The Rocky Mountaineer, Banff, Lake Louise, and Jasper in 12 days?
Aug 31st, 2010, 11:39 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 209
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The Rocky Mountaineer, Banff, Lake Louise, and Jasper in 12 days?
I am writing first to thank all of you, a note of gratitude for the collective wisdom of the Fodorites! I gleaned an amazing amount of information from the Canada forum during the past couple of months as I planned our upcoming Rockies vacation, and wanted to let you all know what I came up with. I hope I’ve used what I’ve learned here to best advantage in coming up with what I did – but would of course welcome any caveats or suggestions that would either keep us out of trouble or make it better.
First, a little context: I read a glowing review of the Rocky Mountaineer train (Vancouver/Jasper/Calgary routes) in the Chicago <i>Tribune</i> a few months ago and this vacation emerged from that idea. DH is 63, I am ten years younger, and we are both relatively fit (he perhaps even more than I). We enjoy the outdoors and nature and do quite a bit of day hiking, but like to come back to indoor plumbing and a nice meal at the end of the day (one of our recent vacations took us to Crater Lake in Oregon; we hiked to the top of Mt. Scott and did many of the trails, but stayed in the lodge with a nice lake view…) We don’t have extravagant tastes but don’t mind spending a little more when it makes sense to do so.
We planned this around the train; I had read that the views are better going from west to east, so started in Vancouver, BC. We have been to Vancouver once before (about 15 years ago), but we usually plan vacations with the thought that we may never get back there again, so try to maximize our time without just galloping along and not taking time to savor anything. We had only 12 days to work with – two weeks would have been better, but it is what it is. I fear that some of this may be a little too ambitious, but it’s too late now to do a major revamp. If that turns out to be the case, any advice on how to make the best of what we’ve got would be most appreciated.
Anyway, here is what we came up with:
September 11: Fly Chicago to Vancouver. Overnight at Fairmont Pacific Rim (we’d usually not stay in a Fairmont, but got a great rate on Expedia)
September 12 : Day in Vancouver; train package provides overnight accommodations (Holiday Inn & Suites)
September 13: All day on train; train package provides overnight in Kamloops
September 14: All day on train; short stop in Banff before ending in Calgary. Train package provides final overnight at International Hotel Suites
September 15: Rent car; drive from Calgary to Banff/Lake Louise. Overnight Johnston Canyon Resort (already got annual parks pass to use in car for rest of vacation)
September 16: Go to Yoho National Park; take bus to Lake O’Hara (found out about Lake O’Hara and called morning of June 16 to get bus reservation). Start up Icefields Parkway; overnight Glacier View Inn at the Icefields Centre. Chosen purely for location.
September 17: Take the “Columbia Icefield Glacier Experience” then continue up Icefields Parkway to Jasper. Overnight Alpine Village
September 18: Jasper. Overnight Alpine Village
September 19: Jasper. Overnight Alpine Village
September 20: Back down Icefields Parkway to Field, BC. Overnight Kicking Horse Lodge (home of Truffle Pigs Bistro that I read so much about)
September 21: Field/Yoho? Revisit Lake Louise/Banff? Head back to Calgary; overnight at Hotel Alma (as in <i>alma mater</i> -- a European style hotel in a renovated residence hall at the University of Calgary – gets good reviews and is run, in part, by students in their hospitality program. I’m involved in a similar program at the university where I work, so am interested in seeing how it goes)
September 22: Fly Calgary to Chicago
I’m most concerned about the September 15/16 days which take us from Calgary halfway up the Icefields Parkway to the Columbia Icefield. We really wanted to do Lake O’Hara and thought that the best time for that would be at the end, on September 21, when we’re already in Field and then headed back to Calgary. But, fearful that we wouldn’t be able to get two of the few daily bus reservations, we thought we’d hedge our bets and try for the 16th, on the way north, and then have a fall-back of the 21st if the bus was a no-go on the 16th. But, I did get the tickets on the first try, so … we’re going on the 16th.
I was hoping that the three nights in Jasper would give us the opportunity to go back down the Icefields Parkway in case we really wanted to do something that we didn’t have time for on the way up, and I was hoping that the last full day (September 21) would give us the opportunity to revisit (or, visit) something in the Lake Louise/Banff area that we had to bypass on the 15th/16th. Is this realistic? And, I know that we may be stuck with bad weather on the intended Lake O’Hara or Columbia Icefields days, but not much I can do about that.
Again, thanks to all of you for sharing your wisdom and experiences on this forum, and any suggestions for the best use of the time we have available would be appreciated!
First, a little context: I read a glowing review of the Rocky Mountaineer train (Vancouver/Jasper/Calgary routes) in the Chicago <i>Tribune</i> a few months ago and this vacation emerged from that idea. DH is 63, I am ten years younger, and we are both relatively fit (he perhaps even more than I). We enjoy the outdoors and nature and do quite a bit of day hiking, but like to come back to indoor plumbing and a nice meal at the end of the day (one of our recent vacations took us to Crater Lake in Oregon; we hiked to the top of Mt. Scott and did many of the trails, but stayed in the lodge with a nice lake view…) We don’t have extravagant tastes but don’t mind spending a little more when it makes sense to do so.
