Banff/Jasper area - suggestions?

[Bwana]

Heading to the Banff/Jasper area next week with the family to check an item off of my mother's bucket list. Any suggestions from you folks regarding must-do places to see, things to do, and places to eat while in the area? Will be in the Sunwapta Falls area for several days and Canmore for several more.

Any [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]suggestions?[/FONT]

 

[BigHornRam]

Lake Louise area is unbelievably beautiful, and unbelievably crowded. Mountain goat salt lick in Jasper is a good place to stop and not overrun with tourists.

 

[BigHornRam]

Also, this park is worth visiting as well.

Mount Robson Provincial Park

Fraser-Fort George H, BC, Canada

https://g.co/kgs/TdFNYq

I remember having a nice breakfast there while passing through on a B C hunt in 2002.

 

[Rainer]

If your interest PM me i'll point you in the right direction. I use to live in Lake Louise and Banff for almost 5 years working for the Fairmont

 

[Kiwi]

I plan to be in the same area in Sept for a side trip (after hopefully filling my moose and bear tags). Great to get this first hand info.

 

[Rainer]

Well if your going to drive from Banff to Jasper it's about 4 hours on a good day, 6 with traffic. Thats if the Highway is open. The one place you need to walk around is the Banff Springs hotel. That place is probably one of the most beautiful hotels. There are restaurants and deli's to cater too almost everyone. Theres so many restaurants in Banff. Most of them you can just walk in, plus the prices will be more reasonable for you guys with the exchange lol. You could also check out some of the craft breweries. I just hope the beers not to strong for you, eh.

Lake Louise you'll want to take Hwy 1A. Its the scenic route and it will save your wind shield for the Hwy 1. There are lookouts and hiking trails all over that road. Now if you want to see Lake Louise and Moraine Lake you will need to leave early to beat the traffic. 50,000+ people a day visit Lake Louise itself during the Summer. Once there you can climb Mnt Fairview. You can hike to the Lake Agnes Tea house which is by the little and big beehive. There is also a closed road that runs on the Continental Divide. If you can stay for dinner in Lake Louise at the Chateau theres the Walliser Stube restaurant. That has the best Cheese and Chocolate fondue in North America.

Just have fun though. If I could I would pack everything up and move back out there in a heart beat. I miss the mountains

 

[Kiwi]

Great info, thanks. Craft beer, cheese & chocolate - sounds great! Our exchange rate is pretty good at the moment so that should help.

Sorry to hijack your thread Bwana.

 

[Bwana]

Thanks for the information folks. We are really looking forward to this trip, just hope we can survive all the "together time" in the vehicles.

 

[ovis2]

Second (third? fourth?) all of the above. It was only mentioned once, but Moraine Lake is a must. Even more beautiful than Lake Louise, used to be on the Canadian twenty dollar bill, I think.

 

[Bwana]

Well, we made the trip and had a grand time. Sadly the fires in BC severely limited visibility most of the time we were there but we made the best of it. Saw fox, coyote, deer, elk, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, one black bear, and one young grizzly for our efforts, which were considerable. For a boy from the prairies of North Dakota the phrase, "You can't see the forest for the trees" came to mind quite often.

It was a good time for sure. Though not able to get to all of the places suggested, we did get to a number of them and my mom was overjoyed with the whole thing so that is all that matters.

Thanks again for the input.

 

[mtmiller]

Your mailbox is full.

 

[Bwana]

I did some herd thinning, give that a try.