Another question about Banff to Jasper

[Floridafrances]

Hi all.

I've gone back through the posts in this forum for a year gleening all the information I can. I have a 12 page word document with the advice I've cut and pasted, mostly from your answers to the post K_and_I made. I've read, and bookmarked Profdant139's blog.

But with only a few days before the reservations open for Jasper and Banff NPs,I'm beginning to panic because I still don't know how to divide our time.

We'll have 10 days (11 nights) and could probably stretch that by a couple more. I think we want to spend one (maybe 2?) nights in the parking lot at the Icefields VC just the for experience of sleeping next to - and hopefully listening to - a glacier.

We have dry camped before, but never for more than 4 nights. So hook-ups aren't necessary, but electric is always welcome. We prefer public over private campgrounds.

We're avid amateur photographers. We love day hiking through beautiful scenery, interesting geologic features, and using the Jeep to drive lesser traveled roads - especially when those roads take us to the other things we enjoy doing.

We are obligated to go to the aviation museum in Calgary on one of days when in that area. Other than that, we can divide our days/nights as we please.

Should we spend our time for Banff and Lake Louise areas somewhere between the 2? Then go up to the Icefields before preceding on up to Jasper?

Also, will we need more days for the Banff/Lake Louise part, than for Jasper area? Or about the same number of days for each? I just haven't been able to get a feel for how long the various hikes/drives/"things" will take. We're get up before dawn and stay out until dark people, if that helps.

I've been working working part time since before Halloween to help a friend, which has put a real dent in my trip planning time. I normally spend most of a year researching for a trip. But the chance to include this area that I've hoped to visit "one day" popped up unexpectedly. I talked my husband into going. Now I have to make the most of it.

Thank you so much for any advice you can give me.

Safe travels.

[Floridafrances]

Blazing Zippers,

I thought I'd answered this, but the post doesn't show, so I'll try again.

Thanks for the advice and comments. I've added this to my Word document for Canada 2019.

Safe travels.

[Blazing_Zippers]

We've been to the Icefields 3 times---wind BLOWS cold there! On July 5th, 2017, we stopped there in the A.M. and it was clear but really chilly.
Lake Louise, Takkakaw Falls, and Jasper are just the best. Banff (to us) is a rich persons village and we quickly left.
The Provincial park overflow camp ground in Jasper is quite nice-no hook ups and park anywhere you want. There is a small Provincial campground about 5 miles south of the Icefields--not very big, no hook ups, and a dump.
Have a great time.

[Kevinwa]

......

[Floridafrances]

Thanks, Kevin, that's my plan. I'm guilty of being an over-booker, too. I've done it for this trip, both in the U.S. and Canada.

I need to complete my research of things to see/do so I can decide exactly how many days we want to be in a particular place. Also, since the provincial parks have a 90 day booking window, I was afraid to wait.

[Kevinwa]

Floridafrances wrote:
Well, we survived the madness of the internet reservation system.

Managed today to get what we wanted at Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court and Lake Louise.

Yesterday was a mess up on my part. I had the opening dates for Jasper and Banff reversed. By the time I realized my mistake most of the electric spaces in Wapiti were gone. Did manage to get 2 nights there with the rest at Wabasso (unserviced). Hoping Wabasso doesn't get too hot at the end of June.

I'm sure we'll change some of it and spend so time in some of the provincial parks or other places to dry camp. But at least we know we had someplace to park the RV every night. I'll do my fine tuning later.

Thanks again for all the helpful replies. I'm open to any and all other suggestions.

Safe travels.

Keep checking back on parks Canada website for your fine tuning also. People tend to over boom due to having to book in January and then cancel later. It is pretty common to Find some spots that have opened up.

[Floridafrances]

Well, we survived the madness of the internet reservation system.

Managed today to get what we wanted at Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court and Lake Louise.

Yesterday was a mess up on my part. I had the opening dates for Jasper and Banff reversed. By the time I realized my mistake most of the electric spaces in Wapiti were gone. Did manage to get 2 nights there with the rest at Wabasso (unserviced). Hoping Wabasso doesn't get too hot at the end of June.

I'm sure we'll change some of it and spend so time in some of the provincial parks or other places to dry camp. But at least we know we had someplace to park the RV every night. I'll do my fine tuning later.

Thanks again for all the helpful replies. I'm open to any and all other suggestions.

Safe travels.

[Boon_Docker]

If you don't want to drive from Banff to Jasper on the same day you could boondock at Preachers Point". It is about 25-30 km from highway 93 (the Banff - Jasper highway).

The place is situated roughly half way between Banff and Jasper.

If interested go to Googlemaps.com and google: Preachers Point Alberta.

There are some nice hiking trails also between Highway 93 and Preachers Point.

[Harvey51]

The last couple of times we stopped at the Icefields parking and tourist info, it was full of vehicles and people. Tours to the glass bottom lookout begin there as well as glacier tours. Same for Miette Hot Springs.

