Rockies 6/29-7/5/06 with Infant

Old Feb 22nd, 2006, 07:21 AM
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Rockies 6/29-7/5/06 with Infant

Husband and I will be traveling to the Rockies with our son (age 14 months on trip) 6/29-7/5/06. Flying to/from Calgary. Our planned itinerary:

6/29 - arrive and drive to Lake Louise. Staying @ Deer Lodge
7/1 - LL
7/2 - drive to Jasper. Staying @ Becker's Chalets
7/3 - Jasper
7/4 - drive to Banff

Looking for hotel recommendation for Banff <$200 USD that is family friendly. Suggestions for good activities that don't involve strenuous hiking are welcome! We have the Easy Walks & Hikes book which will be a good resource.
galvjen is offline  
Old Feb 22nd, 2006, 07:50 AM
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Your itinerary would be a good one if there were only adults in the travel party. Since you have a toddler, I think it's too ambitious. I would pick one place, and stay in it the whole time.

I recommend against trying to get to Lake Louise for your first night, although I suppose the wisdom of that depends to some extent on what time you'll land in Calgary. What with going through immigration and customs, driving to Banff National Park's east gate, lining up for 20 minutes or so to buy a national park pass, and then driving the rest of the distance, you'll probably reach Lake Louise between 4 hours and 4.5 hours after landing. If you land at 3.00 pm, that'll get you to Lake Louise at 7.00 p.m. or 7.30 p.m. If you live in the Eastern Time Zone, 7.00 p.m. in the Mountain Time Zone will feel like 9.00 p.m. to your toddler.

Also, while I am a huge fan of Deer Lodge, it does not have self-catering facilities, which I think are invaluable when you're travelling with a child. If you must stay in Lake Louise, I recommend Paradise Lodge and Bungalows or Baker Creek Chalets.

If you must stay in Jasper, Becker's Chalets are a fine choice. But I question the wisdom of going to Jasper at all (much as it pains me to say that).

Accommodations that probably would suit you are two self-catering properties that are on the outskirts of Banff townsite. One is Douglas Fir Resort and the other is Hidden Ridge Resort. I always used to recommend Douglas Fir Resort, and it's still a fine choice. However, a friend of mine just got back from Hidden Ridge, and had high praise for it. She said it recently had been refurbished, and was very nice.

You will be here over the July 1st (Canada Day) long weekend, when Banff and Lake Louise will be particularly busy.

I highly recommend a visit to Moraine Lake, but suggest you go there first thing, because its parking lot fills up.

I also recommend Johnston Canyon, but that's another parking lot that really fills up, so it too warrants a visit first thing during the day.

Other recommended sights are the lake of Lake Louise (which is 3 miles from the village of Lake Louise).

In Yoho National Park I recommend Takakkaw Falls and Emerald Lake.

Even if you don't go to Jasper, I suggest you drive up the Icefields Parkway at least far enough to see Peyto Lake (which is about half an hour north of Lake Louise).

You might like to take the gondola up Sulphur Moutain.

When our kids were the age that your child is, they used to enjoy canoeing on the lakes. Naturally we were meticulous in using life jackets. Mind you the glacial melt water is so jolly cold that you have only a few minutes before you succumb to hypothermia, so it's best to try to avoid tipping over in the first place.

The thoughts about travelling with a child are very subjective, of course. I based my comments on our experience of children. You know your travel style, and you know your child, so you need to take those factors into consideration.

Please feel free to check out my website, in case it helps:

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

Hope you have a good trip.
Judy_in_Calgary is offline  
Old Feb 22nd, 2006, 09:49 AM
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Our flight arrives at 12:30pm and we're coming from Houston, TX (Central Time). Thank you for the wealth of information! It is VERY helpful. I'll look into the hotels in Banff and LL that you mentioned with self-catering (which I agree would be quite nice).

Our trip was planned for my husband who has wanted to return to the Rockies since he first visited ~6 years ago. It will be our first airplane trip that's not devoted to visiting family.
We have hopes of doing one short hike/day with using the backpack kid carrier and another, shoter walk an all-terrain stroller.
galvjen is offline  
Old Feb 28th, 2006, 05:15 PM
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galvjen,

I see no problem bringing you infant to the rockies. Of course, use your own judgment. I was there last June with my 1 year old. My itinerary went like this:

2 nights in Banff (Buffalo Mountain)
2 nights in Lake Louise (Baker Creek)
2 nights in Jasper (Beckers)
1 night in Canmore (Residence Inn)

Judy makes a valid point that it depends where you should stay depending on what time your flight arrives. Deer Lodge, to me, would not be my first choice as it is not centrally located to the Lake Louise area. There is plenty to do around LL. We had an infant backpack and did such hikes as Johnston Canyon and Lake Agnes Teahouse in LL. The trails are well maintained, distances and elevations are well documented. Ask people before you go on a hike as to the difficulty and time involved. Lake Agnes was a fantastic hike, but, believe me, you need to be in fairly good shape to climb carrying a 30 pound weight on your back. The rewards are certainly worth it.

If I had your available time/days, I would have the following itinerary:

6/29 - stay in Canmore/Banff, see the townsite.
6/30 - drive to LL and stay at Baker Creek or Paradise Lodge. (maybe hike Johnston Canyon, or one of the other suggestions on this board.)
7/1 - stay in LL another night. (try some other hikes or activities)
7/2 - drive to Jasper, stay at Beckers or comparable (Icefields Parkway will take the whole day, plenty to see and do.)
7/3 - stay in Jasper another night. (we took the gondola up the mountain and walked to the top, awesome views)
7/4 - drive to Banff/Canmore, stay the night. (back through the Icefields Parkway, try some things, i.e. Peyto Lake, on the way back, again this will take the whole day)
7/5 - drive to airport.

I was fortunate enough to have some extra days at the beginning and end of the trip to get out and play Silvertip adn Stewart Creek.

Crazily enough, I have already booked another trip to the mountains this year with my wife and, now, 2 year old. I am going to Alaska this June. My itinerary is just as action packed as the rockies.

I probably need my head examined.
Joe_H is offline  
Old Mar 3rd, 2006, 08:35 AM
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I was just there this past December with my family ( three boys... youngest 18 months.) We stayed in Canmore for the entire timme we were in the area and I was very glad we did so. Packing up and moving each night will be a chore for the short time you wil be there and frankly, I wouldn't want to waste any time doing that! You'll have too much to see in the gorgeous Rockies!

The drive from Banff to Lake Louise is easy... 45 minutes and in my opinion, does not warrant an overnight trip. (Yes, I live in California and we spend a lot of time in our cars!

Also, I did not find Banff to be very family friendly as a town. Mostly just shops with crowded streets. Small stores... hard to maneuver a stroller.

I would find a self-catering spot, plant yourself and do day trips!

moneygirl is offline  
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