My husband & I are spending a week in Banff/Jasper area in mid-July. I ended up booking the Bear & Bison Inn in Canmore & then Beckers Chalets in Jasper. Now I'm second guessing myself about my choices! We want comfortable, reasonably priced places to stay--away from the crowds/town--but still close enough to do things. Rustic, wooded, with a little luxury, (with jacuzzis!)preferably under $125 US. The Bear & Bison was a stretch for us at &176 a night, I just hope it's worth it. I'm more concerned with my Beckers Chalet choice. I do like the idea of having our own separate cabin. Any other suggestions before it's too late for me to cancel??

Why would you have second thoughts about Beckers? It is south of the main part of town on the banks of the Athabasca River.

I read in one of the other reviews that someone thought that Beckers was " too out in the open" -- so now I'm picturing it right off the highway with traffic going by!

We stayed in Becker's Chalets in Jasper last year (June 2002) and it was very nice. It was indeed out in the open and next to the main road but it was not noisy at all. It is extremely accessible to everything you want to do in Jasper. The cabins are fairly new and kept very clean. We also visited Banff before heading out to Jasper and stayed at the Rimrock Hotel right in Banff. I remember that this was quite pricey (we had the bed and breakfast package) but it was such a gorgeous hotel with excellent food that it was definitely worth it. The views were unbelievable. Word of warning - after we stayed at the Rimrock, we headed out to Jasper. When we got to Becker's Chalets we were initially disappointed because the Rimrock was so plush and elegant and the Chalets were simple. But that was an unfair comparison since buildings in Jasper cannot be ither two or three storeys high. All in all, I'd stay in Becker's again. And in case you want to go white water rafting, Jasper is much better than Banff. Hope this helps.

A place on the river that is somewhat similar to Beckers is Jasper House Bungalows. I have stayed the twice and thought the place to be ok.
Some of the cabins are actually small apartments with kitchens and seprate sitting spaces. Some of them are close to the river. Sometimes you can see rafts going by.

Unfortunately, Jasper House is a popular place in mid July. It may be booked to capacity. (The tour bus companies seem to have priority.)

Thanks for the suggestions. I did try Jasper House & they are full. Becker's might be fine if nothing else is available, but I am still looking for something a little more secluded & woodsy.
I am taking note of most of your suggestions, Bob, on where to go etc, you're an excellent resource on this site.
Ok, here's one for you - we will get into Calgary at 6:45 pm, have to get a car, then have planned to drive to St. Mary's in Glacier Park that night - already have a motel booked. Is that a crazy idea? If so, do you know of a semi-interesting place on the way that we could stay for the night that's on the way to GNP - we're going thru Cardston.
We plan on staying in Many Glacier the next night & then driving up to Banff, etc. for the rest of the week.

I can suggest two places convenient to Waterton. Last year we stayed at the Shintangle B and B located on the road between Pincher Creek and the entrance to Waterton Park. It is not your usual b and b because it was designed as a b and b all the way. There are 4 large rooms much like motel rooms with all of the amenities you would expect in a 3 star place, except for a swimming pool.
The area is somewhat remote because you can see wildlife on the property.
The breakfast room is separate and situated between the sleeping wing and the main part of the house, which is the family home.

The other place is a commercial motel called the Flamingo in Cardston.
It is a typical motel, but good for a 2 star establishment. I think it is only 2 stars because it had no elaborate lobby, which is a little ridiculous, but that is the AAA standard.

A very interesting place to visit in Cardston is the Remington Carriage Museum. It features a very comprehensive collection of horse drawn carriages, coaches, and wagons from the pre automobile era. Most interesting.

Waterton itself has several nice places, with high prices because of demand.

If we left at 7:30-800pm - Do you think we could make it to St. Mary's from Calgary by midnight?
Also, which would you take Beckers of Alpine Village? Which is more away from the highway in the woods & which is nicer?

I am not sure that Chief Mtn, the crossing between Alberta and Montana to ST. Mary is open that late. You need to check on that for sure. Chief Mtn tends to maintain limited hours. They are open later in summer but be sure before you count on it.

Calgary to St. Mary is at least a four hour drive. Not counting the time spent at the border.

I would recommend booking something in Alberta and then crossing the border the next day.

You could book the Bayshore in Waterton - it is not a fancy place, quite plain actually, and then travel to St. Mary the next day. But be sure to book in advance, they are almost always full. Or if you want a fancy place (with accompanying dollars) you could book Glacier Waterton Suites or the Kilmorrey.

When in St. Mary, I assume you are planning on travelling the Going to the Sun highway, don't miss sitting under the bridge, right inside the park - it is worth your time to relax and visit.

I think your attempt to get to St. Marys in that that length of time is a little silly, frankly, mainly because of the border crossing.

At the Calgary airport from the time you land until you clear customs and get your rental car, it will take you at least 40 minutes. To reach St. Mary's, I estimate 4.5 hours driving without stops. That would you at the border station about 11 pm at best.

