Jasper or Banff
 

My wife will be in the Western US this summer and we will have four days to visit either Banff or Jasper. Which one would be best for that amount of time?

Well, depending on how you intend to travel, it takes an extra day to get to Jasper.

There's a lot more to do and see in and around Banff -- Jasper has more wilderness and fewer amenities.

Me? I'd pick Banff.

BAK

It's been 5 years since I visited Jasper and even longer since Banff, but I've been told by a number of people that Jasper tends to be less crowded, in case that is important. Whichever you visit, do the drive up (or down) the Icefields Parkway at least as far as the Columbia Icefields/Athabasca Glacier.

they are both great. banff is more commercial - shopping if you like that and more choices of restaurants hotels. within driving distance of lake louise. i assume you are driving up...from where? where do you have to return to after the 4 days?

We will be going to Glacier National Park and, yes, we will be traveling by car.

If your coming from GNP(US), then it will take you about a full day to drive to Banff. And assuming your driving back down, that's another day. That leaves you with 2 days to sight-see. If you like scenic drives, you could certainly drive to Jasper on day 2 and either come back to Banff that day or overnight in Jasper and start your drive back on day 3, maybe stopping at Lake Louise for the night or somewhere else. But IMO thats a whole lot of driving and not very much enjoyment. I would suggest sticking with the Banff area for those two days.

You can take a couple of route variations to/from Banff. You can go through BC and take the #3 highway west and then the #93 north. This route takes you through Kootenay National Park. Or you can take the #22 highway north to Calgary and the head west to Banff on the #1. I recommend the #22 over the #2 because it's a much more scenic route through the foothils. The #2 is a major truck route and isn't that nice a drive. And of course you can take one route to Banff and the other back.

just go to banff/lake louise and see that area. with the drive times, you should venture too far from there or you'll spend the whole time in the car.