Banff & nearby parks

Know next to nothing about Banff. Have no choice but see it this summer as daughter and family can’t travel shoulder season like us empty nesters. Don’t want hotels but will either need two 2 BR cabins or on larger 4BR cabin to fit everyone. They don’t seem abundant anywhere close based on a VBRO search for mid late summer. Any suggestions on what to see and vacation rentals appreciated. Thinking we might fly into Calgary from Minneapolis and possibly return from Vancover to MN. Or, is it better to just go in and out of Vancover? Spend somewhere around a full week plus in the parks. Plus a night or 2 in one or both Calgary or Vancover for around 10-12 days total

Calgary is the right airport for Banff. Would you consider a backcountry lodge? There are lots of great options. Cabins are in fact not abundant.

What’s the total number of people?

You need to remember that Banff is 500 to 600 miles from Vancouver. If you are looking to spend your time in the Banff/Lake Louise area, Calgary is the airport of choice.

In the summer, all the roads will be fine, I am sure, but Can 1 is a very heavily used truck route, and I hear it gets pretty busy in the summer. (I have traveled the roads in the winter only)

I would think banff, and further west ski towns like Golden, Revelstoke, Kamloops should have VRBO places that you could stay.

Thanks David, it will be all family. 5 adults and 2 boys 3 & 6 by then. 7 total with the boys. Not sure what you mean by “back country” cabin. With the 2 boys along we want to be handy to a decent supermarket. Plus my wife likes to cook. Close to a town with a few decent restaurants for a few nights out would be good too. We’ll have a SUV rental but don’t want to drive out of our way more than around 10 miles to get to town.

Thanks Paul for your thoughts on the area. Is there one or two towns that you feel would be the ideal place to base our cabin. or, should we rent in one town for 3-5 days and then move to another town for the remaining 3-5 days?

Golden might be a neat place to base. The other option in Canmore, which is about 15 kilometers east of Banff (i.e. closer to Calgary).

If you want access to grocery, and to do your own cooking, then Canmore and Golden can work.

Revelstoke and Kamloops are too far out of the way IMO.

I’ve been up there a couple of times (we stay at the Post Hotel in Lake Louise).

Fwiw, imho, I hate the town of banff. Its so crowded it detracts from having any sense of being in a national park (for me anyways). I avoid it at all costs when up there.

My advice is stay outside of Banff, but not out in Canmore (a city by my standards). Try to find somewhere in the middle of the park, more or less from Castle Junction north to Lake Louise “greater area” to start…

Look at the place that is right on Moraine lake for example.

I found this link from a quick websearch, but I don’t know this site nor the places it lists, but they look fantastic…

Oh, gotta echo the others. Calgary is the to/from airport you want. UNLESS you want to add a multi-day trip west with stops along the way. Also, if I’m making a trip to see the canadian rockies, I don’t waste one day in calgary. I fly in, get a car, and get to the rockies. Drive straight back to the car rental return when departing.

Lastly, VRBO and AirBNB will not be productive tools for lodging in the park. There just aren’t a lot of private residences. Use good ol google, trip advisor and sites like booking.com or hotels.com (yes, they have cabins with kitchens too, not solely hotels).

I think Canmore is your best bet for rental options and has suitable services given kids & wanting grocery stores.
Sort of right at the start of most points of interest moving west, but has decent town-like infrastructure (everyone that works in Banff lives in Canmore) and a good base if there’s a day the little ones don’t want to do much. Right behind Canmore are some great places for hiking or exploring like Three sisters or Bow Valley park. Banff is a few minutes drive for shopping/ restaurants.

If driving from Canmore - Banff & the park boundary is just a few minutes (mid-summer can be busier), about 45-50 minutes to Lake Louise and about an hour or a bit more to Yoho is the less popular/ well known gem of the park (or near it). Not sure if the kids would be able to make the Louise/ Agnes area hikes due to hike length to some of the tea houses or the side trails, but something you or the parents should look into. Some amazing views on some of the side hikes, like little beehive.

