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When is the best time to go to Banff National Park and maybe Jasper, too, to hike, golf, see wildflowers and...avoid crowds? Is June too early? How about nice places to stay? Many thanks!
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July or August. June's too early. Unfortunately, high prices and crowds are a part of the package if you're specifically seeking golf, hiking and wildflowers, but it depends on your context of crowds. Are you familiar with the types of crowds one finds in Europe or the USA? Because while the towns and the parking lots will be crowded, you can often escape crowds in the Canadian Rockies simply by walking down a trail or walking a short distance away from those parking lots and towns.
September would probably suit you the best but I think it's too late for wildflowers by then. It will be less crowded than July and August though.
Anytime from mid-June to end of September is good for hiking; we've hiked anytime from April to October - it just depends on the trail. We were in Jasper at the beginning of June this year, and although spring this year was cooler than average, most of the trails we were interested in were open.
The golf courses are in the valleys where it is warmer than at higher elevations, so June to October.
Best time for wildflowers is July.
Lots of places to stay in both Banff and Jasper. What type of acommodation do you prefer??
If you are looking for subalpine meadow wildflowers, as well as lower elevations, that'd be mid-July to mid-August. There are lots of wildflowers in the valleys in June, including the very beautiful calypso orchid.
Nice? As in Chateau Lake Louise nice or Moraine Lake Lodge nice? (several hundred $$$ per night) Prices are lower in June. All accommodation options for Banff & Lake Louise are listed at www.banfflakelouise.com and for Jasper at www.jaspercanadianrockies.com .
We enjoyed going to Banff, Lake Louise, and Jasper mid to late September. It gets horrendously croweded in the Summer time. You'll also get lower rates if you travel off-season.
If you'd like to see my photos from my trip, you can visit:
www.JulieRoggowPhotography.com or www.ThompsonTravelinfo.com
You can see my photos from all around the world (I specialize in wildlife and travel destination photography).
Julie
Given you ask about wildflowers, the best time for more flowers is the very end of June/beginning of July. That will give you the most kinds at various elevations. Some trails and/or highway passes could still have snow at high elevations, it depends on the year. Golf is usually great by then, and the summer vacation season is just starting for Canadians, as their kids don't finish school until around June 28.
If you want to avoid crowds, pick longer hikes. Johnson's Canyon, for example, can be very crowded, but if you hike on up to the Inkpots and meadows, the crowd quickly thins out. But Johnson's Canyon is in such a beautiful area, along the old highway, and worth seeing even if there's quite a few people to share it! Same with Lake Louise, where parking mid-summer can sometimes be a challenge, especially up at the Lake, or near the bakery in town.
When the best time for wildflowers is depends on the weather and elevation. At higher elevations they bloom later than lower in the valleys. I've done hiking the first week of August (Rockwall trail) and couldn't have asked for more flowers in bloom.
I pretty much agree with above comments about when to go.
As far as nice places to stay, Fairmont Banff Springs (Banff) and Fairmont Jasper Lake Lodge (Jasper).