i'm trying to plan a coast to coast tour 4 next year & want to leave vancouver around the start of may, but i have been told alot of the campsites along the way won't open up til around the middle of june, is this right? although my route isn't set in stone after looking at a few maps, i think i will spend the first night in mission, then onto Harrison hot springs, then hope, lytton, cache creek, kamloops, clear water, valemount, jasper & then on down the icefields parkway to banff, & onto calgary, so am i going to find campsites in these places if i start in early may, i would be willing to stay in youth hostels & maybe cheap hotels, but i am on a budget & so i need to keep costs as low as possible. i could just wait until june but i will then be pushing it to get to halifax b4 the weather turns.

thanks 4 ur help

Your information is incorrect.

Campsites will usually open the weekend before the May long weekend (Victoria Day weekend). The May long weekend usually falls somewhere between May 19th and 25th, depending on the year. Off hand, I have no idea when it is in 2006. But the campsites usually open the weekend before that to make sure everything is set up and ready to go for the May long weekend.

A word of caution: the May long weekend is a HUGE camping weekend in Canada. If you want a site on any night of that weekend, you'll need to book ahead.

You will not likely find cheap hotels through there, especially once you get closer to Jasper. "Cheap" up there is usually over $100, and once you pass the May long weekend, it could double in price. Also, if you are thinking of hostels, again, after the May long weekend, you'll need to book ahead in the National Park.

Incidentally, the road from Vancouver out to Mission, and a bit beyond Mission is quite busy with narrow shoulders. You might consider heading south once you get into Vancouver to White Rock, and then on to 0 Avenue. That one runs right along the US/Canadian border and is fairly quiet. When 0 Avenue ends at Townline Rd, you could head north into Abbotsford, and across the river to Mission and carry on from there ... or you could head north on Townline to Huntingdon Rd, then east on Huntingdon as far as it goes, then north on Powerhouse Rd, then east on Wells Line, then north on the Inter-provincial Highway, then east on Campbell Rd, then north-east on Towne Rd, then north on Boundary Rd ... and basically follow the mountain, north and east to Chilliwack.

You have a good chance of hitting snow on the icefield parkway in May. The national park campgrounds will be closed - which essentially means free -just don't expect any facilities and stay out of sight of parks employees.

Outside of the long weekend, it really isn't tourist season yet, so you might find some cheap motels. I don't know how many hostels are on your route but there are anumber on the icefields parkway. Some of them may not be open in May - best to check.

https://www.hihostels.ca/hostels/Alberta/index.html

The upside of course, is that the roads should be relatively quiet, the days are long and the migratory birds are returning. Should be a great trip!