# Should I buy a National Park pass?



## talkamotta (May 19, 2014)

Ive bought Canadian National Park passes before when Ive visited Alberta.  This year we are going to British Columbia specifically to Whistler and Vancouver Island.  We probably wont be going to Kootenay, Yoho, Banff or Jasper.   I don't know much about anything west of those parks and have never been to the Whistler area.  Are there enough parks in that area to justify buying a pass?  What national parks should I visit?   What are some not to be missed things I should see.  We are going in July.


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## qb_bc (May 19, 2014)

No, you will not need a national parks pass for. What you are planning to do. The only park this far over is Long Beach on west Vancouver island. You can pay daily parking if you stop there.

Enjoy the Best Coast☺


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## sue1947 (May 19, 2014)

For your locations, the National park sites are Pacific Rim National Park on the west coast of Vanc Island and Fisgard Lighthouse/Fort Rodd Hill near Victoria (and there's another site in Vancouver I haven't been to). 
If you plan on spending a week or more in Ucluelet/Tofino and plan on parking at one of the trailheads for Pacific Rim each day plus a trip to Victoria, then the cumulative cost of those parking passes might justify the purchase of a year pass.  But probably not.  

IF you are using timeshares, then you are probably staying either in Victoria or Parksville.  If the latter, you might add on a couple of days at Ucluelet (cheaper) or Tofino.  Pac Rim NP is spectacular and worth at least a day trip down from Parksville, but a couple of days is better.  

Sue


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## talkamotta (May 19, 2014)

We are staying at Whistler Vacation Club at Twin Peaks and on Victoria Island Pacific Shores Resort and Spa.  There will be two days (because of check in days at timeshares) we will be spending in Vancouver but just hotels.  We will be driving our own car from Utah so we don't have to worry about airports etc.  

In July are the ferries terrible to get across and should I make reservations before hand?


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## eal (May 19, 2014)

If you go to Tofino when you are on Vancouver Island you can buy a park pass in the afternoon that is good until 4 pm the following day, I think it is $10.

I always make a ferry reservation, $15 if you reserve more than 7 days in advance, because it just gives me peace of mind. Also you are first on and first off which is kinda nice when there are 500 other cars on the same ferry. 

We own at Twin Peaks and at Pacific Shores and you will enjoy both. Pacific Shores has recovered nicely from the management troubles in 2012 (so has Twin Peaks come to think of it) and a new restaurant is opening there in June.


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## oceanvps (May 20, 2014)

My parents refuse (on principal) to make reservations   they prefer to get there earlier and wait if need be. they live in courtenay on vancouver island.

where are you taking the ferry from? bc ferries or the washington ferries?

with reservations for the bc ferries its about 17.50 (i think - we've never booked over a week out and would only book if it was christmas or a long weekend) for a closer to the day of travel timeframe.

i also think your reservation has the following time window. you have to arrive between 30 and 60 minutes before sailing if you're closer to the time than that they can refuse you your reservation and put you in general boarding. one of my hubbies co-workers arrived 25 minutes before sailing and they denied him his reservations - yikes. maybe ticket agent was having bad day.


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## talkamotta (May 20, 2014)

Thanks for bringing up the ferries. We are taking our car.  As I have mentioned our first week is in Whistler.  We need to stay in Vancouver, Canada for 2 days because of different timeshare check in days.  The days are Sunday July 13th and going home on Sunday, July 20th.  Im sure they will be very busy.  Going to the island we probably would like to depart from Vancouver City but we are able to drive anywhere. If possible I would like to return to a city in the US if at all possible.  Im not sure how long border crossing are on Sunday (Im thinking slow).   We might????? be driving straight home to Salt Lake, Utah and its going to be a long drive.

At this point we are pretty flexible, we are retired but I have out of state family coming in Monday July 14th.  Didn't know retirement could be so busy.


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## eal (May 20, 2014)

The quickest way to Pacific Shores from Vancouver is to take the ferry from Horseshoe Bay in North Vancouver to Departure Bay in Nanaimo. To get home you could drive to Victoria (Sidney) and take the ferry to Anacortes WA.  A scenic route would be to take the ferry from downtown Victoria to Port Angeles WA.


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## FatPedro (May 23, 2014)

Whoa. If they are in a hurry, they definitely do not want to go to Port Angeles. That's going to add hours of driving time along the 101. Beautiful drive though! But slow. The ferry to Anacortes only runs twice a day I think. You are better off taking the ferry from Victoria to Tsawwaasen, then drive across the border at the I-5. If you arrive at the border mid day, you will be ok.  It's the cross border shoppers that clog it up in the mornings.


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