My husband and I are planning a trip to the Canadian Rockies this August. We live in northern CA. We are in our mid 50's, fit and active, and love hiking and outdoor adventure. Any suggestions on whether we are better off flying into Calgary and spending all our time in Banff, Jasper, etc, or flying into Vancouver and taking the scenic drive getting there but having less days to spend there? We have 8-10 days total. Also, we would love suggestions for reasonably priced lodging and healthy eats.

rebelgale,

There have been quite a few threads asking very similar questions to yours and reading the replies on them will provide you with lots of suggestions.

The search function can be found at the top of the forum and you can use the "Advance search" link to narrow your search to a specific forum and date range.

I do recommend you make lodging reservations asap since you are planning on coming during the height of tourist season. You may have difficulties finding something this close to your travel dates.

I would fly to Calgary and start from there.In Banff we stayed in the Spruce grove motel(comparable with your Motel 6)but situated in the mainstreet. In Jasper we recommend Becker chalets not far from JAsper but situated next to a wild water stream.They have a great gourmet restaurant too.Paul

Second that motion. You'll get the mountain drives but more hiking/exploring time by flying into Calgary and heading out from there. Enjoy, there's so much to!

Definitely Becker Cabins in Jasper!

Thanks everyone for your feedback. Any other "don't miss" suggestions are certainly appreciated.

When visiting Lake Louise dont forget to visit lake Moraine. Much nicer in my opinion.Paul

One thing that may interest you is the Chinook Salmon run on the Adams River in late August. This is the peak year of the the 4 year cycle for Sockeye(mid Sept. to early Oct.)I don't know what this means for Chinook. Adams River and Scotch Creek is located near the Shuswap lakes area.

Any recommendations as to how to divvy up our time? Which places deserve the most days? Jasper? Lake Louise/Lake Moraine? Banff? We have 8 days total.

I would do 3 nts Lake Louise or Banff--we prefer Lake Louise because it is closer to the hikes we enjoy--3 nts Jasper and then 2 nts Banff.

There are very few reasonably priced hotels in the area. There is a very highly rated hostel in Lake Louise. It gets very bad reviews in the winter during ski season. You will get more reasonably priced rooms in Banff.

Patricia Lake Bungalows in Jasper are very affordable and they have a fabulous location. Jasper has many rooms for rent that are very affordable. We were travelling with a group and couldn't find 3 rooms together.

I changed our reservations for Banff at the last minute when a great price came up for the Rimrock in Banff. www.kayak.com is a good site to quickly check out room rates.

We love the Canadian Rockies--it is a hiker's paradise. The scenery really takes your breath away. Tow favorite hikes are the popular Lake Agnes Tea House and Parker Ridge on the Icefields Parkway. I could visit that area every year--I love it there.

Click on my name to see my trip report

Thank you, thank you. I already tried Patricia Lake Bungalows and they have no vacancies. I found a vacancy at Becker Chalet. We are very excited, and are even considering extending our stay a day or two to take in a few more sights.