There are some great hikes near Saskatchewan Crossing with no crowds. Campsites east of the crossing on highway 11 are usually not crowded in our experience.

[profdant139]

Frances, I would strongly suggest a portable solar panel. We have a 120 watt panel -- it is easy to deploy, and it greatly extends our ability to dry camp. The advantage is that you can put it in the sun, even if your RV is in partial shade.

And since you are a moderate hiker (like we are, not experts like Dave and Pat!!), I would recommend the Larch Valley/Sentinel Pass area near Lake Louise, in addition to the other trails mentioned above.

Here is a possible strategy -- stay for a few days at Lake Louise. Yes, it is noisy due to the trains. Bring earplugs. But it is very well located -- lots of great hikes. And then shift for a few days to Yoho -- not that far away, more great hiking. And a few days at the Icefields.

All three of those locations are big-rig friendly.

We have been to this area twice, and we stayed in Banff for a couple of nights for shopping and laundry and so forth. But we were not as impressed with the hiking in the immediate Banff area.

[Floridafrances]

Thank you all for the additional replies.

profdant, unfortunately we do not have solar. Before our trip to Rocky Mountain National Park in Fall 2017, we added 2 more Trojan 6 volt batteries to the 2 we already had. The 4 nights we were at RMNP, we never drew either set down below 50%, even on the mornings when the first one up (I did my best to make sure that was Tom) was assigned to turn on the furnace to knock the chill down enough for us to leave our snug, warm beds and hastily dress.

As for hiking, from reading your blog posts, I think we're much like you on the types of hikes regarding length and gains. And I totally understand your comment about the lack of oxygen on Colorado hikes. My Florida yard is at 6 feet above sea level. I sometimes felt like I was trying to breathe with a plastic bag over my head. But we did those hikes and survived.

obgraham and Kevinwa, we live on a tourist destination barrier island so we try to get away from crowded places when we travel. Especially for the hiking part. As you noted Kevin, on a trip like this we're the type who are gone all day so campground amenities, such as how spacious it is, don't matter as much to us as convenient location does. Now if I can find a place with a convenient location and great scenery, I love it. But often not possible. Considering how popular that whole area is, and with some campgrounds being closed this year, I'll probably be thankful to get whatever I can. Where ever I can.

I've moved all this new info into my word doc. Now I'm off to read more about some of these hikes and try to get better oriented to what's where.

[crosscheck]

profdant139 wrote:
Dave, I follow your blog -- so I know for a fact that there is no way in heaven I would try to keep up with you and Pat!! A nice 12 percent grade suits me just fine. I'm just saying that all other things being equal (same distance, same grade), the hiking in Canada was more pleasant than in the Sierras or Colorado because there was more air to breathe at lower elevations.

As a result, we could cover more ground, with more time to take pictures. We have done a lot of day hiking over the last 15 years, and I would have to say that the whole Banff/Jasper area is at the top of our "all-time greatest" list.

Dan
I still really appreciate following your trips and the inspiring photos that accommpany your blog. Keep your boots moving

Dave

[Kevinwa]

Personally I would choose to spend more days in jasper then Banff. This is partly due to being more familiar with it, and I don’t like huge crowds. That may change as my kids start getting to the age where we can do whole day hikes and not just the tourist trap sites. The parks Canada website will have decently detailed descriptions for hikes in the “things to do” tab when you are either on the Banff or jasper page.
I totally recommend reservations on weekends, but if there on a week day, especially if in June there are lots of more remote non reservation sites in smaller campgrounds. They are no services but usually come with a great view.
If stopping in Radium at all we love Canyon RV resort,
Tunnel mountain campgrounds in Banff are very parking lot like, you parrelel park on a paved road, but if you are planning on spending your entire time out and about sometimes it is nice to have a centrally located base camp with more services. If you get some of the sites along the south edge the view is amazing, you can find the ones with the good view when reserving. There full hookup sites do not have fire pits.

[profdant139]

Dave, I follow your blog -- so I know for a fact that there is no way in heaven I would try to keep up with you and Pat!! A nice 12 percent grade suits me just fine. I'm just saying that all other things being equal (same distance, same grade), the hiking in Canada was more pleasant than in the Sierras or Colorado because there was more air to breathe at lower elevations.

As a result, we could cover more ground, with more time to take pictures. We have done a lot of day hiking over the last 15 years, and I would have to say that the whole Banff/Jasper area is at the top of our "all-time greatest" list.

[obgraham]

Interesting how people differ. We've been going to Banff/Jasper for over 40 years. There's no comparison in my mind -- Jasper is much more interesting for us. Banff itself is a crowded little town where we find very little to do. A day there suits us. Lake Louise is lovely, but really really crowded now. The Icefields and Jasper we easily spend 7-10 days at.

All the area has gotten a lot busier, and the wildlife is a lot scarcer now than it was -- except for the Elk in Whistlers and Wapiti CG's.