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Started By
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Lodging in or near Banff this summer?
Posted on 4/8/24 at 5:41 pm
Posted on 4/8/24 at 5:41 pm
Possible change of summer vacation plans, now considering Banff. It appears CA national parks have tent cabins in the park but of course they're already booked at this late date. Any tips on lodging and/or sightseeing/hiking in the area? Family of four. And how many days to reasonably take in the park?
This post was edited on 4/8/24 at 5:48 pm
4
Posted on 4/8/24 at 6:57 pm to Hewonbyalot
Been 5 times. Banff is awesome to stay in. We usually go for a week. Don’t miss Peyto Lake or Tanaka Falls. Hidden Ridge Resort is nice and about five minutes from downtown. Banff Paek Lodgej is reasonable and in town. If money is no option, The Fairmont in Banff or Lake Louise. And you have to see Lake Louise.
Posted on 4/8/24 at 8:01 pm to Hewonbyalot
I always stayed in Canmore
Been quite a few times to Banff when I lived in Calgary back in 2019
Check the Banff threads in the sticky, there are detailed trip reports with daily agendas
Been quite a few times to Banff when I lived in Calgary back in 2019
Check the Banff threads in the sticky, there are detailed trip reports with daily agendas
This post was edited on 4/8/24 at 8:02 pm
Posted on 4/8/24 at 8:04 pm to Hewonbyalot
We went to Banff, Glacier Nat Park (US) and other places in Canada last year. Below is the link to the trip report.
Banff GNP Travel Report
But if you don't want to read all that:
We stayed at Lake Louise Lodge in Lake Louise. It was fine, I would stay there again.
Things I would recommend doing:
Drive to Takakkaw Falls and Emerald Lake, about an hour from LL, probably 1 1/2 hours from Banff.
Stop at the Spiral Train Tunnels on the way; hopefully a train will be in view.
Drive up the Icefield Parkway, stop at the various waterfalls and Columbia Icefield Discovery Center; get tickets to walk on the glacier. (Google the accident that happened a few years ago; just so you know).
Do the Johnson Canyon hike; go to the upper falls if you're up for that. We didn't, just went to the lower falls.
The farthest north we drove on the Icefield Parkway was to Sunwapta Falls; not quite to Jasper. We had to get back to do the glacier walk but will definitely go to Jasper if I ever get back.
The Bow Valley Parkway is a scenic two lane road between Banff and Lake Louise. Take that and stop at Morant's Curve, there is a parking lot. I think that was the best view we saw on our trip. Pictures don't do it justice.
Farther south on BVP is lodging, Baker Creek by Basecamp. We just drove by it but it looked like a good place to stay. It's cabins.
Banff GNP Travel Report
But if you don't want to read all that:
We stayed at Lake Louise Lodge in Lake Louise. It was fine, I would stay there again.
Things I would recommend doing:
Drive to Takakkaw Falls and Emerald Lake, about an hour from LL, probably 1 1/2 hours from Banff.
Stop at the Spiral Train Tunnels on the way; hopefully a train will be in view.
Drive up the Icefield Parkway, stop at the various waterfalls and Columbia Icefield Discovery Center; get tickets to walk on the glacier. (Google the accident that happened a few years ago; just so you know).
Do the Johnson Canyon hike; go to the upper falls if you're up for that. We didn't, just went to the lower falls.
The farthest north we drove on the Icefield Parkway was to Sunwapta Falls; not quite to Jasper. We had to get back to do the glacier walk but will definitely go to Jasper if I ever get back.
The Bow Valley Parkway is a scenic two lane road between Banff and Lake Louise. Take that and stop at Morant's Curve, there is a parking lot. I think that was the best view we saw on our trip. Pictures don't do it justice.
Farther south on BVP is lodging, Baker Creek by Basecamp. We just drove by it but it looked like a good place to stay. It's cabins.
Posted on 4/8/24 at 8:15 pm to Hewonbyalot
Unlike most US National Parks, Banff is a proper town with plenty of tourist infrastructure. And even if you delay or are on a tighter budget, Canmore is right next door as a reasonable alternative place to stay.
I would give Banff at least four or five days if you want to do some hikes. If you have a full week consider splitting your time between Banff and Jasper. Jasper is much more relaxed but also very scenic. The drive up to Jasper (Icefields Parkway) is amazing and takes most of a full day if you stop at all the sights along the way.
Pro tip - wait until the end of the day when there is still an hour or two of daylight to visit Johnston Canyon and Morraine Lake to let the crowds thin out. It's unbearable otherwise.
Also, if you're an OT baller you could book a helicopter ride to the top of Mt. Assiniboine and stay in the lodge there and do the various hikes up there. That's one of the most beautiful spots in the world and is currently on the top of my bucket list.
Posted on 4/9/24 at 6:26 am to AUFANATL
quote:
Pro tip - wait until the end of the day when there is still an hour or two of daylight to visit Johnston Canyon and Morraine Lake to let the crowds thin out. It's unbearable otherwise.
Gospel.
We got up at 4:30am to go to Morraine Lake our first visit and thought we would be one of the first people there, boy were we wrong. There were already hundreds of people surrounding the lake waiting for that first piece of sunlight to hit the mountain face.
Don’t know if I’ve ever tirelessly looked for a parking spot that early in the morning as we did that day.
This post was edited on 4/9/24 at 6:29 am
Posted on 4/11/24 at 1:08 pm to HoustonGumbeauxGuy
We spent a week up there last summer. Definitely take the time to drive the Ice Fields Parkway and spend a night or two in Jasper. Lake Louise was cool, although insanely crowded. We spent a day in Jasper National Park going to Maligne Canyon and Maligne Lake and it was much less crowded and just as beautiful in my opinion. Also had a phenomenal meal in Jasper at the Bistro at Pine Bungalows.
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