Is Sept too late for visiting Canadian Rockies?

How far north are you planning to go? When we were in Fort St John, Fort Nelson Toad River, Muncho Lake, etc.--July 2009 the temp was around 65. People in Toad River told me the average winter temp was very definitely in the minus column. As in northern Alaska you can definitely notice a drop in temp starting in Aug. Lars

Here is a great article on September weather in Banff. The answer is "it depends". The average daytime temperature in September for Banff is 61F (16.1C). The night-time lows average 37F (2.8C). Of course, those are averages, and you can go from one extreme to another pretty quickly. If it were me, I'd go, but be prepared to adjust your schedule in case you have to wait out a day or two of snow.

Banff Weather for September

Jim

I have no problems camping in the rockies in September

As a Canadian resident we stay in Canada from Mid April til Mid Oct. We stay west of Calgary in Alberta so we are not to far from the rockies in south Canada. We get snowed on once or twice before heading south in mid Oct and once or twice in late Apr. Sept could be a mixed bag but the tourists will be less (kids in school etc). You could have 70 degrees or 40, totally sunny or rainy. We like to go to Banff in Sept and its usually fine. Sept won't be like summer but it would be rare to see snow.

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, I have 24,000+ words about our September 18-19, 2015 stay in Jasper on my blog, and you can follow the trip in both directions from that page if you choose. The summary - it's an excellent time to go if for no other reason than to avoid the crowds.

Sept 2015, driving the Alaska Highway through the Rockies...we first had to go south towards Dawson Creek, then north to get back home
http://yukonsights.ca/20150908_Liard-MunchoLk.html

But you likely mean the Rockies around Banff & Jasper, Alberta ?

Spent 3 weeks last Sept in the CA Rockies. Had almost all of the weather this world could supply during that time!!! Started out in the 60's, 2" of snow near Banff, sun and warmth going up to Jasper on the Icefields Parkway, great all around weather at Jasper, and heavy rain heading to the south the last week. Weather got real nice again when we crossed back into WA!!!

Sept is a great time to go, colors are super, as shown, weather is never solid. But that wouldn't keep us from doing it again. Only big negative was the crowds. Didn't think it would be as busy as it was. Constant flow of rental MH's, and other RV's!! No reservation sites were almost non-existent. Don't know if it was the superb fall colors that were on display, but so busy after the Labor Day weekend was unexpected. Possibly due to so many of the smaller Nat Park campgrounds being closed.

Go for it, but plan ahead, and make any reservations you think you need well ahead of time!!

I would suggest that it's the best time, kids are back in school so lots of people have given up camping for the season. More selection for camp sites, fall colours are beautiful. You may run into some snow but it's pretty unusual during September.

We went the last part of September in '12 and loved it. The last part of the month some places start shutting down.

September is our favorite time to camp in Banff but it can get cold, particularly at the end of the month. You shouldn't have to worry about freezing too much, but you might encounter some snow. It usually doesn't stick around though.

There are a lot fewer people so the attractions will be less crowded. Also, some of the best hiking is in the fall. Google Larch Valley hiking and see what I mean.

We've camped in Banff into October some years, but we usually just plan to go up when we see the weather. Tunnel Mountain Campground (Banff)closes October 2 this year and Whistler's (Jasper) closes October 10.

If there is snow, you will not want to travel on the highway from Banff to Jasper until it is cleared. The good thing is that it is rare to get that much snow in September.

I'd highly recommend going especially if you can go early in the month when the weather is more reliable.