Traveling tips for Banff & Jasper, Canada

[caddywompus]

We are thinking of going out to western Canada this fall.  We want to go to Banff and Jasper, as we've heard it's totally gorgeous.  Has anyone been there?  Any recommendations for things to do and see? We know about Lake Louise and the Icefield Highway.  How about hotels? It looks like there aren't very many in Jasper, and they all look really old....
Thanks for any info!

[miniroller]

Very sorry that I'm NO help, as I've not been & am definitely less informed than you. However, I saw Banff, & wanted to respond as we just added this to our hopeful destination list (next 2-3 years?). Would very, very much appreciate a follow up on your trip there, and hope that you have a wonderful time at this gorgeous spot!!

[mam677]

I went to Banff about 8 years ago. It was gorgeous. I would recommend taking a quick look at Moraine Lake too. If you have time, you might want to try the Drumheller region. The Royal Tyrrell Museum is so cool, and the geological formations were fun to see.

[keweenawlove]

I’m taking a trip there at the end of the month and I’m so excited. I don’t have any firsthand experience but I’ve done a decent amount of research. Our to-do list includes


Hikes:Skyline Trail, Whistlers Summit, and Sulphur Skyline in Jasper, Plain of Six Glaciers in Lake Louise, and Inkpots/Johnston Canyon in Banff
Canoe: Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, and/or Maligne Lake
White water rafting
Gondola ride – Jasper, Lake Louise, and Banff all have them
Hot springs
Banff and Jasper Brewing Companies

There aren’t a lot of hotels in Japser. We're staying in a private home accommodation. There's a pretty big variety of them out there. We weren't super concerned about where we stayed though since we don't plan on spending much time in the room. We're staying at a B&B in Banff.

[caddywompus]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I will definitely add them to my "research" list, to help with planning. (All except the whitewater rafting... yikes!)  lol

[Deleted]

I am no help as far as accomodation, because I stayed with friends, but the Banff/Lake Louise area has some of the most beautiful scenery in the entire world. Its stunning, so I hope you have a fabulous trip!

[Deleted]

I'm staying overnight in Banff this Friday. Other than some really nice hotels (e.g. Rimrock resort) most seem older. I'm staying at the Hidden Ridge, I'll try to remember to post my opinion on the place.

One thing to consider is that we switch from summer to winter quite abruptly in the fall. So keep that in mind when planning your travel dates. (I've seen the hottest day of the year in middle September and I've seen full blown winter with snow starting in middle of October)

[fabkc]

This is a pretty tangential comment, but if I were you I would do some pretty serious research about what is still open in the fall. We do national parks (all US so far) the first couple weeks of September and the northern parks are all in the process of shutting down around then... limited hotels, restaurants, certain trails and roads closing. I would imagine Banff and Jasper would be far enough north to have a pretty short season too. The upside is that the crowds should be low. IMO, the best time to travel is the first two weeks of September, so if you can throw something together quickly you could do well.

[G22]

We went last summer for a long weekend. I really want to go up for longer next time. We stayed in a hotel in Canmore which us just south of the town of Banff. It was really nice!

We mostly drove through both parks and just did little pulls offs, and small hikes. We did do the 5mile hike to the Castle Lookout in Banff. It was hardcore, but you have an amazing view from the top. My 11 year old brother survived it, so it wasn't too bad. Definitely stop by Lake Louise.

We didn't go up onto the ice fields in Jasper, but did the hike up to the edge. It was still amazing just to see them! My favorite US park is Glacier, and both Banff and Jasper easily rival it.

[caddywompus]

Thanks again everyone-
Fabkc-We will definitely do our due diligence to make sure that the sights we want to see will still be open.
Stephaniejinx-Thanks for the heads up. I checked the weather almanac/forecast and it said it would be highs around 50 and lows in the 30's. We are planning to go around the first half of OCTOBER. I would love to see some snow, but don't want to get caught in a blizzard! I checked out the Hidden Ridge Resort site- it looks very nice. I can't wait to hear about your trip!
Sunni- I'll check out the glacier tour, that sounds fun!
G22- I'll check out that Canmore area, that could work for us, too. We plan to drive around and do some short hikes, nothing hard core. The glaciers are a definite must see!

I'm glad to hear so many positive reviews of the area. I'm getting excited!!

[Deleted]

Aug 8, 2013 20:48:26 GMT -5 caddywompus said:

Thanks again everyone-
Fabkc-We will definitely do our due diligence to make sure that the sights we want to see will still be open.
Stephaniejinx-Thanks for the heads up. I checked the weather almanac/forecast and it said it would be highs around 50 and lows in the 30's. We are planning to go around the first half of OCTOBER. I would love to see some snow, but don't want to get caught in a blizzard! I checked out the Hidden Ridge Resort site- it looks very nice. I can't wait to hear about your trip!
Sunni- I'll check out the glacier tour, that sounds fun!
G22- I'll check out that Canmore area, that could work for us, too. We plan to drive around and do some short hikes, nothing hard core. The glaciers are a definite must see!

I'm glad to hear so many positive reviews of the area. I'm getting excited!!

I had my trip there this past weekend and it was great. I liked the Hidden Ridge Resort. I had reserved a one bedroom room with a pullout couch in the living room, but I got a free upgrade to a loft suite. This room included two queen beds and a half bath upstairs and a living room/kitchen, bedroom and full bath downstairs. We had windows with mountain views on both sides of the room. 

I had dinner at the Primrose at the Rimrock hotel. Since my dinner reservation was at an early time (6pm), I was able to request a window table. The view was fantastic.

By far, the nicest hotel in Banff is the Fairmont. We drove by just to look at it and the hotel is gorgeous (it's where the celebs stay when in Banff).

We tried to go into downtown Banff on Friday night, but it was crazy crowded and there was no parking. However, their public transport is decent. We were given free bus passes with our room. We used this to go downtown Saturday morning to have breakfast and walk around.

I can't comment much on activities as we pretty well just drove around. I'm fortunate, though, because I live only a 4 hour drive from Banff, so I wasn't under pressure to try to fit everything in during one trip.

[caddywompus]

Thanks  Stephaniejinx  I'm glad to hear you had a good time! 

I haven't booked our hotel yet, I know the Fairmont is gorgeous, but too $$$$.

We'll have our rental car, but it's good to know their public transportation is decent if we need to use it.

I hadn't even thought about making reservations for dinner!  ...putting that on my list....

Thanks again- I'll post after I get back!

[Deleted]

Aug 15, 2013 11:38:31 GMT -5 caddywompus said:

Thanks  Stephaniejinx  I'm glad to hear you had a good time! 

I haven't booked our hotel yet, I know the Fairmont is gorgeous, but too $$$$.

We'll have our rental car, but it's good to know their public transportation is decent if we need to use it.

I hadn't even thought about making reservations for dinner!  ...putting that on my list....

Thanks again- I'll post after I get back!

For dinner, there's a $$$ restaurant in the Rimrock named Eden that is very highly rated.

There are tons of restaurants in downtown Banff. Many are just standard chains. Those restaurants wouldn't require reservations, I imagine.