Rockies
Oct 8th, 2013, 04:49 AM
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Rockies
My wife and I are flying into Calgary next July. I am having trouble deciding where to spend our nights. I was thinking 1 in Jasper and 3 in Lake Louise or 2 and 2. It is very hard to plan since neither one of us have been there. I plan on driving from Calgary to Edmonton and spend the night. Then drive to Jasper, I have 4 days that I need someplace to stay. We are going to spend 5 nights in Fairmont Hot Springs before we drive back to Calgary to fly home. I didn't want to do much backtracking but I am open to suggestions. I could drive straight from Calgary to Jasper and then back to Fairmont Hot Springs.
Oct 8th, 2013, 05:07 PM
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Is there a reason for driving to Edmonton? The Rockies are much closer to Calgary, so to maximize your time, I would suggest driving to Banff/Lake Louise, then northwest on the Icefields Parkway to Jasper, then back down to Lake Louise before heading on to Fairmont. You won't regret backtracking on the Icefields Parkway - one of the spectacularly scenic drives in the world.
Oct 9th, 2013, 07:29 AM
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The Canadian Rockies are one of our favorite destinations. With your short time there, I also think you need to skip Edmonton---and maybe even Jasper. You don't want to be driving this whole trip.
Are you planning this trip around a stay at the Fairmont Hot Springs? There are Fairmont hotels much closer to Calgary. Looking at a map, I think you will have to backtrack just to get back and forth from the Fairmont Hot Springs to the airport.
Fairmont Hot Springs is 185 miles from Calgary and the opposite direction from Jasper. It takes almost a full day to drive the Icefields Parkway to Jasper. This is a fabulous drive though and one you don't mind driving up to Jasper and then back to Lake Louise. There is a Fairmont in Jasper.
If you are looking to stay at Fairmonts, The Fairmont Banff Springs is 80 miles from Calgary and there is also the Chateau Lake Louise.
If you skip Edmonton, you could spend 2 nights in Banff or Lake Louise, drive the Icefields Parkway, 2 nights in Jasper--then you would have a long drive to the Fairmont Hot Springs--or possibly spend a night at Lake Louise/Emerald Lake Lodge/Castle Mountain/or somewhere to break up the drive.
Here's a report of a trip we took to the Canadian Rockies.
http://www.fodors.com/community/cana...-report.cfm?27
Are you planning this trip around a stay at the Fairmont Hot Springs? There are Fairmont hotels much closer to Calgary. Looking at a map, I think you will have to backtrack just to get back and forth from the Fairmont Hot Springs to the airport.
Fairmont Hot Springs is 185 miles from Calgary and the opposite direction from Jasper. It takes almost a full day to drive the Icefields Parkway to Jasper. This is a fabulous drive though and one you don't mind driving up to Jasper and then back to Lake Louise. There is a Fairmont in Jasper.
If you are looking to stay at Fairmonts, The Fairmont Banff Springs is 80 miles from Calgary and there is also the Chateau Lake Louise.
If you skip Edmonton, you could spend 2 nights in Banff or Lake Louise, drive the Icefields Parkway, 2 nights in Jasper--then you would have a long drive to the Fairmont Hot Springs--or possibly spend a night at Lake Louise/Emerald Lake Lodge/Castle Mountain/or somewhere to break up the drive.
Here's a report of a trip we took to the Canadian Rockies.
http://www.fodors.com/community/cana...-report.cfm?27
Oct 9th, 2013, 09:20 AM
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When an Edmontonian like Borealis suggests that you forget about driving from Calgary to Jasper via Edmonton you should heed that advice. Backtracking on the Icefields Parkway gives you quite different vistas in each direction and I certainly recommend it over what is for the most part a long and boring drive.
If you are set on staying at Fairmont Hot Springs, I suggest you drive from Calgary to Banff, spend 2 nights there and then head to Jasper for another 2 nights. Head back to Lake Louise for a night, then take Hwy 1 through Yoho Park to Golden and south on 95 to Fairmont Hot Springs. From there return to Calgary through Kootenay National Park and Banff.
Just so you are clear, the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort near Invermere BC is not part of the Fairmont hotel chain. The hot springs have had that name since the 19th Century when the Banff Springs Hotel and Chateau Lake Louise were being established as part of the Canadian Pacific Railway hotel chain which acquired Fairmont hotels about 15 years ago and changed the name of CP Hotels to Fairmont.
