Work & Travel Canada participant McKenna traveled from the Pacific Northwest to Toronto, Canada for her second Working Holiday visa. What better way to get insider border‑crossing tips than from someone who’s done it twice? Below is an excerpt from her travel journal.
Day 1 - Portland, Oregon to Surrey, British Columbia (BC)
We started off the day by finishing cleaning out and packing up my place in Oregon and getting our things situated in the car. My partner and I brought two big bags each and then a communal duffel bag, and then we each brought a backpack as well. We got on the road around 10am…for the 5 1/2 hour drive or so up to Surrey.
My Experience at the Border
We crossed at the Peace Arch border from Blaine, Washington. It comes up quickly and without much notice when you’re on the freeway. The border crossing area has a park-like feel, which was nice considering I was quite nervous.
We then pulled up to one of the border crossing lanes (there are signs indicating which are open). We waited behind two cars in our lane before it was our turn, which took less than 5 minutes.
When we were ushered up to the window, the border agent asked me to roll down the backseat windows and confirmed that it was just the two of us in the car. He asked for our passports and our home countries. When my partner said they were from Germany, he asked about how long they’ve been in the U.S. and their status there.
He then asked about our plans in Canada and how long we intend to stay. We explained that we are roadtripping to Toronto and then vacationing for a few months before starting our working holiday visas. He confirmed that we understand we cannot work as tourists.
He inquired about whether we had already applied for and been accepted for our working holiday visas, and we explained that we had and showed our POE letters. He asked how we planned to financially support ourselves, and we explained that we have savings and support from our parents.
I asked if he needed to see bank statements, but he declined. He noted that without the POE letters, our plans would have been sketchy, but since we already have them, we could cross the border to activate our working holiday visas if needed.
With that, he handed back our passports and sent us along our way!
We then made the short 18-minute drive to the hotel, which included having to get out of the wildest left turn I’ve ever seen. It was essentially across a four lane freeway with no breaks in traffic. We have discovered that Canada loves a wild left turn or a u-turn 😅
Days 2-3: Surrey, BC to Vancouver, BC
We decided to take a somewhat rest day after the nerve racking first day of crossing the border, so we did some exploring in Vancouver!
We started out by going to Queen Elizabeth Park. It was pouring rain, so we decided to go into the little conservatory they have there to escape the weather. We got to look at some cool tropical birds and plants, and we picked up a fridge magnet of Vancouver!
Then we got lunch at Stanley Park Brewing Restaurant & Brewpub. They had lots of vegetarian options, which was great for us, and the place and staff were very LGBTQ+ friendly and celebratory, which was nice as well. We got mushroom calamari, warm pretzel bites, and gnocchi, and all the food was absolutely amazing! It came out quickly and was warm, well-seasoned, and fresh. We thoroughly enjoyed the meal here.
We then walked around the beaches of the park a bit before getting back in the car and driving around the park. We stopped at Prospect Point and took in the impressive view of the Lions Gate Bridge, which was appropriately shrouded in clouds and fog. Driving around the park made it easy and convenient to take a lot in during a short period of time. Then we decided to make our way to our hotel.
Overall, we were impressed by how clean, well-organized, and green the city of Vancouver is. It looks like some buildings and houses were sprinkled throughout a forest, which gives it a very cozy, natural feeling for a city.
We spent our night in Maple Ridge, BC at a Best Western, and gotta say… Can’t recommend that area. This stop made us decide to seek out a different chain of hotels for a bit. (A friendly warning to future travelers!)
Day 4: Kelowna, BC to Cochrane, Alberta (AB)
On the fourth day of our trip, we started out at Tim Hortons. Until then, our Canadian fast food adventures hadn’t strayed further than A&W (highly recommend their Beyond Meat burger to vegetarians looking for a pick-me-up). Tim Hortons had lots of breakfast options, and eventually we tried quite a few, but this morning we stuck to hash browns. Hash browns are one of a few things we discovered Canadians must love, along with U turns and water slides.
The drive out of Kelowna was even more stunning than the drive in, with views of several lakes. As we got closer to Alberta, the mountains became more impressive. This drive was nothing short of gorgeous.
We rolled into Lake Louise for a quick stop and were surprised at how many tourists were visiting that day, even in the off-season. Finding a spot to step up to the lake for a picture was difficult, and a quiet moment to take in the beauty was out of the question.
But the view was still striking, more awe-inspiring than photos and videos. The mountains cupping the aqua-colored water had an oddly soft appearance, like milky fabric. We also visited the gift shop to add to our fridge magnet collection.
Next, we made a quick stop in Banff. Like Lake Louise, the town was bustling and set up for tourists. We wandered the streets, admired the buildings (with a Bavarian flavor), and stopped into gift shops, adding a couple more fridge magnets.
While we would have loved to explore longer, the sun was setting and we weren’t keen on driving much in the dark, so we headed to the hotel we booked in Cochrane, a town west of Calgary.
During the drive, the mountain views at sunset were stunning, the kind of natural beauty that brings a tear to your eye. We also saw a herd of elk and what we believe were mustangs.
In Cochrane, it became clear we were in cowboy country, with horse trailers parked on the side of the road. We checked into our Ramada by Wyndham, which we liked, and tried Boston Pizza for the first time. While we haven’t had their actual pizza yet, we can vouch for the mac and cheese.
Day 5: Cochrane, AB to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan (SK)
On day five, we were in for a lengthy drive. We set out pretty early with our first stop of the day set to be Dinosaur Provincial Park in the Badlands. We were in awe. It felt like we had landed on an alien planet. The park wasn’t too crowded, and the day was warm and comfortable. I can imagine it is sweltering in the summer, but we got lucky timing wise. We spent some time wandering through the soil and rock formations, the shapes beautifully contrasting against the rich blue sky.
Then it was time to make our way out of Alberta and into Saskatchewan. Overall, Alberta is our favorite province that we visited thus far. The scale, amount, and variety of natural beauty is tough to beat, and we are already itching to visit again to explore more.
And then… There was basically nothing. Prairies on prairies as we cruised into Moose Jaw, a town I was eager to visit purely due to the references in my favorite TV show, Heartland. While there wasn’t much to see, it was a comfortable town to rest for a night in another Ramada, and the people were friendly and kind.
McKenna’s journey shows how cultural exchange becomes deeply personal. The real adventure isn’t just the destination—it’s the unexpected detours, the roadside elk sightings, and the freedom to explore at your own pace.
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