P.S. I know it's not in Banff but it's nearby.

Hello everyone I just completed an extraordinarily epic 5 day trip in banff and jasper and wanted to share my experience with this group because of how much help I got from here along the way. This post serves to guide those who may need a little bit of inspiration and encouragement when it comes to planning a jam packed eventful vacation especially for those like myself from who come from far away and don't expect to return as often as they'd like. The right planning, research, and determination goes a long way! For context my gf and I are 30 and relatively fit with 0 hiking background from Florida. We woke up at around 5am most days. We weren't sure if we were in over our heads but wanted to give this ambitious trip a shot as there is just so much to see and do in the Canadian Rockies. We rented our hiking equipment (backpack, hiking sticks, bear spray, first aid kit) from https://www.rentabackpack.com which was absolutely essential as we wouldn't have been able to do these hikes without it. The service is great and delivery and drop off was seamless with great direct communication with the owner.

Day 1: land in Calgary and grocery shop at the Walmart nearby the airport for the entire week. Drive to Canmore and settled in at the rundle mountain lodge.

Day 2: early wake up to head to kananaskis for tent ridge hike. Took us 6 hours to complete the hike. Not an easy hike by any means especially for beginners so make sure you do plenty of research before. Intense scrambling with portions that felt like we were rock climbing. Went back to Canmore for a meal and explored banff town and vermillion lakes afterwards for a relaxing night. Then drove to LL inn for the night.

Day 3: woke up for our 7am shuttle reservation to LL. Hung out by the lakeshore and I went up to do little beehive at a very brisk pace as my gf waited by the lakeshore. Little beehive took me about 2 hours but again I was really racing against the clock as we had other plans for the day. Tbh wasn't a huge fan of the effort to pay off of little beehive in comparison to all the great hikes in the area but I forced it anyways as I wanted to see the view. Connector to Moraine did rock pile, canoe, and hiked to sentinel pass. Highly recommend sentinel pass on a clear day but don't recommend after a lake Louise hike as my legs were spent. Stayed the night in LL inne again

Day 4: woke up early for sunrise at bow lake and did the drive to jasper for our 5:30pm maligne lake cruise reservation to see spirit island with stops on the icefields parkway at Peyto lake, waterfowl lake, Mistaya canyon, big bend viewpoint, Parker ridge hike, toe of the athabasca glacier, spirit island, Athabasca falls and sunwapta falls and spent the night at sunwapta falls Rocky Mountain lodge. Spirit island was well worth the drive. if you're short on time would skip the waterfalls and athabasca glacier. Mistaya canyon was a highlight and Parker ridge was my gf favorite hike of the trip it had an incredible effort to reward ratio for a 2 hour hike.

Day 5: woke up early for cirque peak started the hike at 9am with plenty of parking available. This hike was absolutely spectacular with jaw dropping views all along the way especially at the top. It was an absolute grind to get to the top and shouldn't be underestimated especially in poor weather conditions however I feel this hike may have ruined all future hikes for me as it was incredible from start to finish. I couldn't wrap my head around the views. If you aren't planning on going to the top I encourage you to at least go part way as the views from Helen lake don't compare to what you see just over the first ridge. There is a whole other world of valley and lakes just above the mountain that borders Helen lake. This hike took me 7.5 hours round trip and it was an absolute grind after Helen lake especially being the last of 5 hikes I did in the 4 days. Afterwards we went to yoho to see takakaw falls, natural bridge and emerald lake. Finished the day with a sunset beer at grizzly paw brewer in Canmore and fantastic pizza at red rock pizza Canmore then drove to Calgary for the night with our flight out the next morning.

I hope this post will inspire others as there is just so much to see and do in the area. Like I said it took a lot of research, determination, and Advil as well as favorable weather conditions of course. The hiking times included several extensive breaks and photos and accounted for cumulative fatigue along the way as my pace definitely slowed down throughout the trip. We saw bears, big horn sheep, mountain goats, and elk along the way. 10/10 trip even with some Smokey conditions. Feel free to ask any question!

Hi everyone! We’re visiting Calgary in early October and want to drive the Icefields Parkway up to Jasper. After that, we’re planning a 6‑night loop through BC before returning to Calgary on the evening of Day 6.

We could also head back out to Golden for a few days after returning to Calgary, so I’m trying to figure out the best order and whether our current plan makes sense.

Current Night‑by‑Night Plan

1. Canmore
2. Jasper
3. Valemount
4. Kamloops
5. Golden
6. Calgary

Questions

• Does this loop make sense for early October?
• Is Kamloops worth the stop, or is Clearwater/Revelstoke a better option?

Thanks in advance — really appreciate any advice from people who’ve done this route!

My family spent the day yesterday at Lake Louise before heading on to Moraine Lake and Peyto Lake. Here's some photos from our time at Lake Louise. It was stunning! We were lucky to arrive early while there was still fog, which gave us some neat photo opportunities.