David may be on to a good idea. A few days in Canmore for the Banff area stuff, then a few days in Golden to hit Kicking Horse & Glacier NP. Lake Louise is about the same distance as it is from Canmore the opposite way. Radium hot springs is southwest of Banff along the same valley as Golden, but has decent infrastructure too.

Wouldn’t be a wine board without mentioning wine, Canmore has liquor/ wine stores, but in Banff is Banff Wine store which has a much more interesting selection as they were able to grandfather their import licence when the province took over admin of the privitized alc sales, so they can still bring in some things you won’t find in other stores and still seem to be interested in carrying good wines. AB has a flat tax on wine, so pricing is a bit different to other provinces so often works out on premium wine vs. low-end.

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While I have been around the area multiple times, it has always been in the winter to go skiing. So I have no real basis to tell you where to stay in summer. I will tell you that Lake Louise is beautiful and should not be missed. Revelstoke is a neat little town and I would pick it over Golden. While Banff and Canmore will have the infrastructure, I don’t think Canmore has any charm at all, and Banff is simply 95% a tourist town. Personally, I would head further west. It is simply beautiful country, and I am looking forward to getting up there off-season and exploring it (off-season for me is non-ski season [cheers.gif] )

  1. You’ll love it - really beautiful
  2. Do R/T from Calgary
  3. Suggest spending part near Lake Louise and then drive Icefields Parkway north to Jasper, and stay in that area a couple of days. You’ll want to drive the parkway anyway, and if you try to do it all in a day and return to the same place you won’t be able to do any hiking or much sightseeing. It’s easily a day with stops at the things you should see in one direction. But if you don’t stop you can do it in a relatively short time. FWIW, most of the trucks get off 1 just north of Lake Louise where it heads west. Icefields Parkway goes north.

As for lodging, prepare to take out your wallet. The seasons are short so the prices are high - but it’s definitely worth it.

One other pointer - not sure what flights to MN are like, but consider spending the last night in the Calgary Airport Marriott. We did that in order to take a 6am flight (only way to get back to east coast on United). Made things pretty smooth - turned in rental car at airport, walked into terminal, checked in at hotel, and woke up painfully early the next morning, picked up some Tim Horton’s and off we went.

Icefields Parkway from Banff to Jasper is incredible. If you do it, download an app that will narrate the trip. One of our most memorable travel experiences.

Banff is insanely crowded in the summer. Nonetheless, it is still a spectacular place. We stayed in the middle of town and it is nice to be able to walk to dinner.

Flying into Calgary is the way to go.

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Also insanely crowded - Lake Louise itself. And if you thought it’s insanely crowded, just try getting up to Moraine Lake!

Tip - get up really early and go to Moraine lake before they start enforcing the parking restrictions at 7am. Beat it out of there and head to Lake Louise to grab parking before 8am.

We could not bring ourselves to get up that early on vacation. Went to Peyto Lake instead. No complaints and we were able to find some solitude.
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Yeah, it was rough that morning . . . Peyto lake is easily one of the most beautiful overlooks there is. Too bad the sun wasn’t out for you!

Adding on to this thread to report back on the amazing trip we just had, 8 days in and out of Calgary, focused on day hikes in Banff/Jasper parks, with food/wine admittedly an afterthought.

First, Calgary - our trip happened to line up with the Calgary Stampede (a massive weeklong rodeo/fair) and we spent a day among the crowds there. It was a blast (as long as you are not a diehard PETA-type). The bucking bronco competition was really a sight. I feel far worse for the riders than the horses. Stopped in at Phil & Sebastian for coffee, the one by the river with a Sidewalk Citizen Bakery right next to it. Good combo. The food choices at the Stampede are of the fried Oreo and over the top everything variety. We settled on the (shockingly good) pickle pizza and a very tasty softshell crab bao! Drove to Canmore that night as the base for our first couple days and stumbled upon Where The Buffalo Roam Saloon, which had (again, shockingly good) some cheffy plates like chimichurri potatos loaded with fresh herbs, plus really interesting cocktail/beer/wine lists. I asked to try a couple of interesting-sounding Canadian natural wines (one was PINOT NOIR, WILD FERMENTED, LIGHTFOOT & WOLFVILLE, ANNAPOLIS VALLEY, NS) and they were both dreadful. The cocktails and beers were much better.

