Banff National park this summer?

crosscheck - good points. I like No. 3 since we've been up there and may just follow that advice. We're planning on September and dry camping since we are well equipped for that.

Another approach might be to go to some of the lesser-known national parks this year. Parks like Yoho, Kootenay, and Glacier (BC, not Montana) are not Banff and Jasper, but are still nearby, are in the Canadian Rockies, and likely won't have quite the crowds of those two.

A little (well, maybe a lot) further away are national parks like Riding Mountain and Grasslands. But both are on the way to the Canadian Rockies from anywhere in the East, even for Americans. We really enjoyed the wildlife viewing at Riding Mountain in September 2015. It was uncrowded even on a mild, beautifully sunny fall weekend. And that gorgeous, clear lake is perfect for kayaking or canoeing, summer or fall.

For a geologist and volunteer tour guide at Dinosaur Ridge near Denver, the fossils at Grasslands and its relative proximity to both the Montana border and to Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and the Royal Tyrrell Museum at Drumheller (superb!) are attractions. The star-gazing in the extremely dark skies at Grasslands is really just a bonus!

Haven't started planning yet, but we are excited about using our free Parks Canada Pass this fall.

3) Postpone the trip to the NPs for another time and go visit some of the over 1000 Provincial Parks in British Columbia. Most of them especial further north will have plenty of campsites available. BC with an area of 944,735 Km2 makes America's second largest state(Texas) with an area of 695,662 Km2 look almost puny. So there is lots of area to explore.

Think about it.

Dave

BC has the best provincial parks for camping.

I stayed at Tunnel Mountain Trailer court this past summer. I started in January for reservations since initially full. After several web site visits I obtained a site which, I guess, was from a cancellation. Just keep trying. If not, there is an overflow area at Lake Louise which I found to have many available sites in July, though are dry camp.

First time for us in the Canadian Rockies this year. Glad we booked sites the first day from the sound of things, and we're looking forward to it.

fanrgs wrote:
Another approach might be to go to some of the lesser-known national parks this year. Parks like Yoho, Kootenay, and Glacier (BC, not Montana) are not Banff and Jasper, but are still nearby, are in the Canadian Rockies, and likely won't have quite the crowds of those two.

A little (well, maybe a lot) further away are national parks like Riding Mountain and Grasslands. But both are on the way to the Canadian Rockies from anywhere in the East, even for Americans. We really enjoyed the wildlife viewing at Riding Mountain in September 2015. It was uncrowded even on a mild, beautifully sunny fall weekend. And that gorgeous, clear lake is perfect for kayaking or canoeing, summer or fall.

For a geologist and volunteer tour guide at Dinosaur Ridge near Denver, the fossils at Grasslands and its relative proximity to both the Montana border and to Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and the Royal Tyrrell Museum at Drumheller (superb!) are attractions. The star-gazing in the extremely dark skies at Grasslands is really just a bonus!

Haven't started planning yet, but we are excited about using our free Parks Canada Pass this fall.

Glacier NP (BC) is one of my favourites but it is not in the Canadian Rockies but rather in the Selkirks which are part of the Columbia Range. These have very different rock formation (volcanic) than the Rockies and are separated by the wide Columbia Valley.

Dave

crosscheck wrote:
Glacier NP (BC) is one of my favourites but it is not in the Canadian Rockies but rather in the Selkirks which are part of the Columbia Range. These have very different rock formation (volcanic) than the Rockies and are separated by the wide Columbia Valley.

Dave

Guess it depends on which definition of "Rocky Mountains" you are using. This is the physiographers' definition from Encyclopedia Britannica:

"Canadian Rockies, segment of the Rocky Mountains, extending southeastward for about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from northern British Columbia, Canada, and forming nearly half the 900-mile (1,500-km) border between the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. The Mackenzie and Selwyn mountains farther north along the border between the Northwest and Yukon territories are often included in the Canadian Rockies. To the west, the Rocky Mountain Trench (a geologic depression) separates the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies from the Columbia Mountains, which include the Cariboo, Selkirk, Monashee, and Purcell mountains and are also often considered part of the Rocky Mountain system."

fanrgs wrote:

crosscheck wrote:
Glacier NP (BC) is one of my favourites but it is not in the Canadian Rockies but rather in the Selkirks which are part of the Columbia Range. These have very different rock formation (volcanic) than the Rockies and are separated by the wide Columbia Valley.

Dave

Guess it depends on which definition of "Rocky Mountains" you are using. This is the physiographers' definition from Encyclopedia Britannica:

"Canadian Rockies, segment of the Rocky Mountains, extending southeastward for about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from northern British Columbia, Canada, and forming nearly half the 900-mile (1,500-km) border between the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. The Mackenzie and Selwyn mountains farther north along the border between the Northwest and Yukon territories are often included in the Canadian Rockies. To the west, the Rocky Mountain Trench (a geologic depression) separates the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies from the Columbia Mountains, which include the Cariboo, Selkirk, Monashee, and Purcell mountains and are also often considered part of the Rocky Mountain system."

Got that info from Wikepidia. You will have to look it up but it says that the Columbia Mountains which are made up of the Selkirks, Purcells, Monashees and Caribou Mts. and are geologically distinctly different from the nearby Rockies and are separated by the Columbia Valley. It also says that Glacier NP is made up of the northern Selkirks. Them English types from Encyclopedia Britanica don't know anything about their former colonies.

Dave

crosscheck wrote:

fanrgs wrote:

crosscheck wrote:
Glacier NP (BC) is one of my favourites but it is not in the Canadian Rockies but rather in the Selkirks which are part of the Columbia Range. These have very different rock formation (volcanic) than the Rockies and are separated by the wide Columbia Valley.

Dave

Guess it depends on which definition of "Rocky Mountains" you are using. This is the physiographers' definition from Encyclopedia Britannica:

"Canadian Rockies, segment of the Rocky Mountains, extending southeastward for about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from northern British Columbia, Canada, and forming nearly half the 900-mile (1,500-km) border between the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. The Mackenzie and Selwyn mountains farther north along the border between the Northwest and Yukon territories are often included in the Canadian Rockies. To the west, the Rocky Mountain Trench (a geologic depression) separates the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies from the Columbia Mountains, which include the Cariboo, Selkirk, Monashee, and Purcell mountains and are also often considered part of the Rocky Mountain system."

Got that info from Wikepidia. You will have to look it up but it says that the Columbia Mountains which are made up of the Selkirks, Purcells, Monashees and Caribou Mts. and are geologically distinctly different from the nearby Rockies and are separated by the Columbia Valley. It also says that Glacier NP is made up of the northern Selkirks. Them English types from Encyclopedia Britanica don't know anything about their former colonies.

Dave

I just read Wikipedia again and now I understand the confusion. In Canada, the Columbia Mountains are considered separate from the Rockies but in the States, their counterparts south of the border (Cabinet and Salish) are considered part of the Rockies.

Dave

I just booked a site in Tunnel Mountain village 2 for the long weekend in May. (Usually the worst gong show when camping in Canada cause its our first chance to camp after the long winter). Surprised there were lots of sites available.