Working on our plans for trip to the Canadian Rockies in June. Banff, Jasper, Icefields are on the agenda. Any suggestions for the area would be appreciated. Places to stay, things to see and do. Road conditions and routes.

In Banff, make reservations at Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court, or Tunnel Mountain Village II, if you want hook-ups.Lake Louise, make reservations at Lake Louise Trailer Court. (We usually tour Lake Louise and the lower portion of the Icefields Parkway from Banff.)In Jasper, make reservations at Whistlers.Banff is touristy, lots of shops and places to eat. The Gondola ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain is expensive, but provides spectacular views of Banff and the Bow Valley. You should see Bow Falls and Lake Minnewanka.In Lake Louise: Lake Louise, obviously. But don't miss Moraine Lake. If you like hiking, the Boom Lake hike to a beautiful alpine lake is not difficult. We also like the more difficult Taylor Lake hike, which takes you to a spectacular waterfall. Marble Canyon, actually in Kootenay National Park, is fabulous. We enjoyed Johnson Canyon. The Silverton Falls hike was a little scary, because we took two of our dogs and there were a couple of narrow sections.I won't list all of the things along the Ice Fields Parkway - don't miss any of them. The upper portion, down to the Columbia Icefields discovery Centre, we do from Jasper. I must suggest the short movie at the Columbia Icefields Discovery Centre. It is the best short movie I have seen at a visitors' center.There is much to do in Jasper, Mount Edith Cavell, Maligne Canyon, Medicine Lake, and Maligne Lake. We have often seen bears on the drive to Patricia and Pyramid Lakes. Pyramid Lake has secluded picnic/swimming areas, where we let the dogs swim - too cold for our southern blood.Have a great trip.Tom

I second the recommendation on not missing Moraine Lake.

I recommend dry camping in the icefields discovery center parking area. The north part has spaces you can overnight for a small fee payable at a kiosk in the parking area. From there you can leisurely explore the area and take a large wheeled bus into the glacier.

southernsky wrote:Working on our plans for trip to the Canadian Rockies in June. Banff, Jasper, Icefields are on the agenda. Any suggestions for the area would be appreciated. Places to stay, things to see and do. Road conditions and routes.What do you like to do? How much hiking can you do in a day? Do you want to be with hoards of people or do you seek a more solitary experience? Do you need FHU or can you dry camp?

You can boondocks right at the ice fields for one night, hear it cracking! Also a museum and restaurant. It is in the middle of nowhere in the mountains, make sure you have everything, did it 3 times now

Canadian Rockies in June 18 | Good Sam Community

JKJavelin
Explorer III
Dec 24, 2017
Not trying to hijack the thread, but I'm about to retire and we're also planning a trip to Banff/ Jasper next summer. What's a reasonable amount of time to spend in the area. The plan is to get a reservation for Tunnel Mountain on Jan. 10 (first day to make reservations).
FLY_4_FUN
Explorer
Dec 24, 2017
JKJavelin wrote:
Not trying to hijack the thread, but I'm about to retire and we're also planning a trip to Banff/ Jasper next summer. What's a reasonable amount of time to spend in the area. The plan is to get a reservation for Tunnel Mountain on Jan. 10 (first day to make reservations).

If your retired then hopefully your schedule is quite flexible. We have visited Jasper a few dozen times....and I like to go for 5-7 days. There are so many day trips, hikes, bikes, tram, waterfalls, townsite, golf course that I like to plan 1-2 activities a day. Please don't rush yourself if you can add a few days and TRULY see the place. Spend some time at the info center and learn the best places to visit. Sometimes you need to hike an hour to see the really amazing stuff! Banff is a bit more "touristy" but still world class. I cant imagine driving so far and then overnighting but I see it every year....rigs pull in, then the tow vehicle heads out for 14 hours and then back at night and gone at 8am. I cant imagine how they really got to explore everything in a single day. Just my .02 and I realize that not everybody has a month to travel western Canada but if you do come then stay a while.
canadafan
Explorer
Dec 28, 2017
No real problems in mid June but many of the smaller (good) campgrounds don't open until the end of the month and some of these have size limits.
Be aware that all the campgrounds between Banff and including Lake Louise ( The Bow Valley Parkway) are close to the railway, Castle Mountain is the furthest away, so take your ear-plugs!

Trevor

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