In the AM, hit up Rocky Mountain Bagel Co because it opened early and had good reviews online and, my goodness, I have not had a worse bagel since microwaving Lenders as a kid. Nearby Eclipse coffee roasters redeemed the town’s AM offerings, though. We tackled Ha Ling Peak as our first hike, which we regretted - very steep, lots of stairs (I have a bad knee that does NOT like stairs), and views that are stunning but still pale in comparison to what lies down the road in Banff and Jasper parks. Saw a mountain goat closeup at Grassi Lake on the way back into town. Drove over to walk around Banff, and despite the town being very touristy and crowded, the riverside trail is lovely (with an extensive art installation) and the view of the falls is quite nice. Had a decent lunch at Canadian upscalish mini-chain Una Pizza.

Next day was rainy, but we were lucky to have the Johnston Canyon to Inkpot Trail as our destination, as it’s mostly wooded with views of the river and falls as the highlight. Despite the rain, it was crowded, but thinned out completely after the Lower and Upper Falls trail ended and the Inkpots trail began. A nice hike mainly because it’s very different than the other lake/mountain/glacier centric hikes to the north. Stopped at Lake Louise in the afternoon because we had time and the weather was decent (with a bad forecast for the next day), got parking easily ($21 CAD), and did the stunning lakeshore trail. Crowded around the entry to the lake, but it quiets down quickly as you soon as you walk a couple hundred yards even. Settled in at the Post Hotel and really enjoyed the restaurant experience there. They claim the largest wine cellar in Canada? The list had all kinds of tempting options, but I decided to go with a special pairing alongside the special asparagus-rooted tasting menu - mainly because we didn’t want full bottles of either a red or white, so were comparing vs. the by the glass and half bottle menus. The somm was very knowledgable and helpful, and the wines paired nicely but were (as is typical of such pairings) kinda pedestrian, lower-end wines. An 02 Moulin Touchais with dessert was the highlight, with others including a 16 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Viognier In the Rocks, 20 Château La Sauvageonne Coteaux du Languedoc La Villa, 20 Marcel Deiss Alsace Complantation, 20 Hiedler Grüner Veltliner Thal. Wife had a nice but forgettable cab by the glass to go with the exceptional bison tenderloin on the main menu. Oh, and we really enjoyed a bottle of Taittinger Brut Réserve on the house (for our anniversary) in the room before dinner. The food was Continental meets Canadian meets kinda shooting for Michelin level but also trying to be casual enough for all the hikers to enjoy : ) In addition to the bison, the asparagus and morels risotto was especially well done.

Next day, had a 8am reservation for a private Moraine Lake shuttle (no cars allowed any more). The hike up to Sentinel Pass was up there with our favorites of the trip, despite fast-moving clouds and fog that frequently obliterated the views but then cleared for a pocket. Spent the rest of the day hiking around the lake and appreciating the insane, impossible, color of the water. Dinner at Post’s pub, very casual, probably better than other options around there, but honestly not great.

Following day was greeted with dense fog and what we soon learned was heavy haze from distant wildfires. It gave a haunting and eerie vibe to our hike out to the Plain of 6 Glaciers, which is rather stark and barren (though beautiful) to begin with. Hiked out to the Tea House (fun!) and then to the end of the trail, witnessed a massive glacier calving/avalanche across the valley, and then felt good enough to bolt on the Big Beehive to Lake Agnes trail. Very steep, but the views are worth it, and the neighboring valley around Lake Agnes somehow avoided the same degree of haze as the valley around Lake Louise, which was interesting. We apparently missed a juvenile grizzly by about a minute as an excited handful of hikers came scurrying our way. Hiked down to Agnes in a group so as to avoid being a potential grizzly meal : ) This was a rather massive hiking day (roughly 13 miles), but really rewarding for the diversity of terrain and sights, plus the unique opportunity to visit a remote (hike-in only) Tea House. Dinner back at the Pub.

