I'm looking at booking two nights at BakerCreek Chalets and 3 nights at Patricia Lake chalets. Before I go ahead do you think these my best choices since I really don't want to stay in a motel/hotel? I like the fact one has a river nearby and the other the lake. It will be my wife and two boys(10 & 6)and myself. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks, Jeff

I don't have any experience with the Patricia Lake chalets, but we have stayed at Baker Creek several times and have been very pleased. We have stayed in both the 2 bedroom as well as the one bedroom loft cabins. Our kids enjoyed the loft and it was a good setup for our family. Baker Creek does not have televisions in the cabins, but honestly, our kids never even noticed. The cabins have decks, but no grills, so we took a small tabletop gas grill. There are several firepit/grills on the grounds there for you to use as well as picnic tables though. There is a small, but good kitchen in the cabins, and a woodstove. The on-site restaurant, The Bistro, is very good. If you stay here and want to buy groceries, do that in Banff or Canmore though as the Lake Louise store is very small and quite expensive.

Thanks for the info, I just came across Cross River cabins on the BC side. This looks like a great place. I wonder now if I can fit this into my schedule.

Two big thumbs up for Baker Creek--great place to stay. Restaurant is my pick as best restaurant in the area (food is as good as the Post Hotel and the atmosphere is much more relaxed).

OK, I'm re-thinking everything, fly into Calgary, arrive around noon time(already booked)drive up to Jasper stay at Lake Patricia Bungalows for two nights, drive to Cross River Cabins for 3 nights and finish sight seeing from that location. On sixth day I need to drive to MapleFalls, Washington(9-10 hour drive. Baker Creek sounds wonderful though, but Cross River sounds like it has hiking, etc right out your back door. Can anyone comment on this. Thanks, Jeff

Hello jeffk179,

I've never stayed at Cross River Cabins. In looking for accommodation in the Kootenay / Rockies region I've stumbled on their website, and have put them on my wish list for future reference. Since we would be a repeat visitors to the area, I think it would be a neat property for my family and me.

If I recall correctly you will be a first time visitor to the area. If that's the case, I believe Cross River Cabins will not be a convenient base from which to visit the "must see" sights / sites that the area has to offer (Moraine Lake, Emerald Lake, Takakkaw Falls, etc.).

A couple of years ago, laurafromtexas stayed at Kootenay Park Lodge. If I remember her comments correctly, she made the observation that the property was too much of an outlier to serve as a convenient base. From that point of view, Cross River Cabins would be even more remote.

Also, I don't know if you noticed that there is no restaurant at Cross River Cabins. It's a self-catering facility.

Judy, thanks for the reply. Yes this is my first visit to the area. I'm torn between doing the usual tourist attractions and experiencing more of a backcountry area, which I think Cross River cabins will offer. I'll have my wife and two kids with me as well. I was thinking of exploring the area around the cabin as an alternative to doing all the sight seeing areas. Maybe I'm just trying to get in too much. Let me know what you think. Thanks, Jeff

Hi Jeff,

Before responding to people's posts, I try to understand from what they've typed what kind of experience they want. I try to tailor my answers accordingly.

In the case of your posts, I'm getting mixed signals. On the one hand, you say you want to experience a backcountry area. On the other hand, you're planning to land in Calgary and drive to Jasper the same afternoon, which is quite a arduous ordeal to put your family through.

I'm a fan of Jasper, and I recommend that people visit it if they have the time. However, if you consider your timeline, perhaps there is merit in skipping Jasper.

Perhaps you could drive from Calgary to Lake Louise for, say, 4 nights. If you stayed at Baker Creek Chalets, you'd be in the forest, a 10-minute drive from Lake Louise village. The place has a very nice, quiet feel to it.

From there you could spend one day exploring Banff townsite and the places relatively near it (e.g., Johnston Canyon), you could spend another day driving as far up the Icefields Parkway as would be feasible, and you could spend another day exploring the Moraine Lake / Lake Louise / Takakkaw Falls / Emerald Lake corridor.

On your Icefields Parkway day you might even get as far as Jasper. However, I wouldn't suggest that you push the point just for the sake of saying you'd gone to Jasper. I would suggest you do the drive at a comfortable pace, stop at scenic lookout points, and see how far you get. At a minimum you should be able to fit in Peyto Lake, the Columbia Icefields and Sunwapta Falls.

After that, you could go to Cross River Cabins for your remaining time in Canada. There you could have that backcountry experience that you're after. Yet you still would have seen what I consider to be the jewels in the crown (Moraine Lake, Peyto Lake and Emerald Lake).

I hope that has helped and has not just confused you further.

Thanks Judy, this has really helped. I was thinking initally that Jasper was a must-see area but after your comments I feel like it's not as critical(although I'm sure its beautiful). I really liked the look of BakerCreek and didn't really want to not go there. So, this would be perfect. Thanks again, Jeff