Icefields Pkwy (93) Banff to Jasper

[Rover_Bill]

We're planning a trip to Banff and Jasper for early September this year. I'm planning a two week stay in Banff followed by a one week stay in Jasper. To get from Banff to Jasper, my Garmin system recommends driving Banff ? Calgary ? Edmonton ? Jasper (789 km) instead of driving directly from Banff ? Jasper via the Icefields Pkwy route 93 (288 km).

I will be pulling a 31 ft travel trailer and can easily drive the 288 km on a single tank full of fuel. I will also carry 10 L of extra fuel just-in-case. Is there any technical reasons (tight curves, travel restrictions, gravel roads, etc) to prohibit driving the shorter Icefields Pkwy?

[TUCQUALA]

Having been up there in Sept '15, I can give a bit of info for that time of year.

As to campgrounds, many of the smaller, less developed Nat Park campgrounds close just after Labor Day. The larger ones stay open longer. Check if you have picked one or two special ones to see if they are open. Also, the free park pass this year WILL affect you!
Also, that time of year is the colorful tree display that many locals and many more foreigners show up for. We ran into full campgrounds and packed roads and viewing sites. And almost all were rental class C mh with non-english speaking users!! Not being a bigot, just what really went on!

There are lots of Provincial campgrounds around the Nat Parks, but again, a lot of them also close after Labor Day.

Weather was all over the place!!! Snow in Johnstone Canyon CG (one that is partially open), to 80 degree temps in Jasper until the skies opened up for the return trip to the states!!! Be prepared clothing wise.

As to the driving, highway-wise you won't have any problems with your combo. But check on campground sites as to possible length problems. Roads are good, Parkway (93) is narrower than Hwy 1 from Banff to Lake Louise (mostly 4 lane). Parkway is good, some rough sections, but nothing major. Watch out for suddenly pulling into a viewpoint and not being able to park your combo!!! AND, going north, almost every viewpoint is on your left, across the oncoming traffic.

Here are a couple of links to camping info for Nat Parks and Provincial Parks:

https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/banff/activ/camping

https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/jasper/activ/passez-stay/camping

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/

[Uncle_Rj]

'en Plain Air' wrote:
We will also be there in Sept [2nd-3rd weeks]. Are there likely be enough camp sites available that we can 'free lance' our schedule, or do we need to make reservations in advance? Can we boondock in parking lots [ie Lake Louise]? Any other special concerns for that time of year? We are in a 27' class C, no toad. Thanks!

The Parks are usually quite a bit less busy after Labour Day, but this year could be different with the free admission. September is usually our favorite time to go to Banff because the weather can be good and it is less busy.

I'd still book sites if you can, but be aware that some of the campgrounds stop taking reservations in mid-September. They do this because of lack of demand most years, but they are still open. Bear in mind that this is a VERY busy year. Boondocking is not recommended, but you should be able to find campgrounds along your way. Keep an eye on the size restrictions for the various campgrounds. Some of the lanes are very tight.

Pack warm clothes as the nights can be cold, especially at elevation. You may see snow, or it could be very warm. It all depends on the year. It will almost always cool off a lot at night so be prepared for that.

Make sure you have bear spray if you are hiking. That is when the bears are a bit lower feasting on berries trying to fatten up before winter. Some of the hiking trails have a four person minimum group size.

[Orion]

It's Canada's 150 anniversary this year, and with the low exchange rate,and the Park entry fees cancelled for the year, the Parks are expected to be very busy this year. The only place I have heard that boondocking is allowed is the Glacier centre parking lot, but I'm not absolutely sure.
They still have some first come first served campgrounds available, but you would have to get there early. On Trip Advisor, a few days ago, people were able to book some sites, but they are getting booked up fast. BTW, campground fees are still being charged.
On Edit, if route planning on Google maps, for the past week or so it has been giving false results on the drive between Banff and Jasper.

[_en_Plain_Air_]

We will also be there in Sept [2nd-3rd weeks]. Are there likely be enough camp sites available that we can 'free lance' our schedule, or do we need to make reservations in advance? Can we boondock in parking lots [ie Lake Louise]? Any other special concerns for that time of year? We are in a 27' class C, no toad. Thanks!

[profdant139]

If you can deal with the train noise at the Lake Louise Campground, the hiking in the area is world-class. (Or you could "commute" from Yoho, which is what we did.) This is Fay Glacier, viewed from the Larch Valley trail, just below Sentinel Pass:


Click For Full-Size Image.

And this is the Plain of the Six Glaciers, above Lake Louise:


Click For Full-Size Image.

[fanrgs]

BB_TX wrote:
When in the Banff area, take a side trip along 1A from Banff to Lake Louise and you may see some of these. We saw 5 in one group right beside the road.

We saw at least three times that many elk in our campground loop at Whistler's in Jasper National Park one morning. We were trying to leave the campground and had to wait for a bull to move off the campground road so we could get out.

Our Nissan truck had only a 19 gallon gas tank when we towed our trailer on the Icefields Parkway, but we had no problems with fuel. We stayed at the campground in Lake Louise for a couple of days to see the surrounding lakes, video the Spiral Tunnels, and photograph spectacular Takakkaw Falls in Yoho NP. We filled up with gas in Lake Louise instead of filling at Saskatchewan river crossing and it was slightly less expensive there.

