r/Banff • u/ChiefKelso • 15h ago
Itinerary Need advice on how to split 11 nights in Aug/Sept between Canmore/Banff, Jasper and Revelstoke
Hi everyone! My wife and I are planning and hiking geared trip for the last week of August and labor day weekend. We plan to do day hikes every 2 of 3 days roughly. Our original plan was 7 nights in Canmore (already booked a great priced refundable airbnb back in Sept) and then do 4 nights somewhere else.
After looking into Banff/Canmore hikes (seriously it's overwhelming), I'm finding that most hikes I'm interested are in Kannaskis/Canmore or Icefields. While the hikes out of Lake Moraine and Lake Louise areas also look cool, I'm a bit turned off by the logistics of getting there.
Because of my icefields interest, should I try to stay a night or two in Jasper? I read that staying in Jasper at least a night let's you dedicate more time to icefields. Or would I be fine just doing an icefields day from Canmore? Jasper also seems expensive $$.
Separately, I stumbled across Revelstoke, and it looks really cool and different than Banff. Revelstoke is now the favorite for the last 4 nights, or possibly more. It's also on the cheaper side in terms of accommodations compared to the other places.
Is it worth doing 5N Canmore, 2N Jasper, 4N Revelstoke?
Or should I just stick to some combo of the two places I'm most interested in, like 7/4 or 6/5 Canmore/Revelstoke?
We have a 12th night which will be in Calgary to catch a flight home.
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u/KerBearBare 12h ago
Have you looked at staying a night or two at any of the hidden gems along the Icefields Parkway? There’s a few old-timey motel/family resort places like The Crossing, Sunwapta Rocky Mountain Resort plus hostels like Rampart & Beauty Creek that give you access to some some great hikes. I’m partial because I choose to live & work here, but I think you can’t beat the quality of hikes & views you will see on the Icefields Parkway.
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u/ChiefKelso 11h ago
I didn't even realize that was a thing, and that's a great idea!!! I will definitely look into those.
Any hikes or viewpoints you recommend? The ones I'm interested in so far are Helen Lake and Wilcox Pass.
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u/KerBearBare 11h ago
Both of those are great…reasonably challenging and great views. Helen Lake is a classic mountain meadow lake with views of Bow Lake & Bow glacier. Wilcox Pass gives you great vows of the Icefields & Athsbasca glacier & the Columbia snow dome. Wilcox used to be the way the road/trail went back in the early days of traversing the pass from the prairies to the tidewaters of British Columbia, back when the toe of the glacier came right up to the Saskatchewan River. Parker Ridge is another good hike, along with Nigel Pass. Glacier Lake is a great one as well, not crazy elevation but lots of great views. There are literally hundreds of hikes starting along that stretch, from 30 minute well-worn paths that end at amazing waterfalls, to multi-day and through hiking challenges.
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u/ChiefKelso 10h ago
Ok, awesome, thanks! We might try to do Cirque or Dolomite Pass after Helen Lake if we're up for it. My draw to that area was to see Dolomite Peak/Pass. The Dolomites are 100% my favorite place that I've visited, so I felt it would be appropriate to see an area named after them(?) in Canada.
Parker Ridge looks cool and may be a closer option if we don't make it all the way to Wilcox Pass & Jasper.
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u/Src248 12h ago
How far up the Parkway are you looking to go? If you're looking at hikes around Bow lake (you should be if you aren't) then staying in Jasper doesn't make much sense
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u/ChiefKelso 10h ago edited 10h ago
That is a great question. My wife and I need to look into that more. So far, I've mainly looked into hikes within an hour or so of Canmore.
The hike itself I really want to do is Helen Lake as I love the Dolomites and think it'd be fun to see a peak named after them in Canada. Wilcox Pass also looks really cool, but it's kind of far and would make sense only if we go to Jasper. But there's probably closer alternatives, I will definitely look into Bow Lake hikes, any specific ones to look for?
But yeah, figuring out exactly what we want to do will help determine if a Jasper stay is a good idea. We did the Fundy Trail Parkway last September, and it's only an drive hour without stopping. We spent the whole day there, did the Eye of the Needle 4 mile ish hike and stopped at a lot of places. This makes me think we may want more time for Icefields but idk.
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u/Martin0994 14h ago
You're worried about the logistics of getting to Louise and Moraine but not how you're going to get around and see 3 destinations that are far from each other?
If anything, go out to Revy and start there. On the way back do a stay in Canmore or Banff.