We planned this around the train; I had read that the views are better going from west to east, so started in Vancouver, BC. We have been to Vancouver once before (about 15 years ago), but we usually plan vacations with the thought that we may never get back there again, so try to maximize our time without just galloping along and not taking time to savor anything. We had only 12 days to work with – two weeks would have been better, but it is what it is. I fear that some of this may be a little too ambitious, but it’s too late now to do a major revamp. If that turns out to be the case, any advice on how to make the best of what we’ve got would be most appreciated.
Anyway, here is what we came up with:
September 11: Fly Chicago to Vancouver. Overnight at Fairmont Pacific Rim (we’d usually not stay in a Fairmont, but got a great rate on Expedia)
September 12 : Day in Vancouver; train package provides overnight accommodations (Holiday Inn & Suites)
September 13: All day on train; train package provides overnight in Kamloops
September 14: All day on train; short stop in Banff before ending in Calgary. Train package provides final overnight at International Hotel Suites
September 15: Rent car; drive from Calgary to Banff/Lake Louise. Overnight Johnston Canyon Resort (already got annual parks pass to use in car for rest of vacation)
September 16: Go to Yoho National Park; take bus to Lake O’Hara (found out about Lake O’Hara and called morning of June 16 to get bus reservation). Start up Icefields Parkway; overnight Glacier View Inn at the Icefields Centre. Chosen purely for location.
September 17: Take the “Columbia Icefield Glacier Experience” then continue up Icefields Parkway to Jasper. Overnight Alpine Village
September 18: Jasper. Overnight Alpine Village
September 19: Jasper. Overnight Alpine Village
September 20: Back down Icefields Parkway to Field, BC. Overnight Kicking Horse Lodge (home of Truffle Pigs Bistro that I read so much about)
September 21: Field/Yoho? Revisit Lake Louise/Banff? Head back to Calgary; overnight at Hotel Alma (as in <i>alma mater</i> -- a European style hotel in a renovated residence hall at the University of Calgary – gets good reviews and is run, in part, by students in their hospitality program. I’m involved in a similar program at the university where I work, so am interested in seeing how it goes)
September 22: Fly Calgary to Chicago
I’m most concerned about the September 15/16 days which take us from Calgary halfway up the Icefields Parkway to the Columbia Icefield. We really wanted to do Lake O’Hara and thought that the best time for that would be at the end, on September 21, when we’re already in Field and then headed back to Calgary. But, fearful that we wouldn’t be able to get two of the few daily bus reservations, we thought we’d hedge our bets and try for the 16th, on the way north, and then have a fall-back of the 21st if the bus was a no-go on the 16th. But, I did get the tickets on the first try, so … we’re going on the 16th.
I was hoping that the three nights in Jasper would give us the opportunity to go back down the Icefields Parkway in case we really wanted to do something that we didn’t have time for on the way up, and I was hoping that the last full day (September 21) would give us the opportunity to revisit (or, visit) something in the Lake Louise/Banff area that we had to bypass on the 15th/16th. Is this realistic? And, I know that we may be stuck with bad weather on the intended Lake O’Hara or Columbia Icefields days, but not much I can do about that.
Again, thanks to all of you for sharing your wisdom and experiences on this forum, and any suggestions for the best use of the time we have available would be appreciated!
Aug 31st, 2010, 12:41 PM
#2
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 4,412
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
This seems like a very good itinerary, although a bit short on the Banff/Lake Louise part. My suggestion for 21 Sep would be to visit Takakkaw Falls. As you will already be in Field, the road in leaves from there and you can get an early start. You should also have time for a short stop at Lake Louise (the lake, not the town) and,if the crowds are not too bad, Moraine Lake, before you head back to Calgary.
Aug 31st, 2010, 05:32 PM
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 209
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
NWWanderer, we had the option to terminate in Banff, but the rental car will have to be returned at YYC when we fly home, and it was about three times as expensive to pick it up in Banff and then returned in Calgary. (We now pick it up downtown and return at the airport for no extra $$.) So, given the great cost differential, we decided to end in Calgary.
laverendrye, thanks for the Takakkaw Falls suggestion; I was worried about shorting Lake Louise/Banff and appreciate ideas about how to best spend that last day.
laverendrye, thanks for the Takakkaw Falls suggestion; I was worried about shorting Lake Louise/Banff and appreciate ideas about how to best spend that last day.
Sep 2nd, 2010, 02:30 PM
#6
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 4,219
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Looking forward to your trip report, especially the train. We will be there a couple of weeks after you. 2 nights in Vancouver, then the train to Banff. 8 nights in Banff with day trips in all directions. Then we fly out of Calgary.
