I Drove Across Canada — Here’s Where I Parked Each Night for Free

The ups, downs, and free parking spots of a great road trip!

In December 2021, my boyfriend R and I drove across most of Canada in our self-converted camper bus. I had been living in Toronto for most of my life, and suddenly got a 1-year contract to work on the west coast, which was always a dream of mine.

Our big cross-country adventure started in Toronto, Ontario, and ended in Victoria, British Columbia. We weren’t in a big rush, so we made the drive slowly so we could savour each step of the way. Most of the drive was also done in fairly harsh winter conditions, so we didn’t want to risk much driving in the dark.

This was an incredible adventure that I hope everyone gets to experience at some point in their lives — which is why I’m giving you this list of free parking spots that you can file away until the time for your road trip comes.

Note: because it was wintertime and much of our drive was through very harsh climate, most scenic camp spots were inaccessible. Instead, we looked for spots that were well-lit, easy to access, and that we felt safe in.

Night 1

Our first night was spent in Sudbury, parked in the driveway of a good friend’s lovely property.

This was a great way to ease into our very first night of bus life. We were still figuring out the quirks of our vehicle (and we realized that our whole water system wasn’t working, oops!), so we were thankful to have some tools and helping hands at our disposal.

Night 2

Our second night was spent at a truck stop in White River, Ontario. After a stunning drive along the shores of Lake Superior, it was a perfect spot to enjoy the winter wonderland.

White River is also the town where the real Winnie the Pooh was originally found and adopted. We were a little too excited to wake up and see that we were parked just across the street from the town’s big Winnie the Pooh Memorial statue. How cute!

Night 3

After a stop in Terrace Bay, and seeing some more of the stunning views of Northern Ontario, we settled in at the Walmart in Thunder Bay.

We had made a detour for some delicious vegan pizza in town and then set up our Christmas/Hannukah decorations. With the snow falling outside, it was the coziest pizza-and-a-movie date ever. The Walmart parking lot felt safe and quiet — a perfect night!

Night 4

Can you believe we hadn’t made it out of Ontario yet? We spent the night about 200 meters from the Manitoba border, at a large and well-lit truck stop. We tucked ourselves in the back as best as we could so as not to take up too much space as the truckers rolled in.

We then made ourselves a taco dinner, and fell asleep to the hum of generators around us.

Night 5

As soon as we hit the prairies, we were determined to get through as quickly as possible. The weather was miserable and windy, with the roads prone to whiteouts. But we did get a kick out of the “Centre of Canada” sign!

We got all the way to Regina, and spent the night at the closest Walmart after stopping by a Husky to shower.

Night 6

Well, it finally happened, almost a week into our drive — we broke down. Luckily, we made it all the way to Calgary before the bus decided it had enough of all this driving.

Huffing and jolting, we turned on our hazard lights and just barely hobbled to the nearest Canadian Tire.

We called a mobile mechanic, who informed us that we needed a new mass air flow center — I guess the dusty drive through the prairies caused some damage! He gave us vague instructions on how to replace it, and waved us goodbye.

It was a brutally cold night, and we were frustrated but still grateful that we had made it to a large city. We managed to find the part we needed at Canadian Tire, and almost froze our fingers off trying to replace it. But eventually, the bus was fixed!

We decided not to stay the night at the Canadian Tire lot, and went out to town to celebrate our mechanical success. We then pulled into a seemingly abandoned but well-lit parking lot nearby. It wasn’t ideal, especially given that we stuck out like a sore thumb in the empty lot, but we were desperate to go to sleep.

However, our roller coaster of a day was not over yet, as this is where we experienced one of our most absurd vanlife moments, and couldn’t get our heater to work. You can read more about it here:

Night 7

We were finally heading into the mountains, and I was so excited for this incredible part of the drive! It was better than I could have even imagined.

Given our heater troubles, we decided to book a camp spot at the Banff Tunnel Mountain campground so that we could plug in a space heater. It was a great call, and we got to spend most of the day exploring Banff. We then spent a perfect night nestled in the Rockies. Pure magic.

Night 8

By night 8, we had made it to Kamloops, and were thoroughly enjoying the incredible views along our drive. This part of Canada is truly unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

We had originally parked at the local Costco parking lot, but after taking in our surroundings did not feel comfortable staying the night. So we decided to trust our gut and move to a nearby Walmart. Ahh, good old Walmart, always saving the day.

Fun fact, did you know that Kamloops is actually within a semi-arid desert climate? Sure didn’t feel like it that night though, brrrr!

The next morning, we noticed the brake lights weren’t working. Here’s R pulling apart our walls to find the brake light wires that we ran through them. We then realized the brake light switch has just been kicked out of place. Oops! Guess the wall can go back up another day.

Night 9

After making it to Vancouver and spending time in a very rainy Stanley Park, we made our way to the Walmart near Tsawwassen Mills. We honestly weren’t sure if we were allowed to stay there, as we had gotten mixed advice about parking in Walmarts around Vancouver, but we wanted to be as close as possible to the ferry terminal.

The excitement and anticipation of knowing we would be on our way to my new home the next day was absolutely electric!

Night 10

Victoria. My permanent parking spot. We finally made it!

We had a very eventful ferry ride. The bus, always ensuring that we never have a dull moment, was refusing to shift out of “park”. We really had resigned ourselves to becoming permanent fixtures on the ferry — and really, with how stunning the ride between Vancouver and Victoria is, I can’t say I would mind too much!

We finally somehow pried it into “drive” by some weird combination of turning the ignition and moving the shift level at the same time. The bus then seemed to go back to normal, so we figured we wouldn’t dwell on it too much.

About 10 months later, when it happened again, I learned that our shift tube had actually been broken the whole time, but that’s a story for another time!

Finally, I had made it through my biggest adventure yet. And little did I know, an even bigger one was just starting.

If you’re planning a Canadian cross-country drive, I hope this helps you — even if just to get you excited about the twists and turns of every road trip!

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