we are planning an 8 day trip to the canadian rockies in late sept. we are intersted in photography and light hiking. also, wondered about staying in lower priced B%B's rather than in a lodge, or are we missing the experience by not staying inside the park at a lodge?

>>>>>>wondered about staying in lower priced B%B's rather than in a lodge, or are we missing the experience by not staying inside the park at a lodge?<<<<<<

You miunderstand the set up in Canadian national parks. This varies from park to park, but is not necessarily like the US national parks.

Canmore is a town of about 10,000 people just outside of Banff National Park. It has ome tourist accommodation, but it also is a "normal" town in which people actually live. Besides that, quite a few residents of Calgary have condos there, and use them for skiing in the winter and hiking in the summer. There is a variety of accommodation in Canmore, including conventional (somewhat larger) hotels, motels, small inns, self-catering accommodationm, and B&Bs. Canmore is a little more affordable than the national parks themselves, but is not quite as convenient a base for sight seeing as one of the bases that is further into the national parks. It is about 15 minutes from Banff townsite and almost an hour from the prime scenery around Lake Louise.

Banff townsite is inside Banff National Park, albeit towards the eastern end of the park. It is a town of 7,500. It has a large stock of accommodation. This is comprised of large, medium and small-ish hotels and motels. There are a few self-catering apartments in Banff, and they are relatively affordable. Douglas Fir Resort, Tunnel Mountain Resort and Hidden Ridge Resort come to mind. There are only a few B&Bs in Banff. The reason is that the right to live in Banff is strictly regulated. You have to be a park warden or work in the tourism industry or something like that. So there are not that many private residents who are willing and able to run B&Bs, but there are a few. Banff townsite offers a larger range of prices than the small hamlet of Lake Louise does. In Banff townsite you can find clean and decent accommodation in the $150 range.

Lake Louise is further west, and it is located in prime scenery and hiking territory. But it is a small hamlet. There are no private homes in Lake Louise and no B&Bs. There are a few hotels, lodges and self-catering chalets scattered around the area. Because of the popular demand but limited supply, Lake Louise properties are expensive for what you get.

There also are a few B&Bs in the hamlet of Field, British Columbia. This is located in Yoho National Park. I suspect (but don't know for sure) that some employees of the Canadian Pacific Railway are located in Field, and this is what makes it feasible for B&Bs to exist. But Field is a small hamlet (population 500). There are a few quite expensive lodges in Yoho National Park, aside from the few B&Bs in Field. Fifteen minutes out of Field there is Emerald Lake Lodge. It is in a lovely spot. There also is Lake O'Hara Lodge. You need to catch a bus to get there, as private vehicles are not allowed. However, it is expensive and you also have to wait for someone to die so that you can inherit their reservation. The latter statement was said tongue in cheek, but is not too far off the truth.

The hiking in Yoho National Park is magnificent. Yoho NP is located to the west of Lake Louise. I think it's a tad far west to serve as a central base. However, if you stay there in addition to Banff / Lake Louise and Jasper, I think it's great.

Jasper is a medium sized town. It's smaller than Banff but larger than Lake Louise. It has a variety of hotels. Just outside of the town, there are a variety of self-catering chalets. Inside the town there are a number of private home accommodations (PHAs). They vary in quality, but if you select carefully you can get very good value for money. PHAs are similar to B&Bs, but they don't serve breakfast. On the other hand, many of them include kitchens, so you can prepare your own breakfast. In some of them the host stocks the kitchen with yogurt, fruit, cereal, bread, etc., so that you don't need to buy your breakfast ingredients. The reason that Jasper townsite, which is in the middle of Jasper National Park, has many PHAs and Banff townsite does not is that Jasper townsite is a maintenance depot for the Canadian National Railway. Several of the CNR employees' spouses operate PHAs as a sideline. Staying in a PHA saves money, not only because PHAs are cheaper than equivalent hotel accommodation in the first place, but also because their revenue is low enough that they don't have to charge the 6% federal GST and 4% provincial room tax that larger establishments have to charge.

When you see rates for hotels, motels, and self-catering chalets, the rates usually exclude the GST and room tax that are added afterwards and that, together, amount to 10%.

I usually recommennd that people split there time 60% - 70% in the Banff / Lake Louise / Yoho area and 30% - 40% in the Jasper area.

It may help you to read my website. It has sample itineraries. I also suggest that you go to the TIPS section of my website and read the What To Pack page.

http://groups.msn.com/CalgaryandCana...kiesTravelTips

Hope that helps.

It's not just railway spouses who do PHA in Jasper - home-owners of all stripes have been opening their homes to visitors since the 1920s and 30s.

Homes are expensive to buy in the park due to the limited supply (park development restrictions mean the town cannot just annex more land and continue to grow), and offering accommodation to visitors is a time-honoured "mortgage helper".

Banff and Jasper have evolved along slightly different lines regarding B&B vs. PHA due to differences in local park management through the years.

PHAs in Jasper range in price from about $65 to $150 (per night for two people), depending on amenities such as private or shared bath, whether it's just a bedroom or a suite, is breakfast offered etc.

You can find comprehensive listings for Jasper PHAs at the Jasper Home Accommodation Association website: <http://www.stayinjasper.com>. There is a search feature so you can narrow down your choices from the 120+ that are listed, and there is also a seven day Availability Report (tonight and the next six nights), for those looking for accommodation on short notice.

For those who arrive in town without a reservation, there is a daily vacancy list posted at the Visitor information Centre. Courtesy phones are provided so you can make free calls to book a room.

Late September is still the busy tourist season, although not as busy as July and August. Some homes may be offering discounted rates but the ones that are in demand will still be on high season rates.

Hope this helps, and that you enjoy your visit to the Rockies!

thank you for the information. We have not booked our flight yet, is there a big diference between going in latter Sept than in oct?

>>>>>is there a big diference between going in latter Sept than in oct?<<<<<<

Depending on what you mean by "October," there can be a big difference.

The fall colour generally peaks in the latter half of September in the Lake Louise area and in Jasper in the first week of October. This is counter-intuitive, because Jasper is further north than Lake Louise. However, Jasper also is at a lower elevation than Lake Louise.

Some side roads start shutting down for the winter any time from the beginning of October onwards (Moraine Lake, Takakkaw Falls, etc.).

Certainly after Canadian Thanksgiving (second Monday in October), several amenities (Jasper tram ride and various others) have shut down for the winter.

If it was my trip, I would go about the third week of September. Certainly I would not plan to be in the area beyond Canadian Thanksgiving.

Thanks again, I think we have decided to go from Sept. 22nd to Sept 29th. I got a good price on a flight, and it sounds likea beautiful time to go.