4x4 across Canada?

[hobiesbestfriend]

The title is probably best said with a hopeful tone I guess. I've driven across Canada before but stuck to the highway and took exactly 4 days to go from Ottawa, Ontario to Victoria, BC. This time I'm gonna go from the Pacific to the Atlantic and back over 9 weeks. What I'm wondering, is how much of the trip can be done off the paved road, or off the road completely? I've seen lots of small trips posted here and there which would be cool to check out, but until I research each of those trips, it's gonna be hard to tell if they are trips that can be linked together or keep having to go out the way we came in type trails. I'm hoping to not backtrack at all, or as little as possible. I'll be researching all the smaller trails etc... and trying to link them as best I can, but surely someone has done something like this before me and might have some reco's. So if you know of a cool section in your province that gets me off the pavement, let me know. Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[hobiesbestfriend]

Oh, for those in BC, I'm hoping to go from Harrison to Princeton, as I have heard of the run that guys do from Princeton to Boston Bar, I'm wondering if any have run it going west to East? But also wanted to do the Skagit Valley, this is gonna be a tough one isn't it. The other thing I need to consider for longer off road portions, are camping/fuel and traffic. I'm hoping for lots of the first two and little of the third.

 

[hobiesbestfriend]

really? not a single suggestion? Is this better in a different section?

 

[Niner]

Try expedition.

 

[RockDoc]

The only area of the Country I know well is the prairies. Flat (for the most part) and lots of gravel grid roads. Through the shield portion of Ontario, I doubt you are going to find substantial stretches of primitive road that would qualify as through routes, and there will be a ton of water and muskeg. Maybe there are some abandoned rail lines? (although they tend to cut drainage across the right of way when they tear up the tracks) As for through the mountains, probably best to get in touch with some of the local clubs to find out what there are for navigable passes. RMLCA (Rocky Mountain LCA) may be able to help you out with a route across the divide, but interior BC, I don't know who you would want to talk to.

 

[mainemike]

try posting in another forum as well: expedition portal

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I'm more familiar with Quebec and the Maritime Provinces. What you'll see by studying the maps is northern canada has many roads that run north-south, but less that run east-west. So you can stitch together a northern route, but I'd suggest simply looking at some principle destinations that interest you and seeing what your options are to connect the dots. Much of that territory is totally road-dependent; meaning the dirt road is an elevated, graded bench and you are not going to be able to leave it without some serious risk of sinking in endless bog.

But I've often wondered your exact question - what would the northernmost dirt road trans-continental traverse route be?