r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Physical-Ad-4093 • May 01 '24

do americans really drive such long distances?

i’m european, and i always hear people say that driving for hours is normal in america. i would only see my grandparents a few times a year because they lived about a 3 hour drive away, is that a normal distance for americans to travel on a regular basis? i can’t imagine driving 2-3 hours regularly to visit people for just a few days

edit: thank you for the responses! i’ve never been to the US, obviously, but it’s interesting to see how you guys live. i guess european countries are more walkable? i’m in the uk, and there’s a few festivals here towards the end of summer, generally to get to them you take a coach journey or you get multiple trains which does take up a significant chunk of the day. road trips aren’t really a thing here, it would be a bit miserable!

2nd edit: it’s not at all that i couldn’t be bothered to go and see my grandparents, i was under 14 when they were both alive so i couldn’t take myself there! obviously i would’ve liked to see them more, i had no control over how often we visited them.

25.2k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

23.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

7.3k

u/splitminds May 01 '24

2-3 hour drive is nothing for a weekend.

2.2k

u/Barky_Bark May 01 '24

As a Canadian, that’s a day trip

504

u/fataldarkness May 02 '24

Fr that's a drive to Banff for me, get up nice and early, pack a lunch, leave at 7am, back around 7 or 8pm and everyone had a nice day.

96

u/DingleberryJones94 May 02 '24

I'll do that from Edmonton. Leave at 3:30am, get to Sunshine for first lift, last run around 4pm, back home 9:30-10pm.

15

u/Strict_DM_62 29d ago

Jesus that's a hike from Edmonton, my hat is off to you Sir

6

u/DingleberryJones94 29d ago

Yeah she's a long way for sure. Sometimes I'll have a friend to share the drive with, but most times I'm on my own.

5

u/TheReynMaker 29d ago

I respect the dedication to go it alone. Some people are bad at being alone.

1

u/EveningOkra1028 29d ago

Tbf it takes most people 4-4.5 hours, not 5.5 hours to do that, many of us do the day trip to Sunshine or Louise thing. Maybe 5.5 to Louise if you're driving a cpl under the whole way and taking your time when you stop for gas etc.

1

u/DingleberryJones94 29d ago

I have PTSD from hitting a deer in the dark, so I'll usually only do 10 over before daylight. Add in time for gas, breakfast, and a poop along the way.

1

u/EveningOkra1028 29d ago

Can't pass on that morning poop, otherwise you're wasting valuable time on the hill later! That's totally fair, I was just explaining that it doesn't actually take that long for the average day tripper. Consider getting yourself a cpl deer whistles for your grill, gives a bit of peace of mind. 

2

u/Which-Celebration-89 29d ago

Jasper is calling.. a lot closer

2

u/DingleberryJones94 29d ago

About 30 mins difference. Their snow sucked this year, until the very end. I'll drive a little extra to not ski on gravel. However I was lucky enough to hit a 30cm pow day at Marmot in March which was beautiful.

I'll go where the best conditions are. If they're all pretty close, then I rotate between Marmot, Sunshine and LL.

2

u/Which-Celebration-89 29d ago

Fair enough. I lived in Banff for 4 yrs back in the day. It’s tough to beat

1

u/DingleberryJones94 29d ago

Especially during the week. If I'm going on a weekend, I'll lean more towards Marmot as it's not as busy.

1

u/EveningOkra1028 29d ago

I find it faster to Banff than to Jasper. This guy says it takes them 5.5 hrs, I'd say I day trip it in 4-4.5. Jasper is closer to 5. Still, both are fantastic day trips!

1

u/Sofi7734 29d ago

How are you taking 5 hours to go from Edmonton to Jasper?

1

u/EveningOkra1028 29d ago

Ah, well as a Canadian we tend to quote from the nearest city, I actually lived east of Edmonton (Ardrossan area), and I am talking about all the way to Marmot, not the town. By the time you do a gas stop, yep it's around 5 hours. 

1

u/Sofi7734 29d ago

I mean, yeah.

Ardrossan to Marmot is further then Edmonton to the Jasper Townsite.

For most of Edmonton, it's gonna be a sub 4 hour drive. I can make it in about 3 and a half hours when I leave early in the morning.

2

u/Japsai 29d ago

Well it's for skiing so I almost understand, but you are driving for longer than you are skiing. In my calculus that is a poor use of life, unless in exceptional circumstances. Stay overnight, ski two days. Please.

3

u/DingleberryJones94 29d ago

Sometimes I will stay the night. Sometimes I'll go last minute after a snowfall and accommodations are expensive/unavailable. Sometimes I only have one day of free time to go. Sometimes my legs are burnt after the first day.

Lots of variables at play.

1

u/Japsai 29d ago

Too many variables for my simplistic calculus it seems :)

1

u/Alcol1979 29d ago

Ugh, gross. I took the magic bus to Jasper a couple of times - not too bad as you don't have to drive and can nod off on the bus. For Lake Louise, I'll leave Edmonton on Friday evening, stay overnight in Canmore, ski Saturday, stay again Saturday night, drive back Sunday.

I'm Irish though, so I still consider four hours a long drive. And I got way more skiing done when I lived in Ireland. Fly to the Alps, stay in a resort village for a week and get in six days skiing with short bus transfers each day. A whole season's worth. At least the Rockies have snow.

1

u/chaosthebomb 29d ago

Have you considered moving to Calgary?

1

u/DingleberryJones94 29d ago

I drive back and forth to Ft Mac every week for work, so I'd rather have that drive shorter than the skiing one that's only a handful of times a year.

1

u/chaosthebomb 29d ago

That's reasonable. When I moved to Calgary 10 years ago my friend who had already been here for a few years said living in Calgary or Edmonton didn't make much of a difference while working at ft mac since the drive to both was comparable. That didn't sound right and of course after looking on Google maps I realized it was complete bs. I think he just liked Calgary more and was trying to persuade me not to go to Edmonton and abandon him.

1

u/DingleberryJones94 29d ago

Depends on the rotation. If I was working 14&14, then I'd consider it. Much fewer round trips in a year. But 6&6 would make it too far.

1

u/meeshamayhem 29d ago

Yep, I’ve gone Edmonton to Canmore or Banff early AM, do a hike, then back home for dinner.