Jasper National Park Travel Forum

Hi everybody,

I have a question and I hope someone can help me with it.
Last year my girlfriend and I travelled through the Western side of Canada, including Jasper and Banff National Park. Now we want to visit Jasper again, we think about that place almost everyday.
We're planning to return in late May or June 2009. I'm just wondering what to do. We're flying over from Holland to Vancouver I think. Last time we took the bus to go to Jasper, but I'm thinking of hiring a car and drive to Jasper myself. But, I'm not familiar with big traffic ( I'm from Holland you see d:), and I don't know the route.

My questions are:

Can I rent a car and drive up to Jasper ( and probably Banff too) myself or take the bus?

Is June a better time to go then May? In terms of seeing wildlife like bears?

Can someone recommend me when to book the hotels for that period in 2009?

Any help is much appreciated, thanks for helping out!

Kind regards, Ralph and Lenny

1- Drive: It's very easy, Canada is a great country and you only have to follow the rules, that's all. With a car, you can stop anywhere you wish, as long as you wish.

2- May June?, I don't know, locals could give you better advice.

3- Book accommodation: As soon as possible just in case (from my point of view, of course). Peal season is July-August, but...

From Japer town, if you didn't visit Maligne canyon or lake, DO not miss them, it's a must!

I would definitely rent a car. It will get you there faster, plus give you much more flexibility in terms of stopping when and where you want. Don't worry about the route - that's what the road map is for! I have links for Alberta and BC tourism websites on my home page - check that out. They will mail you road maps free of charge. I believe the links are in the travelogue pages on my home page.

June is a better month than May for sure. May is still pretty "wintery" in that area. If you have a choice, I would opt for the latter half of June, rather than the first half. You will see the lakes at their glorious turquoise best after the middle of June. The wildlife is also out and about a lot more by June. But keep in mind that there are no guarantees with wildlife, especially in the Banff area. My advice to you would be to assume that you will not see any wildlife and if you do, it will be a wonderful surprise as opposed to a bitter disappoint if you don't.

I would book your hotels as soon as you can, especially for Jasper. Hotel rooms are really at a premium there. Due to the shortage of hotel rooms in Jasper, one nice option that is available there is in-home accomodation rental. These are private homes that are rented out on a nightly basis. Many have full kitchen facilities and some offer breakfast in their rate. All homes are inspected and licensed, here's a link to the private home accomodation website:

http://www.stayinjasper.com/

This is generally a much more affordable option to hotel rooms as well.

Feel free to check out my Banff pages for photos & info. And don't hesitate to contact me if I can help further.

- CG

"camping girl" has some good advise. i would definitly choose june and even then, some of the lakes or high trails may have some ice. during may it is stil possible to get snow storms (which the mountains are experiencing TODAY), so driving in june will be much better. june is a good month as "the kids" aren't out of school yet so it is less busy. a lot of people really like the home stays in jasper. my only hesitation is that i enjoy sitting in an outdoor hot tub and having access to a swimming pool which of course you'd only have at a hotel. assuming next year is similar to this, as recommended, book your accommodations asap. a lot of companies our reserving a large numbe of hotel rooms for long periods of time due to some projects going on in the area. check their cancellation policy. with most you can cancel 72 hours in advance (some maybe a week) and get your full refund.
i hope you have lots of time to enjoy the drive.