Next morning, up and out to the Icefields Parkway. Spotted four black bears (all individually) roadside. Actually, spotted the cars pulled over, and then the bears. Another very hazy day unfortunately, but also fortunately, because the effect on Bow Lake in particular was amazing. Mirror to the extreme of the surrounding mountains. Also stopped at Peyto Lake overlook, Mistaya Canyon, Athabasca Falls, the Columbia Icefield (and walk up towards the toe of the glacier), all well worth stopping for. Saw some mountain goats blending in with the hills right by the road. Still had time for a hike, so did the Valley of Five Lakes outside Jasper town. Nice, some beautiful and unique colors (more green) in the lakes, but not a standout among the hikes of the week. Hit Kumama in Jasper for dinner and I can not recommend this place highly enough, even though it’s bit out of town in a weird little cabin inn enclave - creative, very quality and local-minded as far as sourcing, really interesting drinks, still casual and not quite fully formed. It was so good we went back for breakfast the next morning, which was maybe even better. My goodness their breakfast sandwich is among the best I ever had.

Hit Malign Lake road, saw several individual male elk with nice antlers, made our way out the boat ride to Spirit Island. Still lots of haze, but again it didn’t take too much away from the awesome experience. That afternoon, we picked up sandwiches in town at Patricia Street Deli (a must!) and headed out to the Edith Cavell hike, which might have been the best of the trip. First, you able up towards the glacier and it’s bright turquoise lake, then head up the mountain through wildflowers and steep meadows to the barren peak overlooking the glacier across the valley. Really really amazing views, very “alpine.” Saw a very cute, chubby, and friendly marmot on the trail. Mandatory hike if you ask me. Dinner back in town at Neighborhood, which has an eclectic small plates menu leaning hipster middle eastern (?) but also a fun, natural-leaning wine list. We got a couple different Field Recordings wines by the glass, and a delicious Chilean pinot as well.

Breakfast at Aussie cafe Sunhouse, great coffee, good (but messy) avocado toast. Did the Maligne Canyon trails (crowded, nice, but doesn’t compare to other hikes and sights around), then hit the road back down to Canmore - the haze had lifted by this point, so we got a very different experience and views than the way up. We actually got to see much more of the surrounding mountains, most importantly, which we had missed out on. The air continued to clear, and we decided to trek out to the 6 Glaciers hike once more, which proved to be very different view-wise than 3 days prior. Still great : ). Fantastic porcupine spotting experience, watching him wobble down the trail in front of us for a bit. Dinner in Banff at the Park Distillery (very decent BC salmon).

Last morning coffee at Eclipse in Canmore and a walk along the river there, spotting a small herd of elk. We learned that The Last of Us filmed a scene on the bridge we walked across, which was nice to discover. Back to Calgary, a quick stop at Phil & Sebastian for more delicious caffeine, then on to the airport! What a trip!

Will share too many photos below…

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At the Stampede:

Ha Ling Peak Hike:

Lake Louise (first of three visits):

Moraine Lake (the most stunning color):


Sentinel Pass:

The haze on Lake Louise (visit 2):

The Tea House (glacier in the background):

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Bow Lake view in the haze (maybe my favorite photo of the trip):

Columbia Icefield:

Valley of 5 Lakes:

Maligne Lake /Spirit Island (still quite a bit of haze):

Edith Cavell hike / glacier:

Back to Peyto Lake on a clear day:

(out of order) Mountain goat on Grassi Lake near Canmore:

(out of order) The hike up to Sentinel Pass above Maligne Lake:

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Damn. Some beautiful pics. Looks like a great trip @bradkaplan

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Here are some side by sides showing the same spots 3 days apart (one with major wildfire haze, one without):

Bow Lake (the wind or lack thereof makes as big a difference as the haze! and time of day/sun direction as well):

Plain of 6 Glaciers looking back at Lake Louise:

The edge of Lake Louise, where the glacier melt enters:

And a bonus… Canmore bridge as seen in The Last of Us and as seen by US:

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Super cool. Thanks for sharing. I have a Calgary>Banff>Golden>Jasper week planned for next June and will refer back to this when planning.

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