Start Here: Explore Canada’s Backroads & Wilderness

Explore Canada’s backroads, hidden gems and wilderness with practical travel guides and real road trip stories.

*Off-the-beaten-path travel in my RAV4 mini camper*

Canada isn’t a country to rush through.

Some of my favourite travel memories didn’t happen at famous attractions. They happened on lonely backroads, around campfires, in forgotten prairie towns, on mountain trails, and during unexpected conversations with people I met along the way.

For many years, I’ve been exploring Canada independently—mostly solo and often sleeping in my little Toyota RAV4 camper. From British Columbia’s rugged mountains to the northern forests of Saskatchewan, the Yukon wilderness and quiet back roads that rarely appear in guidebooks, I love discovering places beyond the usual tourist routes.

If you dream of experiencing the real Canada, you’ve come to the right place.

Whether you’re planning your very first Canadian road trip, a backpacking adventure, or simply looking for hidden gems away from the crowds, this page will help you find the best places to start.

Welcome to Backcountry Canada Travel. Let’s explore Canada—one backroad at a time.

Plan Your Canadian Adventure

Every adventure begins with good planning. These guides will help you prepare for travelling independently in Canada, whether you’re visiting for a few weeks or planning the road trip of a lifetime.

Getting Around

Visa for Canada

Work and Travel

Canada Topo Maps

Climate & Weather

Living in Canada blogs

Choose Your Adventure

Destinations

Book and plan

See and Do

🚙My Favourite Road Trips

Every guide on this website is based on places I’ve explored myself. I don’t write about destinations from behind a desk. I write after driving the roads, hiking the trails, camping along the way, and talking to the people who call these places home.

The Northern Adventure

Follow me on a four-part solo road trip through Northern Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Southern Saskatchewan and back home through Alberta and British Columbia.

Yukon & Alaska Adventure

Journey the legendary route through northern British Columbia, the Yukon and into Alaska. Expect endless wilderness, mountain scenery, wildlife and some of North America’s most unforgettable road trips.

BC’s Hidden Back Roads

Highway 5A Merritt to Kamloops Road Trip

Discover one of British Columbia’s most scenic drives, where quiet lakes, rolling ranchland and charming small towns offer an alternative to the busy Coquihalla Highway

Travel Tips & Resources

Planning a road trip across Canada can feel overwhelming at first. Distances are vast, weather changes quickly, and many of the country’s most memorable places lie well beyond the main tourist routes. That’s where good planning makes all the difference.

Every guide on Backcountry Canada Travel is based on places I’ve explored myself. I don’t write from behind a desk—I write after driving the roads, hiking the trails, camping in the backcountry, and talking to the people who call these places home.

Whether you’re planning a weekend getaway, a cross-country road trip, a gap year, or the adventure of a lifetime, you’ll find practical advice to help you travel with confidence. From driving gravel roads and finding quiet campgrounds to choosing maps, understanding Canadian weather, and discovering hidden gems, my goal is to make independent travel easier, safer, and more rewarding.

I believe the best adventures rarely happen at crowded tourist attractions. They happen on quiet backroads, in small communities, beside remote lakes, and in places where curiosity leads you off the beaten path.

So take your time, explore the guides throughout this website, and start planning your own Canadian adventure. I hope they inspire you to discover a side of Canada that many travellers never see.

Looking for recommended maps, camping gear and travel essentials? Visit my Resources page, where I share the books, maps and equipment I personally use on my own adventures.

Join the Adventure

I share new road trips, hidden gems, practical travel tips and personal stories from across Canada in my free monthly newsletter.

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