Banff

[Aldaron]

@HomerJ, I figured I would start another thread

Yes, we're hitting Jasper and some of the other parks, too. I didn't want to go until September, but work has interfered with that plan, so now I guess I have to deal with more crowds.

These are the trails we plan to do:

Dayhike Wilcox Pass @ Jasper/Banff boundary
Dayhike Wabasso Lake in Jasper
Kayak Maligne Lake in Jasper
Backpack Skyline Trail in Jasper
Horseback ride in Jasper
Backpack Berg Lake in Mt Robson Provincial Park
Dayhike Eiffel Lake in Banff
Explore around Yoho and Kootenay

Is there anything else anyone would recommend I do while we're there? I've done a lot of research, but I'm sure I've missed something.

 

[HomerJ]

Looks like you're going to do a lot more hiking than we did. I went with my parents, my dad had meetings in Banff so while he was in meetings during the day my mom and I ran around a did a lot of the short/easy touristy hikes. We were also there the end of May and spring that year came very late so we didn't get to hike some the places we wanted to. Anyway, the highlight for me was Beauty creek. This was by far our favorite hike! Beauty Creek is just north of the Athabasca Glacier (my book says it's 9.6 miles north). It's very easily missed, in fact we drove past it a mile or so and almost didn't go back but decided to. Boy were we glad we did!

Kayaking Maligne Lake sounds awesome! It was still partially frozen over when we were there so we didn't go out on it. Maligne canyon is way cool, but it probably the most popular hike in Jasper. We started down lower, close to where Johnston Creek dumps into the Athabasca River. This lower section had hardly any people and was quite pretty!

We really wanted to see Takakkaw Falls (2nd tallest in Canada) in Yoho NP, but the trail to it was closed due to avalanche danger.