The airport is north of Calgary and getting through the southern part of the city is a little slow, even at night.

The web site says that the Port of Piegan is open from 7 AM until 11 PM.
The Port of Chief Mountain has the same hours and will gain you nothing.
the only 24 hour station is at Coutts and that would mean a longer drive to St. Marys.

Given that you have a realistic drive of about 5 to 5.5 hours total to get to St. Marys, you would be arriving at the entry port very close to closing time.

What is so great about getting to St. Mary's anyhow? It is an not exactly the garden spot of Montana.
I don't see that it is worth elevating your blood pressure to 220/110.
Vacation or punishment trip?

You do plan on taking your passport don't you??
If not, be prepared for a longer delay crossing and entering.

Ok,we'll try to get to Cardston & stay there the first night instead of going on. My dad used to be a ranger in Many Glacier for years (long ago) & I've been back many times since -- and tho this trip is to really see the Canadian Rockies, it's hard to resist going to Glacier since it's so close, even tho it'll mean more driving. I'm sure when I see Lake Louise & Jasper, I'll probably wish we had skipped it!

And we will definitely take our passports - something that I probably wouldn't have thought of before.

We just got back from Canada (what a great trip!) We were booked in for two nights at Becker's, and having just come from Emerald Lake Lodge, I was really disappointed when I got there. There are a LOT of cabins here, and they are close to each other. The river is really pretty but I felt a bit like I was at a campground resort in the US, and that was not what I was expecting. The good thing is they are mostly new, very comfortable (we had a deluxe 1 BR with a loft), but the resort is lacking in atmosphere. So we checked out and moved over to Tekarra Lodge (right around the corner) and I was sorry after I got there. Tekarra has a very nice restaurant, but the cabins had no fans (and it was hot), and they were much smaller and older than at Becker's. It had more of the atmosphere I was looking for in terms of setting, but that didn't help me get to sleep at night because it was so hot in the room! I'd really recommend the restaurant at Tekarra and it is right around the corner from Becker's. Alpine Village looked really, really nice, but they were full when we were there and I think they may be more than you want to spend. Be aware too, you aren't going to want to spend much time in the room because Jasper is so beautiful. We want to go back again next year and I am going to try Alpine Village for that trip. The Pyramid Lake resort looked nice too. Hope that helps and have a great time!

We just returned from these places- took maybe 3 minutes to cross border between Glacier and Waterton and we don't have passports- looked at my husband's drivers license and my voter registration card (going into Canada)- however, when we returned to USA at Coonts they asked for official ID's and I gave them our birth certificates- they asked what we were bringing in, particularly if we had red meat.

We drove from Glacier to Waterton (really enjoyed Waterton), Calgary for one night- yes, it's difficult to make good time getting thru Calgary- lots of stop lights even on main 4-lane highways. Next night in Lake Louise, two nights in Jasper- yes, we were worried about Becker's but found them to be just right- very quiet, nice large living room with nice deck, a good bed. Drove by Alpine village and Tekarra- Alpine looked the nicest. Pyramid Lake looked very nice- it is farther from town and all by itself. Next night was Banff then one night in Canmore- nice room there at BestWestern Pocaterra. Lovely bathroom, nice sitting area in front of fireplace, etc.

Thanks for the responses. We'll be leaving on 6/18 for our trip to the Canadian Rockies - can't wait! We decided not to go to Glacier NP - been there before & too much driving. We're doing 2 days in Banff, 2 in Golden, 2 in Jasper & 1 at the Blue lake lodge north of Jasper. I'll report back on how it all was.
I'm still booked for 2 nights at Beckers in a deluxe log chalet for 2. I've tried calling Alpine Village & Patricia Lake resort every day - they are booked solid. But I can get in at Jasper House Bungalows or the Pyramid Lake Lodge. Just wondering if I should switch or not - Jasper bungalows are about the same price as Beckers & Pyramid Lake looks like it's smaller accomodation & about $40 more. But if either one is nicer - I'm willing to switch. It's my last day to cancel at Beckers without a fee. Suggestions? I do like a more private, wooded atmosphere, but still want to be comfortable. Thanks.

I meant we'll be leaving 7/18.

bernardandjean - did you get charged for cancelling at Beckers that day?

Where are Jasper House Bungalows? I don't remember seeing them.
We were satisfied with Beckers- were hardly there anyway- it was daylight til about 11 p.m. and we were out doing things all day. We had a deluxe chalet- the older cabins are the ones right on the river. They were already full. Our deluxe chalet was upstairs with a deck.

I'm not familiar with Bear and Bison. We stayed one night in Canmore at Best Western Pocaterra- king deluxe for maybe $189 CAD. It had a huge bathroom with large jacuzzi, nice sitting area in front of fireplace, king bed, small balcony. We got home July 8th.

It says on the web site that Jasper House Bungalows are 3.5 km S. of Jasper on the Athabasca river.

We'll have to check out all of the resorts I've been looking at on the web sites - be interesting to see what they really look like.

I did switch from Beckers to Pyramid Lake last night.