Another Travel In Canada Question

Discussion in 'Trip Planning and Travel Concerns' started by nedmtnman, May 5, 2013.

  1. nedmtnman

    nedmtnman
    Expand Collapse
    Member

    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2008
    Messages:
    367
    Likes Received:
    24
    We are planning on entering Canada at Thunder bay area and traveling along the North coast of Lake Superior to Sault Ste. Marie and then over to Peterboro area to visit Winter Texan friends. This will probably be in early June. Any problems with spending the night in a campground. How are the rates in Provincial Park campgrounds etc. Any experience with Canadian travel ism appreciated.
     
  2. Webmaster

    Webmaster
    Expand Collapse
    Guest

    QUOTE(nedmtnman @ May 5 2013, 09:04 AM) [snapback]33317[/snapback]

    We are planning on entering Canada at Thunder bay area and traveling along the North coast of Lake Superior to Sault Ste. Marie and then over to Peterboro area to visit Winter Texan friends. This will probably be in early June. Any problems with spending the night in a campground. How are the rates in Provincial Park campgrounds etc. Any experience with Canadian travel ism appreciated.



    There really isn't much different. Check all your credit cards to see which one is the best one to use, some have extra international fees, others don't. I made that mistake once. Fuel is a little more expensive, and sold by the liter. If you get a travel guide or find campgrounds outside campgroundreviews.com, they call a full hookup a 3-way, water/electric a 2-way in some guides. Most of the campground rates are comparable to the USA. Even though you won't be in these areas, I've noticed as you get further north, Yukon or Nova Scotia / Newfoundland you will see fewer 50-amp, but you usually don't need them since it's cooler and you don't need the A/C as much.

    Being from the south, we have spent several summers exploring Canada to get away from the heat, and never had any issues. You should look around for checklist on things like passports, rv insurance, health coverage options and make sure you have all that type stuff in order just as you would for any international trip.
     
  3. MaineDon

    MaineDon
    Expand Collapse
    Member

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2007
    Messages:
    164
    Likes Received:
    7
    We drove the Trans Canada Highway from central Saskatchewan, through Manitoba, and across Ontario last June. Be forewarned that the TCH is in terrible shape in places (we crushed two wheel bearing in the 5'er after hitting a pothole in Ontario). We also learned the hard way that our AAA Membership and cell phone service were not good in Canada. The people are very nice and helpful and the countryside is beautiful in places. We found the RV parks to be pretty much like those in the US. Have a good trip.
     
  4. Luvtheroad

    Luvtheroad
    Expand Collapse
    Member

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2010
    Messages:
    248
    Likes Received:
    17
    Just make sure when coming back into the US, you don't have any prohibited food products with you. We were heading back to Seattle from the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and when asked if we had any fruit or vegetables with us, my sister cheerfully answered "Yes, we have a bag of oranges." Oops.....park over there, hand me your passports, leave your cellphones in the vehicle and go into the building. After sitting on the Group W bench for about 45 minutes, we were lectured soundly on the evils of bringing oranges through the border, even though they were California oranges. CAN.NOT.DO. OK, mea culpa....... we'll never do it again......we've learned our lessons........and all that....and we were sent on our way. When we got back to Seattle and started unpacking the camper, there were oranges still in the refrigerator. Go figure.
     
  5. weighit

    weighit
    Expand Collapse
    Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2006
    Messages:
    203
    Likes Received:
    169
    The KOA in Sault St. Marie Ontario has a dog grooming shop, large sites and also has scales that can weigh each wheel position when your in your site. They have a RV wash area too with a pressure washer that was pretty reasonable to use to clean off the dirty rigs. Might want to make that a stop when your in that area.
     
  6. nedmtnman

    nedmtnman
    Expand Collapse
    Member

    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2008
    Messages:
    367
    Likes Received:
    24
    QUOTE(jamarynn1 @ May 7 2013, 08:43 PM) [snapback]33338[/snapback]

    After sitting on the Group W bench for about 45 minutes, we were lectured soundly on the evils of bringing oranges through the border, even though they were California oranges. CAN.NOT.DO. OK, mea culpa....... we'll never do it again......we've learned our lessons........and all that....and we were sent on our way. When we got back to Seattle and started unpacking the camper, there were oranges still in the refrigerator. Go figure.




    LOL... not many folks know about the Group W bench. Playin with the pencils and implements of destruction. I can hear Arlo now. Thanks
     
  7. Texasrvers

    Texasrvers
    Expand Collapse
    Administrator

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2006
    Messages:
    9,201
    Likes Received:
    738
    We know about the Group W bench! And it sure does bring back memories. We even named one of our dogs Arlo because of it. We were living in College Station, TX, home of Texas A&M when the movie came out. We wanted to see it, but we were a bit afraid to go the the theater because of the strong military presence. We did finally go without incident, except we still had to pick up the garbage. :D
     
  8. wpr

    wpr
    Expand Collapse
    Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2005
    Messages:
    215
    Likes Received:
    2
    When entering Canada make sure you have no firearms, or, if you do, you have all the necessary paperwork with you.


    In the Thunder Bay area there are some Amethyst mines, you might want to check one out.

    http://www.mestern.net/canada/ontario/tbay/

    Early June should be no problem with finding campground with open spots. As long as you don't stop too late in the day you should not need to reserve.


    There are quite a few Provincial Parks, similar to State Parks, along your way in Ontario. Most of them have no water or sewer hook ups. Neys Provincial Park was a German POW camp in WW2 and has some remains of buildings.

    http://www.ontarioparks.com/english/index.html


    For private parks have a look here:

    http://www.campgrounds.org


    In Peterborough do not miss the historical lift lock:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterborough_Lift_Lock


    Have a good trip!
     