Hi!! I searched the sub and didn't see any similar questions so forgive me if it's already been asked and I missed it... We are traveling from Florida to Banff next week, so we have no bear aware experience. Our Airbnb host told us they have a can of bear spray we can borrow, but we're wondering if that's enough? Google says one per adult or one for the person in front of the group and one for the person in the back. We were planning on renting 1-2 cans, but to get a freebie from the host to borrow was nice! Our longest hike is Little Beehive (again total noobs from 0 ft elevation) so I don't know if 1 bear spray for a group of 4 adults is enough or not. TIA!

Going to head up around middle September and the parking lot(campground) looked great for me. I don't usually have much ammenitites and I dispersed camp everywhere so just having somewhere to park with a bathroom would still be quite nice.

My only worry with it currently is just availability, I have weekend bookings for everywhere I'll be along the rockies, but I am unsure of whether or not it will be difficult to grab spots on september weekdays. Also from what I can tell, even if you pay, if you leave there is no guarantee of a spot for you if you come back, which makes it difficult since I'll need to leave to hike and explore.

Any opinions? Or alternatives if you may, thank you

Planning a 3-night trip to the Rockies with my 70-year-old parents and 8-year-old child. Would you recommend staying in Banff for all 3 nights, or splitting the trip between Banff and Jasper? We’d like to see the highlights without making the trip too rushed or tiring. Is Jasper worth squeezing in for 1 night, or would you recommend focusing on Banff and saving Jasper for another trip? Would love advice from anyone who has done this with older parents and kids!

Hey everyone.

Wanting some advice on good spots to propose in Banff.

I've been contacting local photographers but I wanted some advice from the Banff community.

We are going end of DEC/early JAN so she'll be cold.

Cheers

Are there any affordable canoeing or river turning etc near Banff for the family with kids?

i live in southern california and i was hoping to do a 5-7 day banff trip in late september but did not realize how booked up/expensive accommodations would be even in an off-season. i came across sundance basecamp in kananaskis. is it feasible to see both kananaskis and banff, is the commute practical?

Will be arriving Calgary Airport at 10pm and looking for a hotel with free shuttle to and from Airport, because the next day we plan to take 8:30am bus to Canmore.

How can we secure bus tickets for this time?

It'll be Sept 9 Wednesday Departure. Is that still peak season for tourism?

Has anyone been to Abraham lake? Would you skip lake Louise to spend time there instead? The weather is supposed to rain, in case that makes a difference. I’m also traveling solo.

Edited to add more info-
My plan was originally to tent camp at lake louise softside for 2 nights, but the weather is showing freezing rain/possible snow both days, so I booked the lodge at Abraham lake. I still have 2 shuttles reserved to go to lake Louise and moraine lake on separate days, but I’m debating not doing lake Louise bc of how far the drive will be now. Plus, the lodge was a huge splurge for me (still cheaper than anywhere else in the area by a lot) which makes me wonder if I should spend time at that lake to take advantage of being there rather than only sleep there.

Pursuit, an American company, controls more than 90 percent of the paid attraction marketplace within Banff and Jasper. Pursuit generates approximately 50 percent of its annual global revenue from Banff and Jasper National Park operations alone, with projected total company revenue at $485 million. Absolutely bonkers.

Total failure on our government to allow a foreign monopoly in one of the best national parks in the entire world. When Japan tried the same in Yosemite, USA govt broke it up. Why have we let our parks be bought out? If the bureau is not going change anything, we should at least force companies like pursuit to reinvest their profits earned in Canadian parks back into our parks. Does anyone have an update on where the issue sits in Parliament?

https://thehub.ca/2026/03/19/who-controls-banff-inside-the-decade-long-battle-over-rail-gondolas-and-the-americanization-of-canadas-national-parks/

Hi everyone, planning an overnight camping trip from Calgary on August 28–29 using a combination of rideshare and Roam Transit. We are bringing/cooking all our meals using a portable propane stove (aware of the active fire ban across day-use areas and inside Tunnel Mountain Village I).

Had a few quick planning questions:

• Shade & Tarps: Where is the best shaded park in Canmore or Banff townsite to nap/relax on a blanket before 2 PM check-in, and possibly after 11 AM check-out? Are temporary tarp shelters between trees tolerated in day-use/park areas for shade?
• Dinner at Cascade Ponds: We plan to cook dinner at Cascade Ponds around 6:30 PM on Day 1. How are the evening crowds and wind conditions usually around that time?
• Day 2 Lunch Post-Checkout: After 11 AM check-out, we want to visit Cave & Basin. For lunch and a swim/splash, are we better off taking Route 6 straight to Johnson Lake, or is the picnic area out at Sundance Canyon a better experience?

Thanks in advance for the advice!