There’s something quietly exhilarating about pulling onto the highway with your home on wheels. It’s not just the freedom of the open road—it’s the knowledge that your next cup of coffee, your afternoon hike, your evening of stargazing can happen wherever you choose.

And it turns out we’re not alone. A new survey from Go RVing Canada shows that while nearly 8 in 10 Canadians want to explore more of their own country, almost half haven’t yet ventured beyond their home province. With 2025 shaping up to be the year of the Canadian road trip, it felt like the perfect time to answer that call and discover what’s waiting beyond our familiar landscapes.

In British Columbia’s Cariboo Chilcotin, where mountain vistas meet desert plateaus and ancient Indigenous cultures thrive, RVing is the perfect way to explore at your own pace, unplug, and reconnect with the land.

That’s exactly what we set out to do this past summer on a five-day RV road trip through BC’s historic and cultural heartlands. We picked up our rental rig—a nearly 8-metre long Fraserway RV—in the city of Delta on a sunny Friday morning. After a helpful orientation, with the fridge stocked, playlist cued, and campground bookings confirmed, we rolled out of the city and pointed our wheels toward the Fraser Canyon.

Fraser Canyon Bound

Leaving Vancouver always feels like a reset. But heading into the Fraser Canyon—where steep cliffs loom above the churning river and train whistles echo through the trees—felt like stepping into another world.

Highway 1 may be the Trans-Canada Highway, but through this stretch, it’s neither the fastest nor most direct route east. Many drivers now opt for the Coquihalla—a quicker inland alternative—but they miss the slower, scenic rhythm of this historic corridor as it follows the mighty Fraser River north.

Beyond the town of Hope, the highway narrows and winds through small communities whose names speak to the river’s layered past: Spuzzum, named by the Nlaka’pamux for this patch of flat land above the river; Boston Bar, a remnant of the 1858–1861 Gold Rush when Americans—“Bostons” in Chinook Jargon—sought treasure in the sandbars; and Kanaka Bar, honouring Hawaiian labourers who became part of the region’s story.

Our first stop was Kumsheen Rafting Resort in Lytton, near the dramatic confluence of the Thompson and Fraser rivers. Pulling into our RV site, we easily levelled our little home, rolled out the awnings, and took in the view across the milky-green Thompson toward the chalky cliffs of the White Canyon. Thunderheads gathered above the peaks as we settled in, and a quick afternoon storm forced us to retreat into the dry comfort of the RV with celebratory cocktails. But soon, the sky cleared, and we were back outside—soaking in the hot tub, river murmuring below, evening light stretching across the valley.

The Thompson, the Fraser’s largest tributary, is also the lifeblood of Kumsheen’s rafting adventures. Thanks to founder Bernie Fandrich, this stretch has become legendary. Big rapids like the Frog and Mother-in-law offer a thrill—but we’d come for the stories. Kumsheen’s rafting trips are a crash course in geology and cultural history, a fast-paced ride through terrain shaped by water, time, and the people who’ve called this canyon home since time immemorial. Our half-day trip was the perfect introduction to the landscapes ahead.