Me and the wife are going to las Vegas at Xmas time and thinking of hiring a car and driving upto Calgary area for a couple of weeks also, how long is the drive with weather conditions at time of year and procedure for crossing into Canada, is it just a case of flashing passports and driving on. We will also have to drive back as our return flight to UK is from las Vegas at the end of January. Cheers guys.
A little over 1300 miles each way.
In a truck about 22hrs driving.
Depends on the weather and how many stops you make.
Can’t predict the weather, except to say it will be winter.
Tell you what, how about we do one of those foreign exchange type of deals, you book me into the Mandalay Bay (all inclusive) for a fortnight and you can come and stay at mine (all inclusive, near Calgary) for the same amount of time. 
neilg14:
A little over 1300 miles each way.
In a truck about 22hrs driving.
Depends on the weather and how many stops you make.
Can’t predict the weather, except to say it will be winter.
Tell you what, how about we do one of those foreign exchange type of deals, you book me into the Mandalay Bay (all inclusive) for a fortnight and you can come and stay at mine (all inclusive, near Calgary) for the same amount of time.
Sounds like a fair deal to Me neilg14, lets see if He takes up Your fine offer…
That can a be a fun drive in Winter, be prepared to see some snow, lots and lots of it 
It’s a good two drive each way and you want a day or so in Calgary to look around, so you’re going to lose almost a week out of your Vegas time, but if you’re into that sort of thing, it’ll be worth doing 
The first part of the journey is relatively easy, then as you cross into Arizona you go through a stunning canyon, make sure you do it in the daytime. Then you’re into Utah it gets a bit hilly for a while, from there up until Salt Lake City there’s not a lot to see really, but if you haven’t seen it before it’s pretty awesome and entertainment will be provided by the trucks (sometimes pulling two trailers) doing 5-10mph over the speed limit, which is 75mph with a few sections of 80mph 
Salt Lake City would be well worth a visit, if you have time, it’s one of the few places in the USA that has any history. from there you cross into Idaho and after a few more hills, you’ll get to Idaho Falls. That’s where I would spend the night. There’s a few hotels right next to the I-15 and there is nothing at all past there for a good couple of hours, seeing as though you’ll have ironed out 700 miles or so by that time, you’ll be wanting to stop anyway
North of there, not a lot to see until you cross into Montana, then you get some spectacular scenery, it’s like driving through a postcard, especially in Winter, it can get a bit naughty when it snows, so you would be well advised to have some decent winter clothes with you and fill the car up with gas as soon as you hit half a tank, towns are few and far between along here and if for any reason you get stuck, you don’t want to be running low as you will need your heater running
The next decent sized town you hit is Great Falls, from there on you’re in the Prairies, the border at Sweetgrass/Coutts is a couple of hours up the road, you show your passports, they ask you some questions and you’re in. If you’re good to get in the USA then you’ll get into Canada. They have a policy that if you’ve been convicted of a crime that would get you a prison sentence in Canada, you can’t get in, drinking and driving is in this category, so if you or your Wife have a DD, don’t bother unless you’ve gone through the Canadian Consulate and got a letter/visa for getting into Canada 
From the border, you go up through Lethbridge and then into Calgary
neilg14:
A little over 1300 miles each way.
In a truck about 22hrs driving.
Depends on the weather and how many stops you make.
Can’t predict the weather, except to say it will be winter.
Tell you what, how about we do one of those foreign exchange type of deals, you book me into the Mandalay Bay (all inclusive) for a fortnight and you can come and stay at mine (all inclusive, near Calgary) for the same amount of time.
Wouldn’t bother he have you shunting in Cargill to pay B&B lol
Great drive up though I just came the other way up through Reno as said couple days each way
taffytrucker:
Great drive up though I just came the other way up through Reno as said couple days each way
Stunning drive over the Donner Pass taffytrucker, think it could well be one of my fav drives out here
nianiamh:
taffytrucker:
Great drive up though I just came the other way up through Reno as said couple days each wayStunning drive over the Donner Pass taffytrucker, think it could well be one of my fav drives out here
I came that way yesterday but it was dark and no snow on the ground lol wouldn’t like it so much with the white stuff everywhere but would give it a go
taffytrucker:
nianiamh:
taffytrucker:
Great drive up though I just came the other way up through Reno as said couple days each wayStunning drive over the Donner Pass taffytrucker, think it could well be one of my fav drives out here
I came that way yesterday but it was dark and no snow on the ground lol wouldn’t like it so much with the white stuff everywhere but would give it a go
you would not like it on the donner with the white stuff on the road,dont forget its california here,they want 7 sets of jewellery on a 5 axle semi truck and that aint no fun at all.
vastly exp:
taffytrucker:
nianiamh:
taffytrucker:
Great drive up though I just came the other way up through Reno as said couple days each wayStunning drive over the Donner Pass taffytrucker, think it could well be one of my fav drives out here
I came that way yesterday but it was dark and no snow on the ground lol wouldn’t like it so much with the white stuff everywhere but would give it a go
you would not like it on the donner with the white stuff on the road,dont forget its california here,they want 7 sets of jewellery on a 5 axle semi truck and that aint no fun at all.
Reno is the better option for 3 days
Cheers for the info guys, times not an issue for us as we are over for 6 weeks in total and hoping to get some sking in around Calgary area also, just an option to drive up and see a bit more but return flight is from Vegas, but still planning the overall holiday.
shauntel:
Cheers for the info guys, times not an issue for us as we are over for 6 weeks in total and hoping to get some sking in around Calgary area also, just an option to drive up and see a bit more but return flight is from Vegas, but still planning the overall holiday.
Take highway 93 north then and you will see a lot more of real America than you will hammering up the interstate.
Call in at Sun Valley, Idaho, a famous and beautiful ski resort. sunvalley.com/
Then up through Salmon, over the pass into Montana. Passing through historical Darby home of the famous logger days darbyloggerdays.com/
Continuing up through Missoula towards Kalispell through the Flathead valley, you have flathead lake. Flick off 93 and take the east side of the lake you have the quaint town of Bigfork
bigfork.org/
Then up to Whitefish
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitefish,_Montana
explorewhitefish.com/
and on through the border to Americas hat (Canoodlia)
The first few hours up from Vegas are a bit sparse but plenty of accommodation choices from there on up. From Lodges to chain motels and local motels etc. Loads of winter sports in the above mentioned places too
If you need any more specific info let me know