# Driving from Edmonton AB to Burlington ON



## tilt (Mar 3, 2005)

Six months ago I moved from Burlington ON to Edmonton AB to work for Telus. I had to live away from my wife these six months. It has been tough.

As of this Friday that assignment ends and I have to move back to Burlington ON. I drove here and I plan to drive back.

Six months ago Bryanc drove from Edmonton AB to Fredericton NB.

Six months ago it was Summer.

I am wondering if people here would be able to suggest a route where I can avoid the worst of the snow on the roads. I am open to driving through the States. I am not looking for a scenic route, I just want to get there as quickly and as safely as possible. And no, I shall not be pulling a trailer.

I shall be driving sometime early in January.

Cheers


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## gordguide (Jan 13, 2001)

Edmonton? Going East? Good luck. Your options are essentially fly or drive.

I suggest driving directly to a freight company, loading the car up in a trailer, and next grabbing a taxi to the Airport. But, if you can't do that ...

Just kidding. Not sure what your tolerance for winter driving is, but I wouldn't hesitate to make the trip and except for the Calgary > Lethbridge > Montana trip, I've driven each of these routes in November, December, January, February and March.

Although rural Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba may seem sparse by Ontario standards, Montana and North Dakota are downright abandoned in comparison to the prairie provinces. While in MT and ND, keep the tank at least half full until you get to Minneapolis, and don't expect to buy gas at night if you're not on the interstate. You need a credit card to buy gas at night; no-one takes cash after dark. 

Debit card acceptance is spotty (gets better every year, though); don't rely on it in the US, and don't automatically expect to be able to pay at the till with your debit card. To Americans, debit cards are issued by MasterCard and Visa, not your bank (sometimes they call them check cards: they typically link to a checking account only).

You shouldn't have problems in SK or MB with gas, but fill up when you have the chance. Cash, Debit, etc is usually OK.

Check weather in all 7 states/4 provinces and pick a route. The longest is via Calgary > Montana and the shortest is via Regina > Estevan. Almost no one I know recommends going East from Winnipeg but you might have your reasons. I've never done it myself; we always go to Ontario via the US.

Edmonton > Calgary > Lethbridge > Cross over at Coutts [24 Hours] > Interstate-15 > I-90 > I-94.

The above route might entail heavy snowstorms.

The next option is go East. There won't be snow on the roads unless there is a storm, and even then the most likely scenario is blowing snow rather than heavy snowfall. Check the weather during the previous week/two weeks to your trip; that has the most bearing on highway conditions. The weather when you are traveling is also important, but you can often change routes to avoid things or just wait a day or two, or press on and outrun it.

There may be icy patches if the weather's been warm (near zero). The worst winter conditions are when it's been near zero and there's been rain. You want either cold weather or well above zero. All three are perfectly likely that time of year, anywhere along these routes.

The colder the less chance of ice, and of course everyone knows it rarely snows when the temp is around -10C or colder, right? Well, it's true.

Edmonton > Saskatoon on 16 > Regina on 11 > Estevan > cross at North Portal [24 Hours] into North Dakota > Minot, ND on State 52 > State 83 to Interstate 94.

Or Edmonton > Saskatoon > Regina > Winnipeg >
Or the Yellowhead route: Edmonton > Saskatoon > Winnipeg >

Once you get to Winnipeg, you can continue on the TransCanada or head south on Manitoba 75 > Cross into North Dakota at Pembina [24 Hours] I-29 to Fargo > 1-94.

In any case, once you cross into the US, you are headed for Interstate 94.

I-94 takes you to Detroit or Port Huron if you prefer. In the meantime, you will travel through:
Minneapolis, MN
Madison and Milwaukee WI
Chicago IL


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## imactheknife (Aug 7, 2003)

HI there, I have actually driven from Alberta to Ontario 3 times in the last 3 years and have never run into bad weather on the way through. Two of those trips were in February. The highway through Northern Ontario is actually a nice highway! with quite a few little towns to stop at along the way mind you not as many as in the states. The crappy stretch of highway is actually in Sask as it has rough pavement patches everywhere. I drove from Red Deer through Calgary then transcanada all the way to Guelph the last trip. We came down Manitoulin Island though it is closed in winter. You never know what your going to run into but I would rather be in Canada than in the states if something were to go wrong. It's roughly a 4-5 day trip driving 8 hours a day. We stopped/ slept in Moosejaw , Kenora, Marathon and then Little current on the island but since Your not going to the island you would go straight past Highway 6 to the Sew, or Sudbury. Anyways best of luck with the drive when you make it! Mark


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## kps (May 4, 2003)

Nothing much to add to Gordguides post as he covered practically everything. 

I used to always by-pass Northern Ontario and went through the states when heading west of Winnipeg. N. Ontario was/is a disgrace. I remember the road was so bad, we had to travel at speeds as low as 40km in order not to damage our truck suspensions.

Pembina or North Portal is the way to go, except that US Customs & Immigration at those ports are a$$holes, so be prepared for a hassle especially if they're bored on the day you cross. Worse they can do is turn you back. I crossed there many times in a commercial vehicle and on numerous occasions got searched or unreasonably detained *going back into Canada*. That's correct...I was *leaving* the US and crossing back into Canada, but had to cancel an intransit bond for the goods I was hauling. These bonds are matter of 2 minutes to setup at the booth going into the US and a matter of 2minutes to cancel at US customs when leaving and a further 2 minutes to complete at the booth with Canada customs. Never had a problem at Blaine Wa, when crossing into BC, but those two ports were always a problem and this was more than 10yrs ago, wonder how it is post 9/11 ...undoubtedly worse.

In any case, I would still go through the US. Much better roads and conveniences at practically every exit. Much better traveling all around. Then cross at Port Huron/Sarnia to avoid Detroit. From there take the 402 to London, 401 to the 403 and you'll be in Hamilton/Burlington before you know it.


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## PenguinBoy (Aug 16, 2005)

gordguide said:


> I suggest driving directly to a freight company, loading the car up in a trailer, and next grabbing a taxi to the Airport. But, if you can't do that ...


I would at least check the cost of this option before driving.

When you consider the cost of gas, wear and tear on the car, meals & accommodation en route, your time, and the possibility of poor weather, this may well be the best option.

A one way ticket on Westjet isn't too expensive, and I don't think it costs too much to put a car on the train.

If you *do* choose to drive, I hope you have decent Winter tires.

Hope you enjoyed your stay in Alberta, and have a good trip back to ON!


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## imactheknife (Aug 7, 2003)

It was about $1000 including gas/ motel/ food to drive out with a V6 4runner last may....minus the wear and tear on the car and the riga mortis that set into my legs and hip when driving that long....awesome drive though once you get into Alberta or Ontario...the in between...kinda BLAH....turn on auto pilot...


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## tilt (Mar 3, 2005)

Thank you, all of you. Gordguide, that was extremely detailed, thank you.

The cost of shipping my car works out to a little less than $1,000. I do not mind driving. In fact I like driving. The only problem could be that for the last five years I have been living on (regularly changed) all-season tyres rather than separate Winter or Summer tyres.

Cheers


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