Jasper
 

We hope to be coming into Banff in mid August 2016 late in the evening on a Thursday or Friday and stay one week. I've read all the good posts here on the forum and know that it is know a great idea to stay only one night in Jasper. We like to hike, but I can't decide how many evenings to stay in Jasper, 2 or 3? Thinking of coming back Icelands Parkway to take a heli hiking tour in Lake louise area for one day. Please let me know if there is enough to do up in that area or should I concentrate more on Lake Louise after staying in Banff.
I do hope to stay in Banff and additional one night at the end of the trip before flying out of Calgary as suggested by folks here.
Thanks for any suggestions you may have.

Welcome!

How many nights total do you have for your trip to the Rockies - i.e. what date & time do you arrive, and what date & time do you leave?

If you have a full week, I'd go for three nights in Jasper. There's a lot of lovely hiking around Jasper, including Mt Robson/Berg Lake, Edith Cavell Meadows, Wilcox Pass and around Maligne Canyon/Maligne Lake.
If you do hikes on the way to & from Banff - on the Icefields Parkway - you won't have those days in/near Jasper. So three nights would give you one day for Maligne Lake/Canyon, and another for other hikes in the area.

There is no heli-hiking in the national parks (Banff, Yoho, Jasper, Kootenay) as commercial helicopters are not permitted. So, the tour will not be particularly close to Lake Louise or include hiking in the Lake Louise area. The closest commercial helipads are in Canmore and near Golden, and the most common heli-hiking destination is Assiniboine, which is in the provincial park on the AB/BC border.

So if you are intending to hike around Lake Louise, you'll need to factor in another day for that hike. And note that any heli-hiking will include a drive - i.e. to Canmore or west out beyond Yoho NP into BC in order to take the helicopter.

Agree with kgsneds - three nights in Jasper. I love the place so even three nights are not enough. Mt Robson is a bit of a drive (west, and outside of the national park) from Jasper townsite, but Edith Cavell meadows, Maligne Canyon, Maligne Lake (trails around the lake), Athabasca Falls, Jasper SkyTram to the top of Whistler (and "walk" to the top of the mountain) are all within Jasper National Park.

Visit the parks Information Centre on the main street (Connaught Drive) for information about hiking trails (condition of, weather, and bears in the area etc.)

Just be sure and see Lake Moraine when you are in Banff (more beautiful than Lake Louise, more beautiful than just about anything I've ever seen). I agree that you could easily fill three nights in Jasper. Lots to see!

I love this forum. You are all so helpful. I think I can get 3 nights at Becker Cabins in the Jasper area in mid August. I keep looking for a reasonable place to stay for easy access to Lake Moraine, LL, Yoho and Banfff. Thank you again.

what do you mean by "reasonable" give us a dollar figure on what you can spend. do you want a fancy hotel with room service. etc. basic motel room with a queen bed? would you consider a private room im a hostel. lake louise hostel gets good reviews.
so if you are spending 3 nights in jasper,i'd consider the first 2 nights in lake louise, 3 nights in jasper and the last 2 in banff.

Thank you to Itt, CindyW, kgsneds and borealis. I was able to book 4 nights at the Hi Hostel as recommended by kgsneds in another string and 3 nights at Becker in Jasper. We plan to visit Lake Morraine, Lake Louise, Banff National Parks and hopefully Yoho then drive to Jasper. I think we will skiip the hell hiking due to time constraints. Now I just need one more reservation in the Banff area before we fly home. Thinking of booking it back in Hi Hostel but wanted to ask if we should book it in Lake Louise Banff or Canmore? Do you have any preferences for location back to the airport? Thank you for all your help

Greetings

Any of the three locations would be driving distance from the airport, though Banff or Canmore would be more convenient (Lake Louise adds another 45 minutes or so to the drive).

The Hi Hostel in Banff is supposed to be nice - I've never stayed there, but know that they do have private rooms. The Hi Hostel in Canmore is my favorite, though it's small so summer bookings (especially weekends when they can have weddings) go quite quickly. I think there is one room in the main clubhouse which can be booked as a private if space permits, otherwise the private options are limited to the Boswell Cabin. That has two sides - each have two bedrooms upstairs and bathroom/shower and kitchen/common area on the first floor. Bookings are by the bedroom (~$80-90), so you if you only book one bedroom, you share the downstairs with up to 3 other people.

Another option could be Hi Kananaskis. It's technically a wilderness hostel, but has electricity, showers etc. There are private rooms, you could see a bit of K-Country and it would be closer than Canmore to the aiport (up by Nakiska Ski Resort on Hwy 40).

We stayed at the HI Hostel in Canmore, and enjoyed it very much. Long time ago, though.

Thanks I'll try Cranmore and Kanasnakis to see what's available for the one last night of our trip.

CindyW mentioned that Moraine Lake is more beautiful than Lake Louise. I absolutely agree.

The view from the Rock Pile is what was on the back of the old Canadian 20 dollar bill.

The problem with this view is that once seen you will have to go back several times to see it at different times of the day. Just one of those views.