Canadian Rockies (Banff)

Banff townsite is the base: walkable, well-served and busy. Ride the Banff Gondola up Sulphur Mountain, soak in the Banff Upper Hot Springs, and paddle or walk the shoreline at Lake Minnewanka and Two Jack Lake.

Lake Louise and Moraine Lake are the headline pair. Critically, Moraine Lake road is closed to private vehicles - you must use the Parks Canada shuttle, a Roam transit bus or a commercial operator, and those book out weeks ahead. Lake Louise parking fills before sunrise in summer; take the shuttle and save yourself the misery.

Just over the BC boundary, Yoho National Park is the quieter twin: Emerald Lake, the Takakkaw Falls plunge and the Lake O'Hara basin, which is access-controlled by a lottery bus and is the single best alpine day in the Rockies if you win it. Kootenay and, further north, Mount Assiniboine round out the set.

The Icefields Parkway (Highway 93) runs 230 km from Lake Louise to Jasper and is one of the great drives on the planet. Allow a full day, not two hours: Peyto Lake, Bow Lake, Mistaya Canyon, the Columbia Icefield and Athabasca Glacier, Sunwapta and Athabasca Falls. There is no fuel between Saskatchewan River Crossing and Jasper: fill up.

Jasper is bigger, wilder and less polished than Banff, with better odds on wildlife. Maligne Canyon, Medicine Lake and the boat to Spirit Island on Maligne Lake are the classics; Jasper is also a Dark Sky Preserve, so plan a night for stars. Note that the 2024 wildfire affected parts of the townsite and surrounding trails: check current closures and rebuilding status before booking.

The best day hikes: Plain of Six Glaciers and the Lake Agnes Tea House above Lake Louise, Larch Valley and Sentinel Pass from Moraine (glowing gold in late September), Healy Pass and Sunshine Meadows near Banff, and Wilcox Pass and the Valley of the Five Lakes on the Jasper end. Multi-day options run from Skoki Lodge to the Berg Lake trail.

Wildlife is genuinely abundant: elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, black bears and, with luck, grizzlies and moose. Carry bear spray on trails, know how to use it, hike in groups and make noise. Some trails carry seasonal group-size restrictions in grizzly country; obey them. Never approach or feed anything, including the elk in town during the autumn rut.

From December to April this becomes a different destination. Sunshine Village, Lake Louise and Mt Norquay share the Ski Big 3 pass out of Banff; Marmot Basin serves Jasper. Snow is dry and cold, and the season runs long: often into May at Sunshine.

Non-skiers get plenty: the frozen Maligne Canyon icewalk, methane bubbles trapped under the ice at Abraham Lake, ice skating on Lake Louise, snowshoeing, dog sledding, and northern lights on clear Jasper nights. Winter tyres and daylight-only mountain driving are strongly advised.

Fly into Calgary (YYC), 90 minutes from Banff, or Edmonton for a Jasper-first loop. A car is the practical choice, though Roam transit links Banff, Canmore and Lake Louise well. Everyone needs a Parks Canada pass (day or annual, the annual pays off in about a week).

July and August guarantee open high trails and full shuttle service, with the biggest crowds and prices. Mid-September to early October is the connoisseur's window: larches turning, thin crowds, cold nights. Late spring (May-June) is cheap and green but high trails stay snowbound and Moraine Lake road opens only in late May or June.

Costs are high in season. Budget roughly CAD 300-450 per day for two with a car, park pass and mid-range lodging; Canmore is the standard money-saving base just outside the park boundary. Book accommodation and Moraine shuttles three to six months out for summer.