  9. Luvtheroad

    Luvtheroad
    Expand Collapse
    Member

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2010
    Messages:
    248
    Likes Received:
    17
    QUOTE(Texasrvers @ May 8 2013, 11:09 AM) [snapback]33342[/snapback]

    We know about the Group W bench! And it sure does bring back memories. We even named one of our dogs Arlo because of it. We were living in College Station, TX, home of Texas A&M when the movie came out. We wanted to see it, but we were a bit afraid to go the the theater because of the strong military presence. We did finally go without incident, except we still had to pick up the garbage. :D



    We were living on a Common Defense Installation in Turkey when the movie came to our base theatre. The Base Commander did everything in his power to prevent any movies that he didn't approve of (Mash....Alice's Restaurant...etc.) from playing. There would be mysterious power outages, the projectionist would be put on other duties, the theater would need to be fumigated, etc. Never happened when a John Wayne movie was playing.....hmmm..

    Anyway, back to Canadian/American border crossings. Last summer, we crossed into Canada four times and had the oddest experiences. Going over all four times: "Got any guns? No? Have a nice trip." Coming back: ay-ay-ay. The best yet was when we went over to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls for the day. Coming back, the American border agent said "Where are you coming from?" Not knowing exactly what she was asking, we answered "Florida". Wrong answer. "NO SIR. I WANT TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE COMING FROM RIGHT NOW!". "Uh....Canada?" Right answer, apparently. OK, we're on a bridge that has one end in Canada and the other end in the US and we were heading in the US direction. To the best of my knowledge, there isn't a detour to Mexico in the middle, right? Reminding myself - DO NOT GET SNARKY WITH BORDER AGENTS UNLESS YOU WANT A BODY CAVITY SEARCH. Next time we crossed over into Canada and back into the US, the agent asked where we came from. "Canada" we answered proudly, now that we knew the correct answer. Wrong answer again. This time she wanted to know where we lived. OK, Florida? Right answer. Third time: we said we are coming from Canada but we live in Florida. Agent chatted about his relatives who live in Florida until he got bored and let us by. Fourth time: we crossed over onto a Canadian island for a day trip. Border crossing is essentially in a gift shop. We tried all the possible answers and the agent said "honey, this is an island. We know where you've been." Can't win. This year we're staying in the US. Nobody cares if we go over to South Carolina for the day.
     
  10. Luvtheroad

    Luvtheroad
    Expand Collapse
    Member

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2010
    Messages:
    248
    Likes Received:
    17
    QUOTE(nedmtnman @ May 8 2013, 08:48 AM) [snapback]33341[/snapback]

    LOL... not many folks know about the Group W bench. Playin with the pencils and implements of destruction. I can hear Arlo now. Thanks



    I only have one question: "Kid, have you rehabilitated yourself?"
     
  11. nedmtnman

    nedmtnman
    Expand Collapse
    Member

    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2008
    Messages:
    367
    Likes Received:
    24
    QUOTE(jamarynn1 @ May 8 2013, 02:00 PM) [snapback]33344[/snapback]

    We were living on a Common Defense Installation in Turkey when the movie came to our base theatre. The Base Commander did everything in his power to prevent any movies that he didn't approve of (Mash....Alice's Restaurant...etc.) from playing. There would be mysterious power outages, the projectionist would be put on other duties, the theater would need to be fumigated, etc. Never happened when a John Wayne movie was playing.....hmmm..

    Anyway, back to Canadian/American border crossings. Last summer, we crossed into Canada four times and had the oddest experiences. Going over all four times: "Got any guns? No? Have a nice trip." Coming back: ay-ay-ay. The best yet was when we went over to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls for the day. Coming back, the American border agent said "Where are you coming from?" Not knowing exactly what she was asking, we answered "Florida". Wrong answer. "NO SIR. I WANT TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE COMING FROM RIGHT NOW!". "Uh....Canada?" Right answer, apparently. OK, we're on a bridge that has one end in Canada and the other end in the US and we were heading in the US direction. To the best of my knowledge, there isn't a detour to Mexico in the middle, right? Reminding myself - DO NOT GET SNARKY WITH BORDER AGENTS UNLESS YOU WANT A BODY CAVITY SEARCH. Next time we crossed over into Canada and back into the US, the agent asked where we came from. "Canada" we answered proudly, now that we knew the correct answer. Wrong answer again. This time she wanted to know where we lived. OK, Florida? Right answer. Third time: we said we are coming from Canada but we live in Florida. Agent chatted about his relatives who live in Florida until he got bored and let us by. Fourth time: we crossed over onto a Canadian island for a day trip. Border crossing is essentially in a gift shop. We tried all the possible answers and the agent said "honey, this is an island. We know where you've been." Can't win. This year we're staying in the US. Nobody cares if we go over to South Carolina for the day.




    LOL... LOVE IT. A few years ago we took a ferry from Port Angeles WA to Friday Harbor WA. Here's my post on my travel log.

    Let me tell you about the customs and immigration thing though. The boats to Friday Harbor are run by Victoria Express a passenger only ferry service. We boarded the boat in Port Angeles WA USA for Victoria BC Canada where we were to change boats for Friday Harbor WA USA. When we got to Victoria we left the boat we were on and went through Canadian Customs. Then it was through US Immigration to get on the boat right next to the one we got off of that we passed on the way to customs. When we got to Friday Harbor it was through US Customs to declare all the goodies we bought while changing boats. Then on the way back we left Friday Harbor to Victoria BC and through Canadian Customs again and US Immigration and then back on the same boat we were on to Port Angeles for US Customs. The trip from Port Angeles to Victoria is about an hour and from Victoria to Friday Harbor is about 3 hours and the same returning.

    Ya gotta love it.
     

Share This Page