I must start by saying that Banff and Jasper as “must visit” places in Canada. Words and pictures can barely describe the beauty of these two national parks.
Calgary
We flew in to Calgary from Montreal via Westjet airlines. Calgary is a beautiful city surrounded by pretty hills. We started by walking along Stephen Avenue, which has lots of nice eateries and shops. There was also street music, which was quite entertaining.
Prince’s Island park is a very green place and lovely for walking.
A walk up Scotsman’s Hill provides a panoramic view of the city of Calgary.
Banff and Jasper
Planning: Let me start by mentioning that a visit to Banff and Jasper requires a fair amount of advance planning. Typically accommodation in Banff and Jasper get sold out a few months ahead of the summer season. We were lucky to find a decent studio apartment in Canmore, which is about a 30 minutes drive from Banff. Similarly, we get a studio apartment about 30 minutes east of Jasper.
It is also important to book activities well in advance, since these too get sold out well ahead of the summer season.
From my memory, the main ones to book in advance are:
- Shuttle to Moraine lake (since private cars aren’t allowed)
- Cruise on the Maligne lake
- Banff Gondola
- Jasper Gondola
- Visit to Athabasca glacier on the Icefields parkway
We did a lot of our bookings via https://www.pursuitcollection.com – I found their services quite good and professional.
We also purchased the Discovery Pass while in Toronto. This pass allows for access to all Canadian national parks for 12 months.
Day 1 at Banff National Park
We hired a car from Calgary airport and started our journey to Banff. In a short while we started getting beautiful views of the snow covered mountains and pristine lakes.
Our first activity was to take the Banff Gondola up Sulphur mountain. The views from the upper terminal were amazing. There is a lovely boardwalk to the Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station. From here, one gets a 360 degree view of pristine mountains, lakes and forests.
Next we visited the Cave and Basin National Historic Site, which is a short drive from the gondola station. There are guided tours, which explain the history of the place. Later we did both the upper and lower boardwalk. There are a lot of information along the boardwalks, covering the flora, fauna and the animal kingdom.
On the second morning, we left Canmore at 3 am to get to Lake Louise shuttle bus stop. The two “early” shuttles to Lake Moraine leave at 4 am and 5 am. We took the 5 am shuttle to avoid the crowd. The morning view of the lake was amazing. We did a hike along the Moraine Lake, which was an easy walk.
We took the return shuttle bus to Lake Louise. We did a couple of hikes. The first was a hike to Fairview Lookout which has several steep sections. The views of the lake and the Fairmont Hotel were really pretty. We returned to the shuttle stop and from there took the hike on the west side of the lake. By mid-morning, the place was quite crowded. The views of the lake were really good and the hike was totally worth it.
After the hike along Lake Louise, we drove to Vermilion lakes. We had our packed lunch with magnificent views of snow capped mountains and the lakes.
After lunch, we drove up to Mount Norquay lookout. It provides really fantastic views of the Vermilion lakes and the surrounding mountain ranges.
On the way back to Canmore (our accommodation) we stopped by Lake Minnewanka and Lake Two Jack. We then headed back to Canmore after a hectic but amazing day.
Day 3 we started by visiting Bow falls, which is near Banff town.
Next we hiked through Johnston canyon, which is overall a 2 hour trek.
Our last activity for the day was a climb up Tunnel Mountain. It’s about a 2 hour trek. The views of the valleys and the surrounding mountains were great.
Day 4 was an exciting day. We drove about 3 hours to reach the Athabasca glacier (guided tour with Pursuit). On the way we stopped by Backswamp viewpoint and Crowfoot glacier viewpoint. Pursuit adventures have a special bus that drives on glacial ice. We spent about 30 minutes exploring Athabasca Glacier.
After Athabasca Glacier, the Pursuit team drove us to experience the Skywalk. The views from the Skywalk were great.
On the way back to Canmore, we visited the viewpoint to see the Peyto Lake. As seen below, the scenery is really amazing.
On Day 5 we drove to Jasper National Park. On the way, we stopped by several viewpoints, Herbert Lake, Bow Lake, Tangle Creek falls, Goats and Glacier Lookout, Sunwapta Falls, Athabasca Falls and Jasper Lake.
On Day 6 we started with a trek along Maligne Canyon. There are five bridges, some of which can be accessed by car, while some need walking.
The cruise on the Maligne Lake was superb with great views all around.
On Day 7 we took the Jasper Skytram, which goes up the Whistlers mountain. Once we exit the Skytram, it’s a 90m steep hike up to the summit of Whistlers mountain. The vews from both the Skytram station and the summit are amazing.
In the afternoon, we did a trek in the valley of 5 lakes. Some of the walk was quite steep, but we managed it.
There are many lakes, rivers around the main roads, with conveniently located car parks. We thoroughly enjoyed the views, and the weather throughout was great.
On day 8, we started our 1,100 kilometres drive to Prince Rupert. Details of our trip to Prince Rupert is covered in the next section.
My Travels - by Sivamani 