How to plan one week in the Canadian Rockies

I would spend most of the time between Banf and Jasper on the Icefields Highway

i would book early.

We spent the most of July in the Rockies, we had no place to be on any given day and we just drove.

The only place we booked was at Canyon RV on Sinclair rd in Radium.

We were able to get a spot for the night on Canada day (July 1) in Banff, and had no problems finding places to camp at for the 25 ish nights we were on the road.

We did so much I dont know where to begin !

Enjoy your trip, we started planning our July trip in December, I think you're on the right track.

what sort of things do you like to do ? perhaps I can make some suggestions.

here is the main route we took, we had many spurs here and there but for the most part this is the main route.

Google Map


Some photos to get you excited

I like Jasper better than Banff. Both are beautiful, both have abundant wildlife and both have lots of activities. Jasper is a little more "wild", less built up and less crowded. Then there's the Icefields Parkway. You can take a long day and explore a lot of it when traveling between the parks or you can camp along the highway and not rush. How much time you spend in each park depends on what you want to do, but three to four days in each gives you fairly adequate time to take it all in. You can take a side-trip to Kootenay & Yoho NPs and see some gorgeous scenery. Calgary is a very nice city on the verge of a rebirth. We only had half a day and wished we had taken a day or two to explore. Again, it all depends on what your likes and dislikes are.

If you book into Banff, look into staying at the Tunnel Mountain trailer court.

I go there regularly as a nice little getaway from Calgary. It's a short drive from the downtown Banff area and a really nice quiet spot to camp. They have rows 100 through 800 in 3 sections A B and C. Try to get a spot in the highest section, 800. Its right beside the forest and a power line runs through that can be used as a walkway. We go for walks there and in the power line area, the view of the stars is reallly nice.
Full hookups there too.
One nice thing is that you are not crammed in like sardines, side by side with your neighbor. All the sites are end to end on both sides of the access roads. It's really good. They have pics on the booking site.

As mentioned, book early!!

It's my understanding that one can book national park CGs starting in January, is that correct?

We are planning a similar trip next summer and expect to make our reservations in January. The earlier, the better!

Our trip will start north of Glacier National Park in Wateron. I have heard Townsite Campground is nice with full hookups right along Waterton Lake. After Waterton, we'll spend a couple days in Banff at Tunnel Mountain Village before driving up north to Jasper. On the way back south, we'll stay a night or two in Lake Louise before heading home to Montana. We still have more research to do before we decide where to stay in Jasper. I believe we are going to stay for at least 2 days at every campground in order to hike a little in each area.

We weren't going to go as far north as Jasper, but after reading about it, it seems like a spectacular place to hike and enjoy nature away from most tourists. I found a great blog written by a local husband & wife that give lots of insights to the Canadian Rocky Mountains called Banff and Beyond. Their articles are quite good and worth the read.

Clicky--> Banff and Beyond

When you head south to Glacier Park, I suggest staying at the St. Mary Campground inside the park. It's a great base to view the whole east side of Glacier National Park. Be sure to drive to Many Glacier and Two Medicine from St. Mary. There are plenty of hiking opportunities for even the most novice of hikers and your reward will be beautiful waterfalls, lakes and wildflowers. Enjoy your trip!

We were at Waterton in late June and early July. We stayed at the Waterton Springs Campground, a couple of miles north of the park gate. Made reservations there on the 1st of May. It can get very, very windy there(in the park also), so you probably don't want to put your awning down. Take the boat ride that brings you into Montana. You can also go up to Red Rock Canyon or to Cameron Lake, which in my opinion is better than Lake Louise. Cameron Lake wasn't open due to road construction and tree removal at the lake. Also took a ride to the icefields when we were boondocking west of Nordegg(population, at the time, 60). It's very busy there. The icefield has receded quite a bit since I was a kid. It was just off the highway then and now you get on a bus to get up to it. We don't like Banff because of the crowds but Jasper is ok. My 3 cents. Have fun.

This is all great information, great resources! Glad to have everybody's 2 cents.

When staying around Jasper, you just have to go to Miette Hot Springs and the surrounding area!

Miette HS