Peacechik

Hi and thanks to all the people on this forum who answer travelers with questions. It's such a fun and helpful planning tool.

My husband and I are flying in and out of Calgary for six nights in the Rockies in late August and hoping to get some thoughts on our itinerary, choice of hotels or activities. It's a special trip for us because we're about 4 mos. preganant with twins and know we may not get another vacation for a while. We realize it's not a lot of time, but don't want to miss any must-sees. We enjoy nice hotels and good food, but also prefer to be away from crowds and enjoy spending quiet time in nature, spotting wildlife. Our lodging requirements include a non-smoking room with comfortable queen or king-size bed. Would love a room with a view. We hope to do some easy, scenic hikes and canoeing, etc.

Aug25) Rent car in Calgary, drive to Banff for one night at Buffalo Mtn Lodge or view room at Rimrock Hotel. Stroll into Banff for dinner.

Aug26) After leisurely breakfast, ride Sulfur Mtn Gondola. Check out of hotel and drive Icefields Parkway to Jasper with picnic lunch Stop at one or two of these sights along the way (Athabasca Falls, Sunwapta Falls, Peyto Lake, Snocoach?), saving some for the road trip back. Arrive Jasper. I booked one of the newer log chalets (lower unit) at Becker Chalets because I was told the older more quaint chalets could smell a bit mildewy and with my sensitive nose/queasiness right now, I couldn't deal with that. Dinner in town.

Aug27) Visit Angel Glacier at Mt. Edith Cavell. Possibly hike Cavell Meadows or walk in Maligne Canyon. See Maligne Lake.

Aug28) Check out and drive down Icefields Parkway, picnic lunch. Stop in at Lake Louise for a walk around. Check in at Cathedral Mountain Lodge for three nights in either a Wapta King or log cabin. Dinner in Field.

Aug29/30) Visit Moraine Lake - rent canoe. Visit Takakkaw Falls and Emerald Lake. Dinner at Deer Lodge or Emerald Lake or Post Hotel?

Aug31) Check out by 10am, drive to Calgary for our 4pm flight back to California.

Wondering if it would be better to spend the first and second night in Banff? Or first and last night in Banff? Any other thoughts/suggestions would be much appreciated.

Judy_in_Calgary

Hello Peacechik,

You have planned very well. I am impressed. However, here are some tweaks I could suggest.

>>>Aug25) Rent car in Calgary, drive to Banff for one night at Buffalo Mtn Lodge or view room at Rimrock Hotel. Stroll into Banff for dinner.<<<

I don't think it would be all that feasible to stroll into Banf for dinner from the Rimrock. It's on a steep hill above Banff and, if memory serves me correctly, there isn't a sidewalk on which you can walk. Buffalo Mountain Lodge also is outside the centre of town a bit and also on a hillside. However, I would rather walk from town back to Bufallo Mountain Lodge than to the Rimrock.

>>>Wondering if it would be better to spend the first and second night in Banff?<<<

No, not in my opinion. You already are making the best use of your time, as far as I can tell. As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

>>>Or first and last night in Banff?<<<

Again, no. If you had an earlier departure time, I would suggest staying closer to Calgary Airport, even if only a little closer, in the Banff / Canmore area. As it is, with a 4 pm departure, you will have enough time to drive from the east end of Yoho National Park to Calgary Airport.

What's more, I believe you'll even have enough time to pay a short visit to Johnston Canyon (on the Bow Valley Parkway or Hwy #1A) en route to Calgary. You then could stop in Banff or Canmore for an early lunch.

Here's a suggested timetable for your last day.

Depart your accommodation around 9.00 a.m.

Drive to Johnston Canyon and walk to the Lower Falls and back.

After doing that, you should be able to reach Banff by 11.00 a.m.

(You could substitute Canmore for Banff if you like.)

Have lunch, and leave Banff around noon.

That will give you enough time to reach Calgary Airport for the 2-hour check in that is required for U.S.-bound flights. (Your spelling of "travelers" and "Sulfur" leads me to believe you're American. )

You can bypass much of Calgary's traffic if you use this route to get to the airport. (Indeed, you can use the same route, in reverse, to get out of Calgary in the first place.)

You'll be driving eastwards towards Calgary on the TransCanada Highway (Hwy #1).

When you reach the first set of traffic lights soon after Calgary's western city limits, turn north onto Stoney Trail.

Stoney Trail will end in a T-junction. Turn east onto Country Hills Boulevard.

Continue east on Country Hills Boulevard until it passes over the top of a significant highway called Deerfoot Trail (Hwy #2).

Quite soon after passing over Deerfoot Trail, turn south onto Barlow Trail (Hwy #2A).

That will take you right to the airport.

Just as you're about to enter the airport complex, there is a gas station at which you can fill your rental car.

And good luck with those twins.

bob_brown

I am curious to know where you plan to eat in Field.

Do you already have reservations at these places where you wish to stay? If you don't have a prebooked room at Cathedral Mountain Lodge, I suggest you reserve a room right away.

It is an easy drive to Banff from Calgary. My only suggestion for getting from the airport to Banff would be to get a map of Calgary and look at an alternative way to get to the Trans Canada Highway without going through the heart of town.

