Jasper National Park Travel Forum

Hello All
I am planning a trip to Jasper and Banff from Seattle with my husband and my 11 month old baby. I have a few questions and would request inputs as I need to figure out my plan in the next day or so
- Should we go in end of May 2008 or July first week. I know July is overall mroe recommended because of warm weather but is Memorial week in may end a definite no no. what kind of weather variation can I expect and will it prevent us from enjoying our trip/seeing places. Is July a compeltley different experience from May and worth delaying the trip
- we only have 5.5 days max including travel time. Believe that vancouver to Banff drive is abt 10 hrs one way and driving so much in such a short vacation may not be the best idea. So we were thinking of flying to Calgary ( so we could get max time in the rockies) and use that as the starting point to go to Lake Louise, jasper and Banff and fly back from calgary to seattle. is that recommended Do we miss out on any picturesque places
- recommended cities/hotels to stay ( nothing too cheap not too fancy )
- advise activites with a 11 mth old and must see places

Would love to hear back from you avid travellers with any inputs

Hi There,

The end of May might be ok to go, but it is still a little cool and some of the lakes might still be frozen. Due to the lakes still being frozen or partly frozen you might not get to see that bright blue color. The other problem you may come across is that some places are not accessible due to road conditions. Some areas are not open until the end of May depending on the weather and road conditions higher up in the mountains. May is a little cheaper and less busy than July and if the weather does cooperate then this time of the year might be ok.

Personally I would go in July as the scenery is at its best. If you visit the most popular places earlier in the morning or later in the afternoon then you'll avoid the big crowds as well. Most popular spots and places not to miss are: Emerald Lake, Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Peyto Lake, Columbia Icefield, Athabasca Falls, Maligne Lake. I would definitely take some time out to visit these places. Have a look at my Banff, Jasper, Yoho National Park pages.

If you do fly to Calgary then you need to rent a car, because there is no other way to get around in the Canadian Rockies. Another thing I can suggest is to drive from Vancouver to Jasper as this should only take about 8 and a half hours. We have driven this several times and would leave around 9.00am and arrive in Jasper by 5.00pm and this with a couple of stops during the trip...an hour for lunch included.

This way is actually shorter than the trip to Banff and then drive from Jasper to Banff and back via Revelstoke, Kelowna and back to Vancouver - Seattle. That's the route I would do. You follow Highway 1 east from Vancouver until you get to Hope, in Hope you follow the signs for Highway 5 North (Coquihalla Highway) until you get to Kamloops. This Coquihalla Highway is a toll highway and costs $10 CAD per car which is worth it as it takes you to your destitination much faster. From Kamloops you continue to follow Highway 5 North towards Clearwater and keep on following Highway 5 North until you hit the place Tete Jaune Cache from where you take Highway 16 east (Yellowhead Highway) towards Jasper.

I hope this can help you!
Greetings from Vancouver,
Ann :)

The above is fine information, and I have followed those routes from Seattle up to Banff/Jasper, also. However, last trip -- and I like going in July if I can get away -- we took a different route, which avoids the incredibly crowds at both the Blaine border crossing and the congestion of driving through Vancouver. Vancouver is lovely, but it can be a time-waster (just like Seattle) due to traffic. My preferred route now is: North Cascades Highway (Rte. 20) through the Methow Valley to Omak -- gorgeous scenery along this road. Then turn north on Rte. 97 and cross the border at Oroville-Osoyoos (Okanagan Valley). This road eventually hooks up with Canadian Rte. 1, goes through Yoho National Park, and then reaches Banff. However, due to your very limited time, this route may take longer.

This said, if you can only take 5.5 days, I would fly to Calgary and rent a car. It's a shame, because this driving trip from Seattle, plus modest sightseeing time in the Canadian Rockies, needs a minimum of about 10 days, in my opinion. You'd be rushing everywhere on your present schedule. And, of course, even the flying/airport waiting time is going to eat into your sightseeing time. I hope you can find a good solution and more time, because this is one of the most gorgeous areas on earth!

--

Hello All
Thanks for much for your inputs. At leats 1 thing I have decided is that we will fly from Sea-Calgary rather than drive to jasper/banff as we would like to use the 5 days to actually see the gorgreous places you all have mentioned!! And yes I am very aware that 1 trip or just 5 days dont do justice to these parks and I have all intentions to go back again.
I am still undecided about May memorial ( 23-27 May) or July independence day ( July 3-7). the calgary stampede also happens in July so I am guessing those make the parks also crowd up a lot and places to stay are expensive. So is the crowd a major deterring and delaying factor to get to places or is it ok...how different will be the experience in May end ...just marginally different or dramatically different....does May last week mean its still going to be too cold to wlak comfortable around with a 11 month baby or is it not that bad...

I would love to hear more ...thanks in advance for taking the time to reply