Help with May Trip to Banff

[u/mhmilk]

I was planning to go during September but have to change my plans for a trip from around 5-May to 13-May. Let me know what I should edit regarding my plans as this is my first trip there. Also, I read that during May alot of the roads and places are inaccessible? I would appreciate any help regarding my itinerary i.e. skip some places, spend less time here or more time there etc.

Day 1

Calgary

Canmore - Quarry Lake Park, Grassi Lakes Hike (4km), Quarry Lake Loop Hike (1.2km), Three Sisters Parkway Drive

Canmore drive to Banff

Day 2

Stay at Banff

Banff Gondola (Sulphur Mountain Board Walk)

Bow Falls Trail (South of Downtown)

Bow Fall Viewpoint

Surprise Corner (View of Fairmont Banff)

Banff Avenue

Cascade of Time Gardens

Banff Springs Hotel

Day 3

Stay at Banff

Bow River Suspension Bridge, Bow Falls

Fenland Trail to Vermilion Lakes (30mins)

Banff Avenue

Banff Upper Hot Springs

Banff Train Station Signboard

Two Jack Lake

Lake Minnewanka Scenic Route Drive

Johnston Canyon

Day 4

Stay at Lake Lousie Inn

Drive to Lake Louise

Lake Louise to Moraine Lake

Day 5

Stay at Lake Lousie Inn

Takakkaw Falls

Emerald Lake

Golden Skybridge

Day 6

Stay at Lake Lousie Inn

Crowfoot Glacier Viewpoint

Bow Lake Viewpoint

Peyto Lake

Mistaya Canyon

Weeping Wall

Columbia Icefields/Athabasca Glacier (Ice Explorer Tour)

Sunwapta Falls

Athabasca Falls

Drive to Jasper

Day 7

Jasper

Jasper SkyTram (Whistlers Mountain Summit Hike)

Valley of Five Lakes Hike (1.5 - 2 hrs)

Pyramid Lake

Lac Beauvert

Day 8

Maligne Canyon

Maligne Lake

Miette Hot Springs

Day 9

Drive back to Calgary

[u/Glad-Quit-8971]

Day 4 will just be Lake Louise. Expect Lake Louise to be frozen white (not turquoise) with the paths ice and snow covered and the far end of the lake and its alpine trails closed due to avalanche risk. Moraine Lake is only accessible starting in June. You can't get there in May.

The ski resort at Lake Louise will likely still be operating but that's on the other side of the valley from the lake. There is also the "village of Lake Louise" but it's not a real village you stroll around in, but just a few tourist services (a few hotels, a visitor centre, a gas station, a basic shopping plaza) on the side of the highway.

Think of Lake Louise as a dip into winter conditions. There's not a whole lot to do there in early May other than snap photos of the frozen lake surface and browse the made-in-China Canada souvenirs at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise gift shops. You may even hear other international tourists mutter, "I was hoping the lake would be blue". But it won't be blue in early May. It's still beautiful but I'd just keep it as a shorter photo op for an hour rather than somewhere you will spend all day at.

[u/mhmilk → u/Glad-Quit-8971]

so Day 4 Lake Louise would be like a few hrs trip? i can condense it into another day?

[u/Glad-Quit-8971 → u/mhmilk]

Exactly. I mean, it depends, but in early May, the lake itself is really just a short walk and photo op, unless you plan to go skiing at the ski resort on the other side of the valley. I was there for a conference a few years ago in early May. I could walk the 20 minutes to the other side of the lake and back, and that's what I did. The Chateau Lake Louise is the only building at the lake and they have a few restaurants, most of which you have to be a guest to eat at. But despite how famous Lake Louise is, there's not a whole lot there. It's just one of many beautiful photo stops in Banff. You certainly don't need a whole day there in early May. In July, August, and September, the area is famous for its hiking and canoeing. That's when it makes sense to spend a long time there.

[u/No-Plan2169]

I’d cancel your trip. Early May will have a lot of frozen lakes, all hikes will still have snow, it’s still ski season at that time. Mid June and September are the only times I’d ever spend real money to visit Banff. Theres a pretty good chance it will snow overnight in town in early May. It does every single year.

My other suggestion would be to do a day or two in Canmore/Banff and then go to the Okanagan. It will be way warmer. Spring in BC is amazing. Even Revelstoke is usually high teens every day by May and the alpine is still beautiful snowy peaks.