New Years Seattle>Glacier NP> Banff>Seattle?

[Mulkogi]

Looking for any inputs for this route during the winter. We are planning this road trip for the week of new years eve. Anyone done this at least part of it? TIA for your input.

 

[mspohr]

Many years ago when my 2015 Model S was new, we did a trip from Tahoe to Seattle to Banff then down to Glacier NP, the Tetons and back to Tahoe.
Fantastic trip and went well even with the relatively sparse Supercharger installations back then. We spent a total of $5 on charging for the entire trip.
Some details which you may (or may not) find useful.
- Seattle- Topped up at a Blink charger downtown near our hotel... this was the only time we paid for charging.
- Up to Canada and across Canada 1 - Fortunately, there were sufficient Superchargers on this route
- Down to Glacier... this was a bit more difficult. Made it down to Fernie where there fortunately was a municipal charger at the city hall. (There now seems to be a Supercharger there). Then to Waterton parks (camping and RV charger) and Glacier Park (RV charging again)
- Kalispel RV charging (we camped here) then to Missoula SC
- From there, Superchargers were spaced well enough that we could use them for the rest of our trip. (I think we used the Jackon Hole municipal charger before the SC was built) Down to Salt Lake
- Return across I80 through Nevada
All in all a great trip.
Can't advise on winter travel but you should have no problems now that there are a lot more Superchargers.

 

[Mulkogi]

Many years ago when my 2015 Model S was new, we did a trip from Tahoe to Seattle to Banff then down to Glacier NP, the Tetons and back to Tahoe.
Fantastic trip and went well even with the relatively sparse Supercharger installations back then. We spent a total of $5 on charging for the entire trip.
Some details which you may (or may not) find useful.
- Seattle- Topped up at a Blink charger downtown near our hotel... this was the only time we paid for charging.
- Up to Canada and across Canada 1 - Fortunately, there were sufficient Superchargers on this route
- Down to Glacier... this was a bit more difficult. Made it down to Fernie where there fortunately was a municipal charger at the city hall. (There now seems to be a Supercharger there). Then to Waterton parks (camping and RV charger) and Glacier Park (RV charging again)
- Kalispel RV charging (we camped here) then to Missoula SC
- From there, Superchargers were spaced well enough that we could use them for the rest of our trip. (I think we used the Jackon Hole municipal charger before the SC was built) Down to Salt Lake
- Return across I80 through Nevada
All in all a great trip.
Can't advise on winter travel but you should have no problems now that there are a lot more Superchargers.

Thanks for the details. I’m not really worried about the charging, i got all the necessary plugs and ccs adapter. More worried about the snow. I do have A/T tires with 3pmsf rating and don’t want snow tires just for this trip. I might just do Glacier NP and not Banff. So far I read people enjoy that route during winter and its not too crazy.

 

[mspohr]

Thanks for the details. I’m not really worried about the charging, i got all the necessary plugs and ccs adapter. More worried about the snow. I do have A/T tires with 3pmsf rating and don’t want snow tires just for this trip. I might just do Glacier NP and not Banff. So far I read people enjoy that route during winter and its not too crazy.

I live in the mountains of California where we have lots of snow. My S has been incredibly solid in the snow. Really difficult to even get it to slip or slide under hard acceleration or braking. It's the best AWD I've ever had.

 

[bradtem]

There are of course two Glacier NPs, both near Banff. The one in BC is a bit closer but not much. Both are good, and of course you can do a loop through both and it's worth it. As are Waterton and the rest. I have driven all of these, though only Banff and Jasper in my Tesla.

You will want a CCS or CHAdeMO adapter in BC. There's a lot more charging of this type than SC. This is also handy in Montana.

The drive from Banff to Jasper, known as the Icefields Parkway, is one of the world's great drives (summer or winter, in fact best done in both.) It is not to be missed. The good news is there is a SC just installed in Jasper as otherwise it was a challenge. The other SC is in Canmore, and it can be a challenge in a SR+/Mid Range to get between them, but there are some options, including a CCS station in Yoho NP. So detour there and top up before heading north to Jasper. If you have CCS/CdM you can also come down from Jasper on a different route -- though the parkway is worth the backtrack and visit Mt. Robson and Wells Gray, but that would perversely mean you skip Glacier NP (of Canada.)

Of your 3 crossings --TCH(1), #3 (BC) and #2 (Washington) I would rate them in that order, but you should try to do them all at some point. You need CCS except on TCH

 

[Mulkogi]

There are of course two Glacier NPs, both near Banff. The one in BC is a bit closer but not much. Both are good, and of course you can do a loop through both and it's worth it. As are Waterton and the rest. I have driven all of these, though only Banff and Jasper in my Tesla.

You will want a CCS or CHAdeMO adapter in BC. There's a lot more charging of this type than SC. This is also handy in Montana.

The drive from Banff to Jasper, known as the Icefields Parkway, is one of the world's great drives (summer or winter, in fact best done in both.) It is not to be missed. The good news is there is a SC just installed in Jasper as otherwise it was a challenge. The other SC is in Canmore, and it can be a challenge in a SR+/Mid Range to get between them, but there are some options, including a CCS station in Yoho NP. So detour there and top up before heading north to Jasper. If you have CCS/CdM you can also come down from Jasper on a different route -- though the parkway is worth the backtrack and visit Mt. Robson and Wells Gray, but that would perversely mean you skip Glacier NP (of Canada.)

Of your 3 crossings --TCH(1), #3 (BC) and #2 (Washington) I would rate them in that order, but you should try to do them all at some point. You need CCS except on TCH

Man thanks so much for this info. I have ccs adapter so not too much worried, just hoping those chargers work without issues.