Best route to Kimberley BC.

[gkenworth]

I've got to move my neice from Edmonton to Kimberley this winter. Dragging a 1/2 full 24' enclosed behind my F250. I'm a truck driver with mountain experience, but I haven't travelled those routes in over 2 decades.
I'm curious which would be my better route (baring weather). Crowsnest pass or Hwy 1 & 95?
Tia
This might be the wrong place for this question.

[SideHillSoup]

Have driven to and from the West Kootenays for years ( Kimberly in the East Kootenays) as my oldest daughter lives between Calgary and Banff.
Hands down the best route is Q-2 to the NW Stoney Trail ring road to ( 201) to Hwy 1 west to Banff.
Then take Castle Jct to Hwy 93 to Radium Hot Springs, then follow Hwy 93/95 south to Wasa lake and then Hwy 95-A into Kimberly.
I had two daughter that lived in Calgary at one time, so I have driven both routes many times over the years.
I had one daughter in the NW and one in the SW, and winter driving through the Crows nest pass is far more hazardous than the route I just gave you above.
You have one hill climbing out of Castle Jct and then one hill up to the summit above Radium and then the hill down into Radium, that's it. Use your transmission and 4 way flashes when going down the hill into Radium. I pulled my 35 ft 5 wheel up and down the routs many times... just take it easy you will be fine.
The roads are kept in great shape all the time. However bad weather can make any road sketchy, and can happen any time. I will drive through the Park any day, in stead of Crows Nest Pass. .

Soup.

[Powder_pig]

Make the decision based on weather if possible. Check the Drive BC website before leaving.

Given similar weather on both routes Hwy 95 through Kootenay Park has much longer and steeper hills than does the Crowsnest though that may not bother a professional. 95 also has much higher passes than does the Crowsnest so there may be more accumulated snow.

The drawback of the Crowsnest can be very strong winds getting down to #3 from Calgary and the possibility of blowing snow and very bad visibility in the pass area.

We have towed both routes many times but not in winter.

[enblethen]

Tell them like it is Tom/Barb!

[Tom_Barb]

ppine wrote:
Canada has different specs for highways. Some of their roads are really steep compared to state highways in the US.

You bet they do. We have seen they are better in all respects, there isn't garbage on the road sides, their signs aren't shot full of holes, and pot holes are few and far between.

[ppine]

Canada has different specs for highways. Some of their roads are really steep compared to state highways in the US.

[trigley]

Great Place! Lucky girl.
We had a recreational property there for 15 years so drove both routes often including in winter. We were not towing.
My observations. The Crowsnest is slightly longer but not enough to be significant.
The Parks route is probably a little hillier but any major ones have passing lanes. Sometimes the snow encroaches on the outer lanes reducing the effectiveness of the passing lanes. The worst section is often the 5-6 km from the Trans Canada up to Storm Mountain. The snow tends to pack on there probably because it is a north facing hill.
I don't think the differences in the routes are significant enough to make the decision. I believe it is a weather, road condition decision.
If the weather is at all inclement I felt more comfortable with the Parks route as it avoids the heavy snow belt around Fernie and the wind in the Crowsnest. I think this sentiment was shared by quite a few locals. We only took the Crowsnest because of family connections.

[romore]

That is the Crowsnest route. I would use TCH then 95 but that is just me, I am more familiar with that road and you can avoid most of Calgary. TCH is closed frequently for avalanche control west of Golden but that won't be an issue for you.

[enblethen]

Might think about coming south to CAN 3, then west