Most Canadians still tend not to refer to the classic CP Hotels as Fairmont, but that will likely change as the years go by. Here in Ottawa for example, nobody talks about the "Fairmont" but rather "the Chateau (Laurier)".
If you are set on staying at Fairmont Hot Springs, I suggest you drive from Calgary to Banff, spend 2 nights there and then head to Jasper for another 2 nights. Head back to Lake Louise for a night, then take Hwy 1 through Yoho Park to Golden and south on 95 to Fairmont Hot Springs. From there return to Calgary through Kootenay National Park and Banff.
Just so you are clear, the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort near Invermere BC is not part of the Fairmont hotel chain. The hot springs have had that name since the 19th Century when the Banff Springs Hotel and Chateau Lake Louise were being established as part of the Canadian Pacific Railway hotel chain which acquired Fairmont hotels about 15 years ago and changed the name of CP Hotels to Fairmont.
Most Canadians still tend not to refer to the classic CP Hotels as Fairmont, but that will likely change as the years go by. Here in Ottawa for example, nobody talks about the "Fairmont" but rather "the Chateau (Laurier)".
Oct 11th, 2013, 04:23 AM
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Thanks everyone, I have decided not to go to Edmonton and just go straight to the mountains. I am thinking 3 days in Banff. Just driving as far up as the Columbia Ice Fields. This past year we drove up from Vancouver to Whistler and the view was great both ways. I also have picked another timeshare. This one is in Radium Hot Springs. Will spend 6 days there. We were in Ottawa about 4 years ago. I still remember the first business closer from the United States into Canda was a Wal Mart. My wife and I loved walking the canal in Ottawa.
Oct 11th, 2013, 09:26 AM
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Depending on your interests, it might be nice to stay in Lake Louise. I find it very convenient as a base for hiking around Lake Louise, for day trips to Banff/Banff area trails and also to Yoho. My experience is that Yoho can be less crowded that the areas around the Icefields Parkway (fewer tourbuses!), and just as pretty.
Lake Louise doesn't have much of a 'town', but the big advantage is not having to worry about parking, and being able to enjoy the lake in the evenings or early mornings minus the tourbus crowds. It also shaves a good 40-60 minutes off the drive each way out to the Icefields and to BC.
I'd consider going just a bit north of the Icefields as there are some pretty vistas there, plus the falls at Sunwapta. You can get lunch at the lodge there, which is far better than the Icefields Center. Others may disagree, but I'd steer clear of the Icefields Center unless you want to do one of the tours. I found it very touristy, and the exhibits at the center were tired/in poor repair. it's fun to see the glacier, but the tour is very canned and not cheap. If your a little adventuresome, it might be more worthwhile to book one of the short, guided walks to the toe of the glacier.
Lake Louise doesn't have much of a 'town', but the big advantage is not having to worry about parking, and being able to enjoy the lake in the evenings or early mornings minus the tourbus crowds. It also shaves a good 40-60 minutes off the drive each way out to the Icefields and to BC.
I'd consider going just a bit north of the Icefields as there are some pretty vistas there, plus the falls at Sunwapta. You can get lunch at the lodge there, which is far better than the Icefields Center. Others may disagree, but I'd steer clear of the Icefields Center unless you want to do one of the tours. I found it very touristy, and the exhibits at the center were tired/in poor repair. it's fun to see the glacier, but the tour is very canned and not cheap. If your a little adventuresome, it might be more worthwhile to book one of the short, guided walks to the toe of the glacier.
Oct 19th, 2013, 12:47 AM
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I actually am from Cranbrook BC which is an hour from Radium. Love the hot springs there. You may be interested in visiting Fort Steele, a heritage town explaining the settlement of the area. It has lovely views of the Rockies and lots of fun activities, restaurants and stores of the period. Well worth a visit.
http://www.fortsteele.ca
Fairmont Hot Springs is also very close to Radium if you want to see them both.
http://www.fortsteele.ca
Fairmont Hot Springs is also very close to Radium if you want to see them both.
Nov 2nd, 2013, 06:42 AM
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I did a Calgary to Vancouver drive over 2 weeks last summer. We did 3 nights in Banff, and 2 in Lake Louise and allocated one of those days to drive the Icefields Parkway. We didn't go as far as Jasper though but would definitely recommend spending time in Banff and Lake Louise. It's beautiful and so much to see and do.
