Canada- Banff and Jasper 2018

Lake Louise

Banff for rookies
July 2018

Our family of 4 (including 5 yo and 6 mo) spent a week in Banff and Jasper. I’d like to share our itinerary and some tips for what I would recommend for future trips. We had an awesome time- but I do think we could have improved a few things to make an even better trip for next time for ourselves or others.

Please note we are an active outdoors loving crew. We care less about sightseeing and more about spending quality time outside and with each other. Our priority with food is to make our own whenever possible to limit the time and money we spend eating when there are so many fun things to do outside! 

The weather was absolutely gorgeous and you can see why people go in the summer. And the commonly cited "must do" sites are certainly stunning. But my main take home points are:1) Consider shoulder season- September would probably be ideal as likely still warm-ish and likely no snow yet. Certainly fewer people once school is back in session.

In Banff town

2) Consider researching lesser known hikes and lakes etc. The main attractions are crowded to the point of detraction. I wish I had done this. Consider Yoho and spending more time in Jasper. 

 3) It is still an incredible place so if summer is truly only your only option just go anyway and get up early many days.

Hike to Peyto Lake

Day 1: flight ORD to YYC (Calgary) then drive to Banff. This was an relatively easy travel day. We stopped at the grocery store on the way to our hotel to stock up for the next few days. There are fine grocery stores in both Canmore and Banff. 

Hotel: Tunnel Mountain Resort, Banff. This resort is <1 mile out of the town center - there is a bike path that connects so easy to get to town that way if desired. It was recently remodeled and adequate but not super nice. About $500 USD for 2 bedroom with 2 bathrooms and kitchen. Pros- playground and pool on site. Cons- not super nice but clean and really fine, I'm just picky. Definitely recommend having a kitchen. Banff town is so busy in the summer, I would not want to fight with crowds to have likely pricey dinner with littles.

Day 2: Banff Gondola. 

Banff Gondola walk

We heard could be quite busy so got there around 8 am and it was totally fine. Nice ride and nice boardwalk hike. Nice mountain vistas. I would say NOT a must do as described to us as there are other gondolas that have even better views with a bit more opportunity for exploring by kids. I suppose if you are without kids, this is a must do due to the views, but with small kids it's quite lacking on places for them to run or explore freely. We then hung out at the playground, swam, and headed to the playground in downtown Banff which was great- right on the river which lends itself to exploring as well. 

Day 3: Lake Louise and Lake Louise Gondola

Lake Louise

Lake Louise Gondola

Restaurant at top of LL Gondola

Didn't go as planned but ended up being my favorite day. Attempted to drive to Moraine Lake. Got there around 8 and parking lot was already full. Instead went to Lake Louise. Lake Louise is absolutely stunning no question, But the hordes of people is a detraction. We stayed for about 30 minutes then moved on. There are short family friendly hikes but gosh they are so crowded I'm not sure worth it. I did not feel the need to come here in the first place (only did due to Moraine being full) and would not come again unless early early morning like 7 am. We then went on to the Lake Louise gondola. This was WONDERFUL. I found the views even better than the Banff Gondola and I'd call this a MUST DO. Gorgeous views. There is a lovely short walk down to an excellent interpretive center with a great restaurant where you can keep enjoying the views. A great way to spend an afternoon. Highly recommend the LAKE LOUISE GONDOLA.

Moraine Lake

Day 4: 2nd attempt at Moraine Lake  and Johnston Canyon

Moraine Lake

The Moraine Lake parking lot was full around 7 am and we were informed you really need to arrive before 6 am to get a spot. BUT there is a very easy to use shuttle just a few miles down the road so I recommend this. Shuttle starts at 8 am. Despite being absurdly crowded, this is a MUST DO anyway. Absolutely stunning views (despite raining the whole time we were there). Nice short hike, nice rocks to climb, nice canoes to rent (we didn't due to rain and 6 mo baby). Even if you don't stay long this is totally worth it. Like many of the sites in Banff, there is a huge missed opportunity for snack and coffee based commerce- tiny snack shop that is way too crowded- so don't plan to linger.

Johnston Canyon

Stopped at Johnston Canyon on the way back. Maybe I am spoiled by having seen so many national parks and beauty (I'm sure I am) but this incredibly crowded route was completely not worth it due to the crowding. The views are nice for sure but nearly EVERY view in this area is nice so I'd skip it next time around and would have done something else the first time around too if I'd realized

Day 5: Icefields Parkway, Peyto Lake, Columbia Icefields

Peyto Lake

Columbia Icefield

This is a fantastic drive that deserves all the hype. I highly recommend the GYPSY GUIDES- an audio tour that connects to your phone's GPS (but doesn't use cell service) - to give brief info on the region. My 5 year old was very interested as were the adults. We stopped at Peyto lake that was crowded but also worth the hype. Due to having a 5 yo and 6 mo we ended up not stopping again until we got to the Columbia Icefields. We did an Ice Explorer tour that was definitely worth it. Touristy for sure and you do wonder how good it can be for the glacier to be walked on by so many folks, but really an incredible experience to be on the glacier in a way accessible to all including 5 yo and 6 mo old. Must be booked in advance as we did- by the time we got there all tours were booked for the day. The skywalk was an interesting architectural feat but not as cool as we thought it'd be and NO RESTROOMS which is CRAZY considering most are coming from the ice explorers tour. Ice Explorer is a must do but Skywalk is not.

Ice Explorer tour- look how steep it is!

Day 6: Jasper

Pyramid Lake Hike

Pyramid Lake

Lake Annette

Pyramid Lake

I really liked Jasper and felt there were so many untapped hikes and activities here. The park is significantly bigger than Banff and has half the visitors. We will spend more time here next time. We stayed at the Pyramid Lake Resort which was great. Very nice rooms all with balconies with views. On a lake that does rentals. Lots of hikes right from resort. We got up leisurely and hiked to Pyramid Lake which was a lovely place to stay for a few hours with littles. Then we lounged around, rented boats, the headed into town to Lake Annette. There was a nice playground and a fantastic beach. Then dinner in Jasper and more playgrounds just for fun:)

Pyramid Lake Resort

Day 7: Icefields Parkway back to Banff. Sunshine Meadows

Sunshine Meadows

Our baby wasn't loving driving so we really played things based on how he was doing. We ended up stopping at Sunshine Meadows for another beautiful long gondola ride. There are lots of nice hikes around this winter ski resort but we were spent after the drive so just rode up and down and headed for Banff. Wasn't too crowded and was a nice stop if it works out but wouldn't go out of your way to do it. We stayed at the Rimrock hotel which was lovely and accommodating. Excellent pool which we went to twice. We had a great dinner (one of two dinners out the whole week) at the hotel restaurant. Food was quite good.

Playground in YYC

Day 8: Banff to YYC to ORD. All easy peasy. YYC was easy and uncrowded.

Banff Gondola

Until next time!!