Scott Stoness wrote:
Tim: September is wonderful with the 3rd week in September being the best.
For Banff Landscapes near road:
1) Vermillion Lake is easy from banff - 10 minutes - and always works for sunrise.
2) Two jack Lake is easy from banff - 15 minutes - on the minnewanka highway
3) Morain Lake is spectacular in Jun from the rock pile - about 40 minutes from Banff
4) Herbert Lake is very nice for Sunrise - about 10 minutes from Lake Louise - 5km up icefields parkway
5) Peyto Lookout is very easy from highway
6) Bow Lake sunrise with fall colors is spectacular
7) Wedge Pond in Kananaskis is great for sunrise
8) Highwood Pass in Kananaskis is one of my favorites
For Banff area wildlife:
1) The elk in early morning willl be herding on the drive to Minnewanka - this is a good spot
2) For grizzly - go to Kananaskis - they will be eating the berries along the road - late evening mid week is best. Give me a pm when you get closer and I will tell you where they are
3) For moose - Kananaskis - near Engridine lodge either early or late and usually you will get great pictures
4) For bighorn - near Exshaw between Canmore and Morley. Alternatively, drive to Radium Hot Springs and you will see lots of bighorn.
For Jasper Landscapes:
1) Medicine Lake either sunrise or sunset
2) Patricia Lake sunset
3) Edith Cavel - sunrise just down from hostel
4) Tangle falls - is great
5) Take the boat tour to spririt island on Maligne - they don't give you much time but what a spot
6) Helicopter to Berg Lake - in and out - spectacular
For Jasper Animals:
1) Elk, Elk, Elk bugling, mating... near Jasper park lodge is my favorite spot in the smaller lakes but almost anywhere early morning.
2) The drive to Maligne lake usually produces great bears, elk opportunity
3) Early morning toward Miette is opportunity for wolves - buty you have to be luck. Same for bighorn and mountain goats.
If you are only doing 1 hike, hike the Larch trail early in the morning. Give me a call and I will go with you.
If you are doing a 2nd hike, reserve Lake Ohara, and walk up to opabum basin.
Helicopter to Mount Assiniboine for landscapes shots - they are spectacular.
Follow my link to smugmug and pick a picture and ask me and I will give you directions.
Baker Creek Chalet is a great central spot for Lake Louise/Banff
Jasper Park Lodge is my favorite in Jasper but Beckers Chalet is another great choice.
Charlie Shugart wrote:
Tim- Lots of excellent suggestions from people more knowledgeable of the two parks than I.
But here's my $.02 worth:
In Jasper- the drive past Medicine Lake and on to Maligne Lake is always great for dramatic close-up rugged mountain scenery (worth more than one trip, perhaps- especially if the weather changes). It often is also good for wildlife- especially bighorn sheep.
The boat trip on Maligne Lake to Spirit Island is excellent. The way to beat (sometimes) the brief turnaround is to be there early on a weekday. Ask if you can take a boat excursion to the island, skip its return, and catch it on the next trip. I did that and it was perfect!
Charlie...Show more →
Great stuff Charlie!! Thank you very much my friend
Scott Stoness wrote:
If you are going to Kananaskis, I would drive down highway 40 and then come back on gravel road toward Canmore. Beyond Engredine lodge you will find moose but not as frequently as the section near Engridine lodge.
in September, from past years the best spots for grizzly are near the lower end of the paved road to Highwood pass. There are lots of bufalo berries, and they are there to fatten up.
Delta hotel in Kananaskis is good.
Just can't stop can you Scott
Thank you, you are too kind, you assistance is priceless
Aaah, yes! I remember Kananaskis Days, when you could go for hay rides, etc.
Scott, Tim, Canadajim, send me PMs of your favorite places. You guys are getting me so worked up I might get a heart attack anytime.
Mt. Edith Cavell: I remember seeing a ice-filled lake at its base. A great story about Edith Cavell too. Aaah, yes! I remember Kananaskis Days, when you could go for hay rides, etc.
Scott, Tim, Canadajim, send me PMs of your favorite places. You guys are getting me so worked up I might get a heart attack anytime.
P.S. Sorry about the double post. I thought the first one didn't register
Scott Stonnes is full of wisdom when it comes to Canadian Rockies as he gave me some amazing advice about times and places.
