Coast to Coast - Why do map websites route through US?
 

Hi,

I was looking into a cross country trip from Vancouver to Montreal, to my surprise, both MapQuest and Google maps route through the US. I had to manually punch in Canadian cities for the routing to stay local. Do you know of any reason that would be? Do these websites have deals with US interstate tolls? is the all Canadian road dangerous?

the end result is relatively the same in term of time and distance either way.

shortest distance (time wise)

because Murica is best.

if canada had a mapquest, i'm sure it would route your through the flat lands

That is ridiculous that i don't even get the option from the automated results. and for 3h more of travel time, big deal.

2 optons from google maps
1st option : 4560km - 46h
2nd option : 4910km - 46h
bonus option : fly

when entering Canadian transit cities manually : 4656km - 49h (100km/3h more than 1st option)

^I'm pretty sure you can enter to avoid border crossings on Google maps.

In fact I am almost certain you can, it's right there beside the option to avoid toll bridges, and ferries.

I've done both. I thought the US interstates would be nicer but the northern highways are just as bad. But gas is cheaper in the states.

ok just noticed there are search result filters, the Canadian route does show up automatically if the "avoid tolls" filter is selected.
As StylinRed pointed out, the algorithm is calculating the shortest travel time.

yup just noticed thnx

interesting point to take in consideration, I hadn't thought of the fuel price.

In terms of scenery which did you like best?
did you need/get a specific insurance for that trip?

I'm pretty sure driving through death valley is better than driving through fucking Alberta. So I would imagine that North dakota and stuff would be much nicer...

What's wrong with Alberta?

Get to Alberta.... and you can already see Manitoba. :rolleyes:

Never thought of this one as well, but it's definitely relevant. Going 4500+km, that can be a good 500L of gas.

Considering the average gas price in the States is like 75¢/L, and in Canada it's over a buck, it'll cost maybe $125-150 more to take the Canadian route.

Drove to Winnipeg two years back and decided to go through the states. One of the main reasons was because they were doing road construction on a good stretch of road in Alberta to fix it from the crappy winter they just had + a mud slide from a month or so ago also they highway is 4 lanes the entire way. Not a bad trip North Dakota is about as dull as dull can get but Idaho was a great road through the mountains and Montanas speeding laws are out of this world (got pulled over going significantly over the speed limit and was a $40 ticket that I was able to pay on the spot cash and got a receipt). Drive one way there and the other back

What about insurance? do you need a to get extra coverage or warn ICBC before heading out?

I'd like to think there's more to see south of the border as well. Hell, I'd love to drive through South Dakota just to see Mount Rushmore.

Driving through the prairies is the most mind-numbing drive I have ever experienced. After Medicine Hat, there is nothing but a wasteland of flat, boring expanses of land. I drove an hour past that, into Saskatchewan, and turned around because fuck that shit. The US side of things is a bit more interesting.

Psssh, prairies are done in 2 days tops. The BC / Alberta section is a fantastic drive until the end of the mountains. Then yes, there is a two day boring stretch as you go through AB/Sask and the first half of Manitoba...but it goes by QUICK. The second half of manitoba has great landscapes, and once you're into Ontario the stretch from Thunder Bay to Sault St. Marie is every bit as beautiful as BC is.

If you plan the trip right, even AB/Sask doesn't have to be boring. It will take you longer, but you can go through the badlands and other sights. Saskatchewan during the flowering of crops and/or harvest is also great to watch out the window.

No. However, a medical insurance policy or even BCAA membership may come in handy. BCAA translates well with AAA, so breakdowns wont affect you too much, and their USA medical insurance is pretty cheap, especially if you know how many days you'll be down there.

BC is great, prairies can be pretty (minus Manitoba). Ontario goes on forever. Once you hit the lakes I hear it's great (I've only taken the northern routes). North Dakota is as boring as Western Ontario. If you haven't seen Canada I'd suggest seeing it before going through the US despite the quicker routes and cheap gas.

I can't imagine the US route is more interesting by all the accounts of both routes that I've heard. I'd go through Canada for the experience of doing it but realistically picking between the flatlands is like deciding which nut to get hit in, it's gonna hurt about the same either way.

As other have mentioned, the prairie is bored as hell to drive. There's NOTHING but flat land.

And the fact that US route is better (as in distance, condition and speed limit). You get a rest area every 60~100KM or so and there are all sort of small towns along the interstate hwys. It's ideal for roadtrip or even solo drive as you can take care of everything (bathroom, food or sleep) without detour.

If you'd want to maximize the scenery and don't mind driving a bit more, I'd still take the US route. Just take i-20 instead of i90/94. A bit longer but well worth it (the most scenic highway in WA state as a matter of fact) since you go across a national park and national forest.

US interstates are way better maintained than most Cdn freeways. I remember SK being total hell in a lowered car..

I did i20 then transfered to i2 through Spokane far better than i90. These smaller interstates have high speed limit and dozens of towns per state which make good pitstops. Didn't see a single Cop and crused around 160 - 200 the whole way. I would be careful of small towns if you're of coloured, had my share of racist comments.
Pretty much after the mountains you get thesese endless palouse.
http://i.imgur.com/EAuEB0P.jpg

Sorry to hear that!