Banff National park this summer?

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