On my last several visits, I have picked a route along the northern side of the city. Going south on the Barlow Trail, I turn right on McKnight Boulevard to John Laurie to Stoney Trail and (left) south to the Trans Canada. This way skirts the northern residential areas of Calgary. It depends upon the time and the day of the week as to whether or not it is a time saver. On a Sunday morning I would not do it; at 4 pm on Friday I would.

Cathedral Mountain Lodge is a good place from which to visit Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. I have not stayed there, but I know where it is, having driven past it many times.

We have stayed overnight in Field several times for 3 or 4 nights per visit. That is why I was asking about your dining expectations. Your choices are limited.

Peacechik

Hi Judy and Bob,
Thanks so much for your prompt and thoughtful replies. It was with your previous posts that I was able to make a big dent in our planning. Liked all your suggestions.

Forgot to mention that Rimrock has a shuttle into town and we'd probably take that if we stayed there.

Cathedral Mtn Lodge did have a few openings for our dates when I checked today. Where we're eating was a concern since their restaurant is closed right now. I heard that the Kicking Horse Lodge in Field had decent food. And the Truffle Pig is supposed to be good (for lunch, don't know if they're open for dinner) Since it's 15-20 minutes to Lake Louise, we were thinking we could have a dinner at Post Hotel or Emerald Lake Lodge. Or perhaps it would make more sense for us to stay somewhere closer to Lake Louise. If you have any alternate lodging or food suggestions, I'd really appreciate them.

Our other thought is that we wanted to stay at Alpine Village in Jasper, but they have a three night minimum for the cabin we wanted. We could possibly switch our days and spend 3 nights in Jasper, 2 at Cathedral Mountain. But would that be too rushed in your opinion?

Thanks again for all your help.

Judy_in_Calgary

>>>Forgot to mention that Rimrock has a shuttle into town and we'd probably take that if we stayed there.<<<

Well fair enough then.

>>>We could possibly switch our days and spend 3 nights in Jasper, 2 at Cathedral Mountain. But would that be too rushed in your opinion?<<<

It depends to some extent on what time your flight gets in.

Assume an hour for clearing immigration and customs at the airport. Assume 5 hours to drive from Calgary to Jasper. Assume an hour's stop in Lake Louise for dinner.

If you were a "normal" person, I'd say go for it. However, if you're anything like I was when I was pregnant, you'll have to make more than the usual number of bathroom stops. Also, between flying and driving that day, that's a lot of time to spend sitting.

You could, however, land in Calgary, and make it to Cathedral Mountain Lodge for your first two nights.

Then you could proceed to Jasper for the next three nights.

Since your plane's departure time is 4 pn, you could leave Jasper between 7 am and 8 am and make it to the airport in good time for your flight.

However, you're back to facing the same dilemma as you would have faced if you'd driven to Jasper on your first day, namely, you'd spend a heck of a lot of time sitting during your departure day.

I keep returning to the feeling that, in broad terms, your itinerary is perfect as it is.

Something I've hesitated to mention about Cathedral Mountain Lodge, because I have not experienced it myself, is that I've heard some guests complaining about train noise at night.

Apparently Baker Creek Chalets are set back a bit further from the train track. Between that and the "white noise" from the nearby stream, they apparently are okay from the point of view of train noise.

Paradise Lodge and Bungalows and Deer Lodge are far from train tracks, and are in quiet locations. If you stay at Deer Lodge, I believe you'll find the standard rooms too small. At a minimum stay in a Tower Room or, better still, in a Heritage Room.

Moraine Lake Lodge is supposed to be nice. The nearby parking lot is very full during the day, and there are many visitors to Moraine Lake. However, you'll be out and about doing your own sight seeing during the day. I've heard that it gets quiet in the evening when the day trippers have left.

bob_brown

The Truffle Pig is open for dinner.
Itis usually crowded because the number of choices is very limited. If you can sit outside; inside can be hot because the whole place is small and it heats up with the afternoon sun and the kitchen.

I will neither recommend it nor condemn it because it is the kind of place one either loves or hates.

At any rate you have all your socks in one drawer in terms of organization.

Let me suggest that you be ready to deviate from your plan when the opportunity presents itself.

For example, last year we thought we would hike Johnston Canyon again. Good idea, but the timing was bad. The parking lot was full and every time a vehicle backed out, the vacant space was attacked by a swarm of 4-wheeled vultures.

I said to heck with this and drove over Vermillion Pass to Kootenay Park and walked up to Stanley Glacier Basin.
Not much of the glacier can be seen, but the waterfalls are numerous as they stream down the face of the cliffs.

When you go to Lake Louise, I suggest getting there early. Why? About 9:30 or so the tour buses begin to stream in and, as we say down here, they start to pile up.

I find it interesting to watch the Japanese tour groups. They move with such quickness and cohesion that I am amazed. No wonder they cover so much in a day. They don't waste any time getting on and off of the buses.

Peacechik

Again, some really good suggestions, I had not thought of. Will ask Cathedral Mountain about the train noise. They are doing some construction there which I knew about, but I hadn't heard a thing about a train. Will inquire. And will check out Deer Lodge.

Also, appreciate the restaurant, sightseeing, hiking tips.

Thank you so much!