FlyingRabbit

My wife and I will be arriving in Calgary on Sep2 and leaving on Sep11. We are mostly outdoors people (hiking, cycling, wild life, you get the idea) but don't mind a little city time (mainly parks, zoos and museums). It is our first time in Canada and we'll have a car for the entire time. How would you split the time between these areas?

I thought maybe 4 days Banff, 2 days Lake Louise and 3 days Jasper. Would that be too much of the same? Would you take a 2-day trip to Vancouver instead? Or maybe a day in Calgary? Any other places nearby? What would be the best place to see bears?

We appreciate any inputs.

cheers
FR

B1

It all depends on what you like. Jasper is not much of a town but it has some great hiking areas. Lake Louise is near Yoho with the famous Iceline Trail, a terrific hike (see other threads in this forum). Banff is a larger town with lots more tourist facilities. The mountains in Banff are nice but are not the spectacular sorts you can find at the other places. It's good to drive the Icefields Parkwauy and take the hikes that are available along the way.

radnub

I'd probably remove one day from Banff and one day from Jasper and pop over to BC for a couple of days. Vancouver is a bit far for a two day trip so I suggest Kelowna (5 hour drive from Lake Louise) if you want to have a break from the mountains.

Look at Lake Louise and Banff as a whole because most days you'll find yourself going beyond those two places and once you're within the mountains the driving time to most spots isn't very long. Give a day to explore the Icefields Parkway on your way to or from Jasper.

If you like cycling there's a 20km trail that goes along the highway from Banff to Canmore. Canmore's a nice little town located just outside the park which is worth a visit. It has more amenities than Banff as well just as an FYI. I believe you can rent a bike in both towns.

I (always) recommend Emerald Lake, BC which is about 30 minutes past Lake Louise. It's not as busy as Lake Louise and the views are just as beautiful.

Wildlife: While not impossible you probably won't see a bear on your trip. You're more likely to see elk, mountain sheep or moose along the way which is just as exciting!

gglave

The drive to Vancouver is beautiful, with views like this...

http://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content...e-2010-039.jpg

https://tce-live2.s3.amazonaws.com/m...860f177851.jpg

...and Vancouver is a great city, but it's pretty time consuming to get there, so you'll need to factor that in.

Banff to Vancouver is about 9 hours behind the wheel - Jasper is about the same.

FlyingRabbit

thank you both, great info. A couple follow-up questions:

- hotels in Canmore are showing more availability than in Banff. Is it worth staying in Banff anyway or is Canmore a good alternative?

- Given that Banff and Lake Louise are so close is it even worth changing hotels?

thanks
FR

radnub

Canmore is about 25 minutes away from the town of Banff so I think it's a good alternative. If I had to choose between Banff and Lake Louise I'd choose Banff as it's a proper town. Lake Louise just has a couple of amenities in the village which is near the highway then about 5km up a mountain road is the lake which only has the Fairmont hotel and another hotel nearby.

FlyingRabbit

beautiful indeed. But I agree, this is too much driving for a couple days only. We'll left Vancouver for next time we're there.

NoName678

I personally appreciated the night I spent in LL (village, but even so) because I was able to get to the lake bright and early in the morning before the crowds (the same could also have applied to the evening but as it happened I was too tired to go then). But whether the inconvenience of packing and unpacking the extra time outweighs that depends on your preferences. (Every other night I spent in Hinton, Golden, or Canmore, to save money.)

radnub

I shouldn't have been so cynical bear-wise. The best places to have a chance to see bears would be on the Bow Valley Parkway, up the Icefields Parkway and Jasper but it could happen anywhere in the park. I've encountered three bears and they've all been closer to towns/roads instead of in the back country so you never know!

Reindeerflame

A good visit in Banff and Jasper would involve about 3 days in each park, and would include visits to adjoining Yoho and Kootenay as well.

emma69

While in Jasper consider a trip to Miette Hot Springs - not only is it quite fun and nice to soak after some long walks, the drive is lovely, and we saw more wildlife on that stretch (moose, wild sheep, deer) than any other similar section in the Rockies. We also did a side trip to Mount Robson while in Jasper, and the Athabasca Glacier was fantastic between Banff and Jasper, well worth the stop. I also loved Peyto Lake just north of Banff as well - breathtaking views in reward for a short uphill hike.

Altaflyer

If you are a big outdoors person then stay in Lake Louise if you can afford it as you will have many amazing hikes at your doorstep. Banff is way too commerical and overbuilt whereas Lake Louise is a mountain village and you will feel like you are really in the mountains. Jasper is worth a good chunk of time as well and you can easily spend a full day hiking near the Icefields too.

FlyingRabbit

thank you all, great suggestions. Based on everything I saw here we'll probably go 3 days in Banff/Canmore then 4 days Jasper and 2 days Lake Louise to close. We may still transfer one day from Banff to Jasper, we'll see. You've all been very helpful, really appreciate it. Now on to find out the hotels we'll stay.

Lumpster

Hi, we've done the Canadian Rockies trip from the UK a few times and we (family of 5 with kids aged 14, 12 & 10) are going again at the end of next week. In terms of your itinerary, I'd recommend staying longer in Jasper and then in terms of Lake Louise or Banff, I'd only stay in one as they are very close. There isn't much in Lake Louise itself but you're well placed to beat the crowds to the various lakes plus the gondola up the mountain is well worth a morning (there are organised hiking trails once you are at the top)......however, accommodation is limited and, as a consequence, pricey. By contrast, Banff is a better option if you want plenty of options in the evening for eating and drinking. For me, however, Jasper is the highlight - it's less touristy than the other 2 and you feel more 'off the beaten track' plus there's plenty to see and do. The drive between Jasper and Lake Louise is also spectacular with a couple of good attractions on the way, so allow plenty of time.

In terms of a split, we're flying into Calgary in the evening, spending a night overnight at an an airport hotel (the Delta one was great when we stayed previously) and then we are doing Edmonton (4nts), Jasper (6nts), Banff (2nts), Calgary city centre (2nts) before flying home.