We have also stayed on the old highway at Johnston Canyon Resort, which has a nearby gas station. The campground does not have hookups, but it is a beautiful area to hike and photograph the waterfalls and surrounding mountains.

I would highly recommend spending some of your two weeks in Banff NP at Lake Louise and Johnston Canyon. The only negative is the train noise at Lake Louise campground. But we use ear plugs most of the time when camping and the scenery there definitely makes up for that little inconvenience.

[crosscheck]

The fuel prices at Saskachewan Crossing are a bit high but they are only open for the summer season and they do provide a service in the middle of nowhere for those who may not judge their fuel consumption very well or need some food or other services.

A few years ago I gladly filled up my tank with expensive diesel and ate a big meal there. We were on a through hike(Great Divide Trail) and asked the owners if we could leave our truck and camper parked there for 7 days as we hiked from Field to Jasper. He was very kind and friendly and said sure.

Dave

[crosscheck]

StirCrazy wrote:
commercial truck don't use the park way as you have to pay the park fee to travel it, so for that short drive from Banff to jasper normally it is 20 bucks just to drive on it, this year will be different due to the Canada 150th anniversary. it is a nice drive, with lots of places to stop and see. make sure you take your time and stop, you could easily spend a whole day going one way.

Steve

There is a truck weight limit of 4500KG. Nothing to do with paying the fee. Actually, last summer we saw a number of big trucks hauling gravel for a local road repair contract. But this was under a special permit.

Dave

[profdant139]

Take as much time as you can on that drive -- stop a lot, get out, do some hikes. It might be the most beautiful road I have ever driven, and that is saying something.

[StirCrazy]

commercial truck don't use the park way as you have to pay the park fee to travel it, so for that short drive from Banff to jasper normally it is 20 bucks just to drive on it, this year will be different due to the Canada 150th anniversary. it is a nice drive, with lots of places to stop and see. make sure you take your time and stop, you could easily spend a whole day going one way.

Steve

[Rover_Bill]

All,

Thanks for the feedback! I'm now planning to drive and enjoy the parkway.

Since the parkway was a “numbered route” I didn't think that commercial trucks would be prohibited unless there were some physical road barriers that were not visible in Google Maps of the area. That's why I asked the question and thanks for letting me know about the restriction!

I use the “RV” setting in Garmin BaseCamp on my PC to plan my trips and then transfer the route to my Garmin RV 660LMT GPS for actual navigation. That “RV” setting takes into account my rig's length, weight, and height to plan my route around any roads with low overhangs, restricted weight bridges, tight curves, and very steep grades. That “RV” setting doesn't have a “commercial truck” bypass to ignore the parkway's restriction and explains why it routed me via Edmonton. When I set that segment to the “Car” setting, it plotted me right though the parkway. You just can't get that type of detailed information from a paper map (but I always carry one with me when they are available because electronics do-dads are known to fail when you really need them). In the past my old “car” GPS routed me down some single lane dirt roads. It's no fun to have to back-up a 30 ft TT for half a mile because your GPS routed you to a covered wood bridge with a 10 ft overhead clearance and a 4 ton weight limit.

My Canyon can be stingy on gas when pulling my 7,000 lb TT on a flat road with the wind. I got 150 miles driving from Buffalo to Syracuse NY on 2/3 tank of gas (14 gals) about 11 mpg. But it does drink gas when driving though mountains. I got only 9.5 mpg when I drove through and around the mountains of northern Vermont and New Hampshire last Fall. With that mileage, I might have been able to drive the parkway from Banff direct to Jasper on one tank-full. However, now that I know I can drive the parkway, I'll plan a day or two in Lake Louise and full-up there to avoid the high priced gas on the parkway.

Thank you all for your help!

[Boon_Docker]

There is one grade that is long and steep. You won't be doing the speed limit up that one unless you have a lite trailer and powerful TV. As mentioned previous avoid Saskatchewan River Crossing at all cost. Gas is outrageous and so is the stuff inside the store.

[paulj]

I believe Ice Fields is closed to commercial (truck) traffic. That may be why the GPS is recommending the round about way.

GPS is good, but you need to understand how it does its routing.

People have gotten funny routes from Google Maps in and around Yellowstone. Currently most roads in the park are closed for the season, and the route finding software is trying to work around an inconsistent set of 'closure' indications.

Paper maps aren't perfect either. You still need to know how to interpret 'closed seasonally' or 'scenic route' indications. I don't want to go back to the days when I had to do all my route finding on a AAA atlas.

[hedge]

Instead of filling up at Saskatchewan river crossing which has crazy prices, take a side trip to the east over to the Nordegg area. Beautiful area and you can fill up at David Thompson Resort or the townsite itself much cheaper. There are many campgrounds in this area as well so you may want to consider camping a day or two.

There are a few steep hills but nothing too bad that would stop you from towing it and lots do. You may have a tough time finding a place to park the rig though if you want to stop at some of the smaller parking lots such as Sunwapta falls, horseshoe lake etc.

You may want to consider doing a few out and back day trips with your truck from Banff and Jasper so you can see some of these areas.

I'd also suggest a trip out to Mt Robson, west of Jasper.