drop-off in the States). Does anyone know of companies that do this sort of rental?

Any advice?

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Doable with some rest in 3 weeks; 2, you're pushing it.

Have you considered the idea of driving to Spokane (WA), then flying to Calgary and then driving across Canada to Pigtown?

[no one 0]

Doable with some rest in 3 weeks; 2, you're pushing it.

Have you considered the idea of driving to Spokane (WA), then flying to Calgary and then driving across Canada to Pigtown?

Hmm... we'll have to see if we can somehow scrape together more vacation days then.

The only reason we want to drive back from Toronto to California is because I still have tons of books to transport here. Didn't want to ship them over because they're heavy and I'm not in a great hurry to get them Just wanna kill two birds with one stone!

[Caladan 19]

Do most of the drive in the U.S. I love Canada, but the gas prices are nuts and the roads in the U.S. are better.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I'd say definitely doable, though if you take in Banff you'd be going around the great lakes and that would probably not leave you much time to enjoy it - I'd probably try and cut through to Toronto via Detroit.

You can easily get from Northern CA to Chicago in 3 days (I have done it) driving non-stop. Chicago-Toronto would take probably another 8-10 hours depending on traffic.

If it was me, I would personally save Yosemite for a later date and take the I-80 out to Wyoming, cut through Yellowstone (in my opinion one of the most beautiful places in the world) on the state highways (need to look up which ones) to catch the I-90 in NE Wyoming. You can take it east for about 600 miles passing by Mt Rushmore and the Badlands through South Dakota. I'd allow maybe 5 days to do that. Then shoot on to Chicago, spend the night (or 2) there and then take I-94 to Detroit and then whatever road connects Detroit and Toronton through Ontario. Do that in one day (not much to see between those cities)

I have done a one way rental about 10 years ago - I'll have to go look up the company we did it with. You're unlikely to get it through one of the major car rental companies, but there are companies that specialize in it. Let me go off and research.

Edit: whatever you do, don't go through Nebraska. most boring state ever.

Edited August 1, 2007 by robinklake

[sara535 15]

I also would HIGHLY recommend a couple of days in Yellowstone. I've been there a million times and never gotten sick of it, just one of those places you cannot miss....

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Another option would be to do 98% of the driving in the US in stages:

• North CA to Butte, MT
  
• from Great Falls, a side trip to Waterton-Glacier, maybe Banff
  
• return to Butte, then go eastward on I-90 to Bozeman, and head for Yellowstone
  
• return to Bozeman, head east to Billings; take I-94 to Detroit (or, all the way to the end at Port Huron)
  
• cross border, drive to Pigtown
  

[lucyrich 20]

Mount Rushmore is a wonderful bit of Americana, but I can't see spending a couple of days there. We spent a few hours. I suppose there ARE things around there that could capture one's interest, but many of the nearby attractions are tourist traps. We did take a nice photo of us in front of the presidents' faces, and we sent that photo in with our I-751 as evidence that we vacationed together.

Yellowstone, on the other hand, is easily worth a couple of days. The Grand Tetons is worth at least another day. The Grand Teton mountain range is the most spectacular in the US, I believe.

Don't forget the Devil's Tower (from the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"), located in Wyoming, not far west of Mt. Rushmore. Another short stop, but a pleasant diversion from the long drive.

East of Mt. Rushmore, you've got Wall Drug and the Mitchell Corn Palace. Skippable, but you'll want something to relieve yourself of boredom, and it won't take long to see either one, so as long as you're crossing South Dakota on I-90 anyway, I'd recommend both.

I'd leave Yosemite for a shorter trip, since it's close to home and you'll be stressed for time anyway.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I would definitely see the Badlands of SD just east of Mount Rushmore - you have to drive about 20-30 minutes south of 90 to get there but so worth an extra day:

The company I used for the one-way rental was Advantage

http://easybook.arac.com/comparisontravel/

Unfortunately, I don't know if/how that works travelling from Canada to US as it specifically states 2 US locations

Oh, and if you plan to go to 2 or more National Parks I definitely recommend purchasing an Eagle Pass - it's about $80 and good for admission for an entire year.

[no name 1]

I used Avis last year pick up LA & dropped it in Seattle. They charage you an extra $200 to drop it elsewhere. And none did canada so we drove into vancouver & back down to Seattle to fly out.

Dunno muhc about the Northern Route - have done Rt 66 3x now..from Ohio - LA & I still hate it! Boring.

Montana is GORGEOUS, do not miss it.

Edited August 2, 2007 by devilette

[no one 0]

Thanks everyone for your replies!

Do most of the drive in the U.S. I love Canada, but the gas prices are nuts and the roads in the U.S. are better.

The gas prices here aren't tooo much better either! Hopefully there'll be tons of Costcos with gas stations enroute here in the U.S.

