Packing for 2-week road trip to Canada - advice please!

[runner2]

We are a family of 4 (me, DH + 2 teenagers) doing a fly-drive for 2 weeks. Never packed for a holiday like this before, where we will be on the move and living out of suitcases, no scope for washing clothes along the way. Weather is (hopefully) going to be warm and sunny, but not hot. So how to and what to pack? (Or what not to pack?!)

I'm in Kamloops. Considered a fairly large Canadian city.
Check your itinerary. If you want any details about the city (if driving through) I'll be happy to share details.

I used to take those nylon football strips for my lads. You could wash and dry them in moments! Didn't look great but they were super practical. Loads of hotels in Canada in that area have mini laundrettes.

Out2pasture, no offence, but I don't think people wouldn't generally describe Kamloops as a fairly large Canadian city!! I'm in the Lower Mainland and I don't consider Victoria a large city and it's about 5 times the size of Kamloops. No offence intended, just don't want people looking for one thing and finding something else. (90,000 some people in kamloops).

The Interior of BC can get horribly hot, upper 20's-30's. The coast is more temperate. It was in the low 20's on the coast today.

Coastal BC is not buggy at all, not sure about the Interior/Rockies. You may not get a buggy windscreen.

Definitely but sunblock etc out here - it's cheaper! In Vancouver and Victoria Mountain Equipment Coop is a great place to buy camping supplies ($5 to join the coop for life).

If you can, take a ferry to one of the southern Gulf Islands - they are gorgeous, very peaceful and clean. Some may be too quiet for teens - Salt Spring has the most to do re eating out, kayak rentals etc.

BC is pretty casual so comfy clothes are fine.

If you're camping be aware of safety re wild animals (cougars and bears mainly). We're starting to get Lyme carrying ticks out here - it's rare, but be aware of what to do in the unlikely event anyone gets a tick bite.

We are in Canada at the moment half way through a two week road trip, currently in Golden. It is very hot (32.5 deg at 6pm today) and I haven't needed anything other than shorts and tops.

Bug spray with Deet was $7 at a chain pharmacy - it's easy to come by. Second the recommendation to buy a cooler. We bought zip lock bags & fill with ice at the hotel to keep things cool. Also definitely plan on a mid trip laundromat visit - do some research on which of your stops has a laundromat.

Canadians are really, really casual dressers so don't bring anything dressy.

Clothing - I've lived in two pairs of shorts coupled with some t-shirts, a striped Breton & two long sleeved shirts - the latter for sun protection. I packed a pair of Gap stretch cropped trousers that I've worn for dinner. I packed jeans and a jacket but haven't needed them. I have popped on a fleece a few times in cold hotel room AC.

Footwear - I've only packed a pair of loafers, running shoes, hiking boots and some slightly hideous "outdoor" sandals. I have really only worn the outdoor sandals! I haven't needed hiking boots. Trails are quite easy here, even the hard ones.

Absolutely buy some cheap packing cubes off Amazon for everyone in the family as they make it so easy to pack up in the morning.

Kamloops is ranked 37th on the list of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in Canada as per Wiki.
compared to Jasper and Clearwater it is big.
big enough that if you need certain services it will be easily found.

Fair enough. Compared to the massive sprawl of the GVRD my standard for city is at least a couple of hundred thousand. But that may just be me!

If you go hiking, please let people know where you're going. North Shore Rescue is forever plucking people off the mountains. It's a big, big country and people can very easily get lost, very lost.

Victoria and Vancouver have very vibrant food scenes. Vancouver is reckoned to be one of the best places in the world to eat Asian food (especially Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese). Victoria is very big on independently owned cafes with own-ground coffee + some pretty nice bakeries.

The farmers markets are also a fun thing to do.

Well the overall population of BC is only 6M, so really nowhere is that big. As a Londoner Vancouver seems pretty small :) But yes Kamloops is more of a town than a city really. Looking at the OP's itinerary I'm not sure if she'll get from Whistler to Clearwater through Kamloops or through Clinton. I love the landscape around Kamloops as it's so different to the rest of BC, but then I'm not sure if I've done the drive from Clearwater to 93 mile house, that might well be beautiful too.

One thing to note is that distances are bigger here, but driving is generally a pleasure (except perhaps on the island which is I think pretty busy). Just don't get stuck behind a whole load of Albertan RVs!

My dad always joked that drivers from the prairies could not handle the curves in the roads on the coast :)

I haven't come across traffic problems on the Island? Maybe at rush hour? I do find it gets busy where I live, but again, only at rush hour.

It's not unusual for North American hotels to have coin operated washers and driers (especially at the budget/tourist end of the market). You can usually find it listed on the web if they do. Nicer than sitting in a laundrette which is one of the most dismal experiences wherever you are.

We always take a 5 plug extension lead to charge the various devices. Saves carrying millions of plugs.

There's a laundrette in Jasper called 3 Sheets. It has wifi.

Lots of nice places to stop on the Icefield Parkway on the way to Banff. If you're planning to do the Skywalk get there as it opens. It gets really busy when the coach trippers turn up!
Same applies for Lake Louise.