Icefields Parkway first week in June

[thomas201]

Other than the road itself, will the area around the parkway be pretty much snow covered during the first week in June? Will we be able to do anything other than just drive through?

[profdant139]

I'm a little late to the dance, but I have to add my two cents here -- my advice is not to be too worried about the snow. We were in the Canadian Rockies in mid-September several years ago, and we saw some snow -- this sunrise shot was taken from our campsite at Peter Lougheed Provincial Park:


Click For Full-Size Image.

If you hike, bring waterproof knee-length gaiters -- they shed the snow and keep your boots dry. If there is any ice, we also carry microspikes, which are like crampons but much easier to put on and take off.

If you have never been to Banff and Jasper and Lake Louise, you have to see it to believe it. Astonishingly beautiful.

[enblethen]

Any method will work!
Big thing is the ability to convert!

[pianotuna]

yes and I believe my solution is just as easy and gives the exact numbers.

[SideHillSoup]

pianotuna wrote:
SideHillSoup

C to F

1. double the C (20 + 20 = 40)

2. subtract 10% of the result (40 - 4 = 36)

3. add 32 (36 + 32 = 68f)

Did you see the part in my post that said “ By no means is this calculation exact but it’s close”

[pianotuna]

SideHillSoup

C to F

1. double the C (20 + 20 = 40)

2. subtract 10% of the result (40 - 4 = 36)

3. add 32 (36 + 32 = 68f)

[SideHillSoup]

Here in Southeastern BC in the West Kootenays, we were camping and woke up to fresh snow on the mountains on June 30th this past summer.
The snow level was above us, at about 3000 to 4000 ft elevation.

[StirCrazy]

canadafan wrote:
Bear in mind the temperature will be low so you will probably need hookups.
Only Tunnel Mountain (Banff) , Lake Louise, and Whistlers/Wapiti (Jasper) have hookups.
Many of the other, smaller, National Parks CGs do no open until mid/late June.

The nearest CG outside the Parkway with hookups is David Thompson Resort on Hwy11.

Expect snow for a few days , we had snow for 2 days on 21st June 2019!

The animals will be about but the sheep and goats will look a bit scruffy as they will be shedding their winter coats.

some do some don't I camp along there lots. here are 4 of the campgrounds and there dates

Mosquito Creek First come first served June 8 to October 9 drinking water Outhouse Cooking shelter picnic shelter Fire pits Food locker


Rampart Creek June 2 to September 24 June 2 to September 24 drinking water Outhouse Cooking shelter picnic shelter Fire pits Accessible Food locker


Silverhorn Creek June 2 to September 24 June 2 to October 9 Outhouse picnic shelter Fire pits Food locker


Waterfowl Lakes First come first served June 22 to September 4 drinking water Flush toliets Outhouse Cooking shelter picnic shelter Sani dump Fire pits Accessible Interpretive programs Food locker

I usaly just camp at mosquito creek which doesnt open till the 8th, the only one that is late june is waterfowl because it is up a mountian so it has a shorter season. there are no serviced campground along there that I can recall.

what I used to do is stay in banff, see the town or what ever for a day or two, then take a day to go up the parkway and stay in jasper. I don't usaly stay in banff any more as I basicly used to live there I spent so much time there... and June, it can snow anywhere in canada not just along the parkway haha

[canadafan]

Bear in mind the temperature will be low so you will probably need hookups.
Only Tunnel Mountain (Banff) , Lake Louise, and Whistlers/Wapiti (Jasper) have hookups.
Many of the other, smaller, National Parks CGs do no open until mid/late June.

The nearest CG outside the Parkway with hookups is David Thompson Resort on Hwy11.

Expect snow for a few days , we had snow for 2 days on 21st June 2019!

The animals will be about but the sheep and goats will look a bit scruffy as they will be shedding their winter coats.

[valhalla360]

SideHillSoup wrote:
Quickest and easiest way to convert from celsius to fahrenheit is double the Celsius number and add 30 to it.
By no means is this calculation exact but it’s close. This conversion does NOT work for trying to figure out from km/h to mph.

20c would be 20 + 20 + 30 = 70.

0- Water freezes
10- Light jacket
20- Room Temp
30- Hot

Saw 50 a few times working in the middle east...people were wearing oven mitts to hold the steering wheel and there were warnings not to park on asphalt or you risk your tire sinking in.

Anyway...We'll probably see the OP as we are heading up the same route around the same time in the spring.

[SideHillSoup]

Quickest and easiest way to convert from celsius to fahrenheit is double the Celsius number and add 30 to it.
By no means is this calculation exact but it’s close. This conversion does NOT work for trying to figure out from km/h to mph.

20c would be 20 + 20 + 30 = 70.

Years ago on an Australian Cruise, I told to 2 older ladies from New York City this. They were having a heck of a time figuring out the conversion from c to f.
After I showed them the quick easy and “close” way to calculate the temperature I got free beers every time they saw me on the ship for the next 3 weeks… I think I cost those two gals a lot of money…

Soup.

[enblethen]

For us dummies south of the border:
20c converts to 68 F
4-6 converts to 39-42.8 F
That is what my conversion software says, anyway!

[StirCrazy]

thomas201 wrote:
Other than the road itself, will the area around the parkway be pretty much snow covered during the first week in June? Will we be able to do anything other than just drive through?

typical june temps are up to 20C during the day and down to 4 to 6 at night, but early june I would plan on 10 to 14C durning the day and down to 0 or colder at night and a chance of rain. so if you dress right and have layers there is lots you can do, even if you just pull over at all the little look outs and short hikes to see stuff you can spend all day driving the parkway seeing lots of stuff.

[trigley]

It depends on the year but there will most likely be snow in the higher areas such as Bow Summit and the Icefields area itself. Also up around Lake Louise and the trails beyond.
North of the Icefields the elevation drops and the area around Jasper will be snow free except for possible fresh storms.
It will be much prettier than mid summer and the possibility of seeing wildlife will be greater.

[SideHillSoup]

Here is the site for Hwy Web Cams for Alberta. There are no web cams between Lake Louise and Jasper.
You will see Hwy cams at Jasper itself, Lake Louise, Castle Jct ( 1/2 way between LL and Banff and at Banff.
Alberta Hwy Cams

Here is the link to BC Hwy Cams
BC Hwy Cams

At the end of the “Hwy 1” list it shows the same Hwy cams that I listed above in Alberta.

Here are some other web cams from around the Kootenays in the south east corner of BC which bumps up against the Canadian Rocky Mountains which is the boarder between BC from Alberta at the Continental Divide.
Kootenay web cams.

Soup.