[no one 0]

I'd say definitely doable, though if you take in Banff you'd be going around the great lakes and that would probably not leave you much time to enjoy it - I'd probably try and cut through to Toronto via Detroit.

You can easily get from Northern CA to Chicago in 3 days (I have done it) driving non-stop. Chicago-Toronto would take probably another 8-10 hours depending on traffic.

If it was me, I would personally save Yosemite for a later date and take the I-80 out to Wyoming, cut through Yellowstone (in my opinion one of the most beautiful places in the world) on the state highways (need to look up which ones) to catch the I-90 in NE Wyoming. You can take it east for about 600 miles passing by Mt Rushmore and the Badlands through South Dakota. I'd allow maybe 5 days to do that. Then shoot on to Chicago, spend the night (or 2) there and then take I-94 to Detroit and then whatever road connects Detroit and Toronton through Ontario. Do that in one day (not much to see between those cities)

I have done a one way rental about 10 years ago - I'll have to go look up the company we did it with. You're unlikely to get it through one of the major car rental companies, but there are companies that specialize in it. Let me go off and research.

Edit: whatever you do, don't go through Nebraska. most boring state ever.

It's all right... I think after reading everyone's replies, we'll do the roundtrip with our own vehicle. The different country drop-off is more of a hassle than it's worth!

We'll definitely spend at least a day (or two?) in Yellowstone. Will save Yosemite and Banff for later. And will keep your advice about Nebraska in mind

I also would HIGHLY recommend a couple of days in Yellowstone. I've been there a million times and never gotten sick of it, just one of those places you cannot miss....

My husband's been there, but I haven't ... we've agreed that Yellowstone will be our major stop on our way to Toronto!

Another option would be to do 98% of the driving in the US in stages:

• North CA to Butte, MT
  
• from Great Falls, a side trip to Waterton-Glacier, maybe Banff
  
• return to Butte, then go eastward on I-90 to Bozeman, and head for Yellowstone
  
• return to Bozeman, head east to Billings; take I-94 to Detroit (or, all the way to the end at Port Huron)
  
• cross border, drive to Pigtown
  

Haha, thanks for mapping our route out for us Will keep these routes in mind when we're making our final plans!

[no one 0]

Mount Rushmore is a wonderful bit of Americana, but I can't see spending a couple of days there. We spent a few hours. I suppose there ARE things around there that could capture one's interest, but many of the nearby attractions are tourist traps. We did take a nice photo of us in front of the presidents' faces, and we sent that photo in with our I-751 as evidence that we vacationed together.

Yellowstone, on the other hand, is easily worth a couple of days. The Grand Tetons is worth at least another day. The Grand Teton mountain range is the most spectacular in the US, I believe.

Don't forget the Devil's Tower (from the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"), located in Wyoming, not far west of Mt. Rushmore. Another short stop, but a pleasant diversion from the long drive.

East of Mt. Rushmore, you've got Wall Drug and the Mitchell Corn Palace. Skippable, but you'll want something to relieve yourself of boredom, and it won't take long to see either one, so as long as you're crossing South Dakota on I-90 anyway, I'd recommend both.

I'd leave Yosemite for a shorter trip, since it's close to home and you'll be stressed for time anyway.

Don't worry -- I think we'll definitely be spending the bulk of our time in Yellowstone and Toronto! Sounds like we can do Devil's Tower and Mt Rushmore in a day (or even half a day)?

Thanks for your recommendations!

[no one 0]

I would definitely see the Badlands of SD just east of Mount Rushmore - you have to drive about 20-30 minutes south of 90 to get there but so worth an extra day:

The company I used for the one-way rental was Advantage

http://easybook.arac.com/comparisontravel/

Unfortunately, I don't know if/how that works travelling from Canada to US as it specifically states 2 US locations

Oh, and if you plan to go to 2 or more National Parks I definitely recommend purchasing an Eagle Pass - it's about $80 and good for admission for an entire year.

I've only seen the Badlands in Alberta, but these sound like fun too Thanks for the tips! After reading everyone's replies, I think we'll probably just take our own vehicle and do the whole roundtrip in it. Having that campershell helps

I used Avis last year pick up LA & dropped it in Seattle. They charage you an extra $200 to drop it elsewhere. And none did canada so we drove into vancouver & back down to Seattle to fly out.

Dunno muhc about the Northern Route - have done Rt 66 3x now..from Ohio - LA & I still hate it! Boring.

Montana is GORGEOUS, do not miss it.

That's quite a bit of money to do a different-State drop-off! After reading everyone's replies, I think we're going to do the whole roundtrip in our own vehicle... it's a lot less complicated that way.

Do you have any recommendations for must-see places in Montana?