We'll be there late September...we've already booked our boat tour to Lake Maligne and a tour bus to Lake Moraine and Louise. Any suggestions you might like to share?
Here's the quick version of what we did / liked, wouldn't do again, and missed but would like to do. And take this as someone who's been there a grand total of one time. There are many here infinitely more familiar than me.
Flew in and out of Calgary (we added some days in Glacier but will stick to Canada for now).
Earlier and later at the parks avoided the crowds. Midday was tough to enjoy with the number of people. And the easier it was to get to a spot, the more crowded and less conscientious the crowd. The second part is sad but true. The old saying about there's not a big crowd when you go the extra mile is true here too.
We stayed in Canmore, Jasper and Emerald Lake. Canmore is further but less commercialized / national brand centric. Would stay there again. In Jasper, stayed in Jasper East Cabins which were great but 40 minutes past the town of Jasper. Was too far after a day on the icefields parkway. Emerald Lake Lodge was fantastic - would do that again.
Banff -
- Did Johnston Canyon to Ink Pots - great hike and would do that again.
- Lake Louise - Got to Lake Louise early and hiked to Agnes Teahouse and Little Beehive. That was great - not too crowded on the trail, the Teahouse was busy but not terrible. Big Beehive still had snow so we didn't attempt it. Would do that again but would want to do Big Beehive and go down via Plain of Six Glaciers.
- Moraine - had tickets for the bus and got to Moraine at about 2pm. The crowds were terrible - and not just because there were too many people. It's beautiful but would want to be there early or late.
Bow Valley parkway - not sure if it's fully open when you go or it's bikes only for a portion. We did a piece and had some great short hikes as well as the stop at Morant's Curve.
Icefields Parkway - would do this again in a heartbeat. Use ChatGPT or other AI to create a list of stops. For me - I ignored the Athabasca Glacier buses - too commercial for me. But to each their own. We made about 10 stops along the way. Every one was worth it. Parker Ridge hike was the highlight.
Jasper - didn't spend enough time. Went to Annette Lake and Pyramid Lake. Lots of wildlife there. Would go back and would definitely want to do the Maligne Lake cruise and more hikes.
Yoho - stayed at Emerald Lake Lodge and did short hikes around the lake. Went to Takakkaw Falls. Both were worth it for me.
PM me if you want more details. Happy to help.
Bob.
Al Trujillo wrote:
Beautiful images!
We'll be there late September...we've already booked our boat tour to Lake Maligne and a tour bus to Lake Moraine and Louise. Any suggestions you might like to share?
Thank you for your reply. We knew about some of this but you've shared new ideas we hadn't considered.
Al
volyrat wrote:
Here's the quick version of what we did / liked, wouldn't do again, and missed but would like to do. And take this as someone who's been there a grand total of one time. There are many here infinitely more familiar than me.
Flew in and out of Calgary (we added some days in Glacier but will stick to Canada for now).
Earlier and later at the parks avoided the crowds. Midday was tough to enjoy with the number of people. And the easier it was to get to a spot, the more crowded and less conscientious the crowd. The second part is sad but true. The old saying about there's not a big crowd when you go the extra mile is true here too.
We stayed in Canmore, Jasper and Emerald Lake. Canmore is further but less commercialized / national brand centric. Would stay there again. In Jasper, stayed in Jasper East Cabins which were great but 40 minutes past the town of Jasper. Was too far after a day on the icefields parkway. Emerald Lake Lodge was fantastic - would do that again.
Banff -
- Did Johnston Canyon to Ink Pots - great hike and would do that again.
- Lake Louise - Got to Lake Louise early and hiked to Agnes Teahouse and Little Beehive. That was great - not too crowded on the trail, the Teahouse was busy but not terrible. Big Beehive still had snow so we didn't attempt it. Would do that again but would want to do Big Beehive and go down via Plain of Six Glaciers.
- Moraine - had tickets for the bus and got to Moraine at about 2pm. The crowds were terrible - and not just because there were too many people. It's beautiful but would want to be there early or late.
Bow Valley parkway - not sure if it's fully open when you go or it's bikes only for a portion. We did a piece and had some great short hikes as well as the stop at Morant's Curve.
Icefields Parkway - would do this again in a heartbeat. Use ChatGPT or other AI to create a list of stops. For me - I ignored the Athabasca Glacier buses - too commercial for me. But to each their own. We made about 10 stops along the way. Every one was worth it. Parker Ridge hike was the highlight.
Jasper - didn't spend enough time. Went to Annette Lake and Pyramid Lake. Lots of wildlife there. Would go back and would definitely want to do the Maligne Lake cruise and more hikes.
Yoho - stayed at Emerald Lake Lodge and did short hikes around the lake. Went to Takakkaw Falls. Both were worth it for me.
Great captures of beautiful places. I especially like the Ink Pots and the Falls.
We went to Banff a few years go, didn't make it to Jasper. Later in the season, wasn't as much snow left. Lakes tints are not to be believed, shades of emerald to turquoise.