Just a few things to add that others have left out... while in Banff drive the Bow Valley Parkway (Hwy 1A)... it's loaded with bears, has sheep and the potential for moose. There are some good landscape op's here as well. In fact, there is a great spot to photograph the ever-present train backed by fall colors from this road. While that might not seem exciting, when you see the spot, you'll understand. BTW, the griz from my first link was shot from this road.
I did not see anyone say anything about Lake Louise... it is an icon of the area and should be shot both during sunrise and sunset. Tamy and I were there at 4:00 a.m. two weeks ago to shoot sunrise... we were along for 90 minutes. Fortunately for you, sunrise will be later but with that comes the crowds.
Bow lake on the Icefield Hwy is spectacular, as is most of the hwy... too many spots to suggest... drive it twice as there are lots of wildlife (grizzlies, black bears, wolves, moose, elk, sheep, goats, coyotes) that can be seen near the road. In addition there are endless landscape opportunities with reflecting pools and glaciers.
In addition to the 4 days at Banff we spent four in Jasper and 4 in Radium Hotsprings. It's too bad that you won't be hiking as Jasper and Banff are great for hiking while Radium is a driver's dream. The Maligne Lake road in Jasper is a great wildlife drive w/ opportunities to see nearly everything Banff has to offer. In addition, Medicine Lake is a beautiful spot for landscapes... it's about half-way along the road. We saw more elk near the town of Jasper than anywhere else, and I here that that the males are really active in that area during fall.
If you get a chance, visit Radium Hot Springs. We saw many more bears and many fewer people at Radium than anywhere else. The road through the park had more bears than I can recall and we had our best opportunities for adult bighorn males in that area. The Ranger at the park indicated that the males compete near the campground and town during Fall... I think that you might be visiting at just the right time.
Finally, I suggest that you buy Darwin Wiggett's e-books on the rockies. Send me an email if you want more info about this or our trip.
cheers,
bruce
dalite wrote:
Mt. Edith Cavell: I remember seeing a ice-filled lake at its base. A great story about Edith Cavell too. Aaah, yes! I remember Kananaskis Days, when you could go for hay rides, etc.
Scott, Tim, Canadajim, send me PMs of your favorite places. You guys are getting me so worked up I might get a heart attack anytime.
P.S. Sorry about the double post. I thought the first one didn't register
Scott Stonnes is full of wisdom when it comes to Canadian Rockies as he gave me some amazing advice about times and places.
Just a few things to add that others have left out... while in Banff drive the Bow Valley Parkway (Hwy 1A)... it's loaded with bears, has sheep and the potential for moose. There are some good landscape op's here as well. In fact, there is a great spot to photograph the ever-present train backed by fall colors from this road. While that might not seem exciting, when you see the spot, you'll understand. BTW, the griz from my first link was shot from this road.
I did not see anyone say anything about Lake Louise... it is an icon of the area and should be shot both during sunrise and sunset. Tamy and I were there at 4:00 a.m. two weeks ago to shoot sunrise... we were along for 90 minutes. Fortunately for you, sunrise will be later but with that comes the crowds.
Bow lake on the Icefield Hwy is spectacular, as is most of the hwy... too many spots to suggest... drive it twice as there are lots of wildlife (grizzlies, black bears, wolves, moose, elk, sheep, goats, coyotes) that can be seen near the road. In addition there are endless landscape opportunities with reflecting pools and glaciers.
In addition to the 4 days at Banff we spent four in Jasper and 4 in Radium Hotsprings. It's too bad that you won't be hiking as Jasper and Banff are great for hiking while Radium is a driver's dream. The Maligne Lake road in Jasper is a great wildlife drive w/ opportunities to see nearly everything Banff has to offer. In addition, Medicine Lake is a beautiful spot for landscapes... it's about half-way along the road. We saw more elk near the town of Jasper than anywhere else, and I here that that the males are really active in that area during fall.
If you get a chance, visit Radium Hot Springs. We saw many more bears and many fewer people at Radium than anywhere else. The road through the park had more bears than I can recall and we had our best opportunities for adult bighorn males in that area. The Ranger at the park indicated that the males compete near the campground and town during Fall... I think that you might be visiting at just the right time.
Finally, I suggest that you buy Darwin Wiggett's e-books on the rockies. Send me an email if you want more info about this or our trip.
cheers,
bruce ...Show more →
Thank you very much for the info Bruce, I greatly appreciate this.
