Originally planning to go from Lake Louise to Vancouver and spend a night at Lake Shuswap, but now we've decided to include Jasper. Any suggestions for one night en route to Vancouver, for family with three teenagers? Also, if we're planning to spend three nights in Banff and two nights in Jasper, would you recommend spending two nights in Lake Louise in between?

Two nights Lake Louise? Possible.
It depends on what you intend to do while you are there. If you only gaze at Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, and drive to Takkakaw Falls (about 20 miles as I recall), you could do that in a day.

As for a stop over point, I am not sure where I would stay. Are you looking for something on the highway?

Depends on how much time you have. The lake would be as good as any if you did not want to drive the whole distance in one day.

Both Bob & Judy will give you some great advice here. We just got back from a 12 day Seattle to Jasper to Banff run and their collective information was (is) very good.
FYI: Both Lake Louise & Banff are undergoing MAJOR construction. Banff until October. (!!) Probably gearing-up for the coming Winter Olympics.
Lake Louise is just way too crowded for us. It may not bother you....

Anyway, after Vancouver Island, we drove to Clearwater and spent the night. Don't expect much; this is a quiet sleepy little area. As you are heading North on Route 5 (I think it's 5!)turn left at the light and that little motel up on the right is a perfect place to stay. Their back-decks look out over a picture-perfect lake. A Korean couple runs the place and its really clean & affordable. (Show your AAA card).
Back on Route 5; head North again and the restraurant up on the left (Next to the D.Q.) is the place to eat.
Well, its where the locals eat! Good breakfast too...
Jasper is really great----much quieter than Banff.
Make sure to drive the 93-A back-loop road during the evening. You'll see it on the map---it paralles Route 93 for 15 miles--untill you hit the Falls; and is really quiet. Stop at the lake down on the right and just listen to the silence---untill a coyete howls. Really great experience.
Saw a bear here also--right on the road.
Hope this helps a little...
pete

The advice from Pete is right on.
It is recent; my knowledge is a year old now. I will not make a trip to Canada this year, unfortunately.

Lake Louise itself can be very crowded when the tour buses start rolling in.

If you want a good view, bet there before 9 am.

Moraine Lake is the same way unfortunately.

"FYI: Both Lake Louise & Banff are undergoing MAJOR construction. Banff until October. (!!) Probably gearing-up for the coming Winter Olympics."

They may be undergoing major construction, but it's not for the Olympics, which will be held in Vancouver and Whistler BC.

Hi Laverendrye;
I think that the general consensus is that a significant % of people who visit the Whistler/Vancouver area will take the time to visit Banff area too.Who knows---maybe government dollars are available to "improve" the infrastructure because of the Olympics??

But whatever the reason: the highway leading to Banff is being expanded and all of downtown Main St. Banff is 100% ripped up. We just had dinner and then decided to leave.
Lake Louise is redoing their parking area and they are building something in that parking area.
(A rest-room facility would be my guess----?)
Bob is right, the buses will definitely be targeting "The Lake"---if you want a glimpse of any Solitude you will need to get there early and then leave before the crowds come pouring in.

It's hard to answer these questions without knowing the larger context of the trip.

What will the starting point be? Calgary?

Which route will you follow? Will you go Calgary - Banff - Lake Louise - Jasper - Vancouver? If so, are you aware that the Shuswap Lake is not en route from Jasper to Vancouver?

Or, after visiting Jasper, would you plan to drive back down the Icefields Parkway (Hwy #93) to Lake Louise and then on to Vancouver? If that is your plan, you might consider stopping in the Okanagan Valley, in a spot like Penticton.

It would actually be nice to spend a couple of nights in the Okanagan Valley. But I don't know how much time you have planned for Vancouver and if you can "afford" to take away a night from Vancouver and re-allocate it to the Okanagan.

If you drive from Jasper to Vancouver, it would be nice to spend one night in Clearwater. This would allow you to take a detour into Wells Gray Provincial Park and see its several waterfalls, especially Helmcken Falls.

Then it would be nice to spend a night in Whistler.

Assuming you have enough time in Vancouver, you can afford to re-allocate one of your Vancouver nights to Whitler. The reason I say that is that Whistler is a place that many people visit as a day trip from Vancouver. If you stayed in Whistler on your way to Vancouver, you would save yourselves that day trip. Whistler is known for its mountain biking and its Zip Trek Ecotour, amongst other things. The drive from Kamloops to Whistler, especially the stretch from Lillooet to Pemberton, is beautiful.

I forgot to answer your question about Lake Louise. Banff townsite and Lake Louise are about 45 minutes' drive from each other. It is not strictly speaking necessary to switch accommodation between the two places.

Banff has more restaurants, shops and people. Lake Louise is quieter, but is more centrally situated with respect to prime hiking territory.

Your teens might like to go whitewater rafting on the Kicking Horse River in Yoho National Park, which is just to the west of Lake Louise.

If you don't hike, you need two full days / three nights to do any kind of justice to the Banff - Lake Louise - Yoho area. You need one day for the eastern part of Banff National Park and another day for the western part of Banff National Park and Yoho National Park.

If you add an activity like hiking or whitewater rafting, you need a minimum of another full day and night in the Banff - LL - Yoho area.

I am an <b>ardent</b> fan of Jasper National Park. Yet, if your visit to Jasper forces you to skim over Banff and Yoho National Parks, I advise against going there.

In that case, I recommend spending one day driving up the Icefields Parkway towards Jasper, but not actually going as far as Jasper. Just go as far as you feel comfortable going, and then turn around and drive back to your Banff or Lake Louise base.

Please do me a favour and make sure you visit Moraine Lake. It's 9 miles (14 km) from Lake Louise, and is more beautiful than LL. Make sure you walk to the top of the pile of rocks at the north end of Moraine Lake.

Also visit Peyto Lake, which is just off the Icefields Parkway, half an hour out of Lake Louise. I second Bob's recommendation of Takakkaw Falls in Yoho National Park.

To my taste, the best attraction that the eastern part of Banff National Park has to offer is Johnston Canyon. If you are visiting in July or August, go there first thing in the morning, because the parking lot fills up.