Return to Banff/Jasper

[AZBuck]

My wife and I are planning our first big trip since the COVID pandemic even though a new variant seems to be making the rounds. This will be a fly/drive return to the Canadian Rockies. We will be spending time in both Canmore (Banff and Yoho National Parks) and Jasper (Jasper National Park). We have info on and/or visited all the major and weLL-known sights in the area but are open to suggestions for a few that might not be on everyone's list. Our particular interests are science (particularly geology), gardens, short hikes and (of course) scenic wonders.

AZBuck

[Rick Quinn]

Howdy, Buck:

It's been awhile since I was there, but the Canadian Rockies rank high on my list for scenic splendor. Most of the recommendations I can provide probably qualify as well known, but what the heck, I'll put a few down anyway. First off: Banff, particularly the area around Lake Louise, gets insanely crowded with day trippers from Calgary, and should be avoided on weekends, when parking is a nightmare. The Icefields Parkway lives up to the hype. If you're going to Jasper, you have to go that way. Lots of traffic; just plan to drive slowly, stop often, and savor it. In Jasper, Maligne Lake is a must, even if you've been there twice before. I didn't do the boat cruise, but I'm told it's lovely.

Yoho is extraordinary, and much less crowded than Banff or Jasper. Book a room at the Emerald Lake Lodge: the views are spectacular, and the whole place is romatic as the dickens. Geology? Tour the Burgess Shale deposits (perfectly petrified sea creatures, even OLDER than the dinosaurs). Go hiking in and around Lake O'Hara (reservations required). Takakkaw Falls, you can drive to, and Wapta Falls, on the Kicking Horse River, is a short hike that begins near the Hoo Doo Creek campground.

Kootenay National Park is immediately south of Banff. Marble Canyon is definitely worth a look. From my blog:

"Marble Canyon is a quite remarkable gorge carved into the landscape by the Kootenay River, accessible by a short trail, just off the highway. Turquoise-colored glacial melt-water rushes between sheer rock walls, spilling down a series of cascades, with the sharply tapered bulk of Vermilion Peak looming above the scene like a watchful pyramid. The trail has stairs and walkways with metal railings leading to viewing platforms, where visitors can check out the colorful waterfalls."

This will be a wonderful road trip, whichever way you choose to go with it!

Rick

[AZBuck]

Rick,

The Burgess Shale has long been on my 'to do' list, but I'm afraid that my days of hiking 7-10 miles over rough terrain have passed. There are a few other intriguing suggestions you made, notably Marble Canyon, Takakkaw Falls and Wapta Falls. These were not on either my or my wife's list, but look well worth visiting instead of revisiting places we've already been.

Thanks again,
AZBuck

[Rick Quinn]

Buck:

You're most welcome! I missed touring the Burgess Shale for the same reason. There's an exhibit at the little museum in Field (Yoho), and that's worth the stop. Here's a snapshot of Marble Canyon:



That's obviously worth a stop as well! And Radium Hot Springs is just down the road--AB-93, which hooks up to US 93 at the border. (The same US 93 keeps going all the way south to Wickenburg!)

Rick

[Mark Sedenquist]

This will be a fly/drive return to the Canadian Rockies.

Buck, I am guessing that you are doing it reasonably soon? One thing that really surprised Megan and I was that there was no heavy use in Banff at the end of May/early June Kids are still in school in June in Canada and visiting Banff was no issue. We stayed overnight in town and drove to Lake Louise for breakfast.

We drive 1A several times (instead of using CA-1) and views are nice and in late May, the only traffic we saw was from grizzly bears and their cubs.

Rick's 'suggestions looked pretty cool --although I agree that the days of extended hiking trips is probably beyond our scope too these days.

Mark

[AZBuck]

Mark,

Unfortunately, this trip was timed to get us out of Tucson during the hottest part of summer and to miss (most of) monsoon season. So it will be later than we would have wanted if our sole purpose was to avoid crowds. Fortunately, we will be going to mostly lesser-visited sites. AB-1A is and always was my first choice.

AZBuck

[Mark Sedenquist]

That's obviously worth a stop as well! And Radium Hot Springs is just down the road--AB-93, which hooks up to US 93 at the border. (The same US 93 keeps going all the way south to Wickenburg!)

Wow, what a pretty spot. I wonder how many guests climb over that rail and try and descend from there?

[AZBuck]

Yes. "The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men" do that sometimes. We were scheduled to depart tomorrow morning on a 10 day fly/drive to the Banff/Jasper area of Alberta, Canada. But we woke this morning to news that they were suffering through severe wildfires, making our trip plans moot. Indeed, the last thing they need is tourists gumming up the works, especially in Jasper where we were to spend half our trip. What they need now is resources, including lodging, for all the firefighters.

Due to the circumstances, our airline, car rental and lodging reservations (still waiting on a call-back on one) were all graciously cancelled with full refunds even though we well outside normal cancellation windows. It never hurts to ask.

We wish the residents of Alberta the best in their efforts to deal with this catastrophe, and still hope to visit at a later date.

AZBuck

[DonnaR57]

As I read about the fires, I thought about you and your trip. So sorry you had to cancel, but happy that all were issuing refunds. That's more than half the battle, there.

Planning on anything as a substitute, yet?


Donna

[AZBuck]

We have talked a bit about seeing the southern Appalachians in the fall, but that's still in the Fantasy RoadTrip discussion stage. Two updates to this cancelled trip though. First, I have heard from Lifemagician, who has contributed to these forums, that firefighters from Australia where she lives are headed to Alberta to help out. This is a major event. Second, the one place I was waiting to hear back from decided to play hardball and was not going to refund anything, saying that wildfires are a "well known" hazard in that area. But they did not count on my wife. She had all the Canadian government bulletins asking people to stay away, and worked with the booking company, AirBnB, to at least get a 50% refund.

AZBuck