Banff-Late September/October Travel
 

Hello, my husband and I are wishing to travel to the Banff/Jasper area either the last week of September or the first week of October. I'm curious to know if this is a good time of year for a visit since we will be missing the fall colors and the spring wildflowers. Can someone tell us what to expect for weather. We are from Wisconsin and can handle cold but don't really want a whole week of it when on vacation. Also we are not the most savvy of travelers, but I'm guessing we would not have problems finding our way around, etc? Thanks!

could have any type of weather then so bring cloths that you can layer. you may have days of bright sunny skis and 15 celcius but you may also have some days of rain. the nights will be cool but just a fall jacket should be fine. it is a nice time of year to be there as thing quiet down and the wilderness gets ready for winter. small towns and easy to get around. the drive between banff and jasper is a good highway.

Hello Loster,

Here is a sample itinerary, provided by Travel Alberta, that may give you an idea of what there is to do around here. It's called Two City - Two Park Circle Tour. If you lack time to do the whole thing, leave out the two cities, Calgary and Edmonton, except for landing and taking off if you are going to access the area by air, and concentrate on the two national parks (Banff National Park and Jasper National Park).

http://www1.travelalberta.com/conten...m?roadtripID=8

You also could do word searches for Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper here at Fodors talk, and numerous previous threads will come up.

Travel Alberta provides good, free maps and travel guides. In addition to viewing the information on their website, you can order their free materials from

http://www1.travelalberta.com/cfforms/freestuff/

Yoho National Park and Kootenay National Park are continguous with Banff National Park, and also have excellent scenery. You can get information about them from Tourism British Columbia at

http://www.hellobc.com/bcescapes/request_start.asp

You can also do word searches here at Fodors Talk for Yoho, Takakkaw Falls, and Emerald Lake.

To get driving directions, distances and driving times, you can look up www.mapquest.com and www.freetrip.com . Free Trip's driving times tend to be shorter and more realistic, but Map Quest provides maps along with the directions.

Hope that helps.

Thanks to you both for the great info. Judy do you have any thoughts on what to expect for weather during that time?

According to the World Weather Information website at

http://www.worldweather.org/056/c00623f.htm#climate

the average high for Banff in September is 61 deg F and the average low for the month is 37 deg F. In October the average high is 50 deg F and the average low is 30 deg F. Because you'll be going at the end of September or the beginning of October, you have a reasonable expectation of getting weather that is somewhere in the middle of that range.

But those temperatures are averages. In reality, you have a chance of encountering temperatures that are above or below average.

Ltt's advice to bring layers is very sound. Also bring sturdy footwear such as hiking boots.

At that time of year you may very easily encounter snow. The year before last, we had a delightful picnic at Moraine Lake (near Lake Louise) in the middle of September. When we arrived there in the morning, the place was covered with snow from an overnight snowfall. The sun was out, however, and the snow was melting rapidly. We sat at a picnic table in the warm sunlight, and had a most enjoyable meal.

The point about the mountains at any time of year is that the weather is changeable. It changes from one valley to the next, and it changes from one minute to the next.

Dress in mountain restaurants tends to be more casual than it is in city restaurants, because everyone has been out hiking during the day. Even the most upscale restaurants in the mountains usually require nothing more formal than smart casual attire at dinnertime.

Hope that helps.