Lake Louise or Banff?
 

Hi guys: Looking forward to a trip to Canadian Rockies next July. We are planning on spending a total of 3 nights in Lake Louise and Banff and we wanted to spend at least one night in each. I know they are in relative close proximity, but if we were to do 1 nite in one and 2 in the other, what would you guys recommend? We'll definitely do our share of hiking everyday and don't have a sense of whether we'll find ourselves spending more time towards LL or Banff? Heading to Jasper after. Any advice would be appreciated and thanks in advance.

Two nights in Banff and then one in LL before heading up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper.

Banff is a great little town and you'll day trip out anyway.

Chateau LL is in a very nice location, but the town is a couple miles away down in the valley, and seemed like just a few hotels. Not much to do in the evenings. Banff is quite a bit bigger, lots of hotels and restaurants, very walkable downtown area (though torn up streets for water/sewer projects when we were there).

This summer we ended up spending a night each in LL, Banff, and Canmore (just outside the park); we were surprised that we actually liked Canmore best, it felt more like a real town.

For ourselves, when/if we return, we'd probably spend 2/3 of time in Jasper and Icefields pkwy, 1/3 of time in Banff/LL/Canmore.

Yes, the above poster is correct... spend 2 nights in Banff then 1 in Lake Louise before heading north. (Or you could save your LL night until you come back down the Icefields Parkway if you are returning to Calagary).

We really enjoyed the Deer Lodge in LL... it is walking distance to the lake (the only other hotel that close is the very expensive Chateau Lake Louise). All other hotels are a short drive from the lake. It's especially nice to be able to walk over to the lake in the early morning or late afternoon when the crowds are gone.

Seeing as how Lake Louise is only a 45 minute drive from Banff, and you will lose time checking out of one place and into another, I would suggest you just stay at one of them for all three nights... then you will have more time for hiking!

However, if you are dead set on staying in both, I would decide based on which is more important: quick access to lot of hiking (Lake Louise) or lots of shops and restaurants (Banff).

Actually, the advice given about staying in LL on your way back (if you are flying out of Calgary) is good - Jasper is at least five hours from Calgary airport, so unless your flight it quite late in the day, you're better off spending your last night closer to Calgary.

Hi DW

We stayed at the Chateau at LL in September as part of an organized group tour from Australia.
The view from our window was just breathtaking. Just remember that if you stay at the Chateau remember it is an older building - the rooms over looking the lake and glacier (where we stayed) are quite small, traditionally decorated and the bathroom (which must have been an addition) oh so tiny! But that view is priceless!

The Banff Springs Hotel is also a historic building although we were given upgraded rooms so these were quite spacious in comparison and still had a view of the mountains. The township was within easy walking distance and looked to have many accommodation options.

Both properties were expensive, but we enjoyed them and after all, we may not be back in that part of the world again soon.

The centre of Banff town was in the process of major infrastructure replacement works, meaning noisy machines, dusty blocked streets and it looked to be hurting the shop-keepers. Hopefully this will all be finished by the time you get there. We still enjoyed our visit, so once the work is finished it will be fine.

PS - I did a Bow River float trip in Banff which was a really peaceful way to spend a couple of hours. Others in our party did the gondala ride up the mountain - but I am glad I didnt go because it was quite windy.

have a great trip

We always stay in Lake Louise. We ski all day and have a nice dinner. No clubbing for us. If you want more of a bar scene, then stay in Banff.

Dont forget to visit Lake Moraine,not far from LL, but much nicer.A panorama of ten mountains.Paul

At Moraine Lake you might want to hike up to the Larch Valley. It's absolutely beautiful there!

Here's a link to a hiking map of the LL area:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/banff/activ/activ1cc_E.asp