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xgao Jul 17th, 2007 09:24 PM

travel with a 6 year-old
 
Hi,

My 6 year old son and I will be going to Calgary in late August. We will have about a week to spend. We will spend at least two days in Calgary as we have a friend there. We are also planning to see the dinasour museum. Then I am planning to visit Banff. I am debating myself whether we should go to Jasper as well given the long drive and the fact that my son may not be interested in the scenary. Any suggested itineray would be greatly appreciated!

Judy_in_Calgary Jul 17th, 2007 10:51 PM

No, I think it would be too rushed to include Jasper, especially since you'll be travelling with a child.

See the itinerary called "Four Days in Lake Louise" on my website. You can follow the same itinerary if you use Banff as a base instead of Lake Louise.

http://tinyurl.com/fapqr

For tips on what clothes to pack for the mountains, please see this page of my website:

http://tinyurl.com/npoh2


xgao Jul 18th, 2007 05:12 PM

Thanks Judy.

I have to choice of taking this trip in the last week of August or the week before the last week. Does it matter which week is less crowded?

Judy_in_Calgary Jul 19th, 2007 09:56 AM

The entire month of August is pretty crowded. However, things start tapering off a bit towards the end of August. So, if you have a choice, the last week would be better than the second-last week.

xgao Jul 25th, 2007 07:13 PM

Hi July,

I am thinking about a somewhat different itineray from what you suggested: Day1 Calgary - Banff (do the Johnston Canyon, Moraine Lake ect... overnight Lake Louise; Day2 Drive the Icefiled Parkway from Lake Louise to Jasper, overnight Jasper; Day3 Explore Maligne Lake and other sites around Jasper, overnight Jasper. Day4 return from Jasper to Calgary. Does this make sense to you?

Judy_in_Calgary Jul 25th, 2007 10:27 PM

>>>>>>Does this make sense to you?<<<<<<

No. It wouldn't make sense to me if you were travelling with another adult. It makes even less sense when one considers that you'll be travelling with a 6-year-old.

rm_mn Jul 26th, 2007 03:22 AM

I agree with Judy, that's too long of a drive with a 6 year old. Instead I might drive from Lake Louise to Yoho, stopping to show the youngster the spiral tunnel with a train passing through it, then on to Takakaw Falls to lead him up as close to the base of the falls as he and you can stand.

xgao Jul 26th, 2007 03:38 PM

Thanks Judy and rm_mn,

I potentially can add one more day to the trip. However, if I do both Banff and Jasper, the drive from Jasper to Calgery seems inevitable, which I agree would be hard for a kid. Then how to structure the trip (say two days in Banff and two days in Jasper) to make it more tolerable for a 6 year old?

Also, just realize that Yoho is so close to Banff. Is it easy to add the tunnel and Takahaw Fall to either one of the two days at Banff when I see fit?

Judy_in_Calgary Jul 26th, 2007 08:06 PM

Xgao, if you add another day, this is what I would do:

Day 1 - Drive all the way from Calgary to Jasper.

Stop at the Columbia Icefields and look at the display that explains how glaciers are formed. Consider riding the Ice Explorer vehicle onto the Athabasca Glacier, which is part of the Columbia Icefields.

There are other scenic lookout points at which you can stop if you wish.

Day 2 - From your Jasper bases, walk in Maligne Canyon, ride the tram up Whistlers Mountain, etc.

Day 3 - Drive back down the Icefields Parkway to Lake Louise.

Stop at some of the places that you missed on the way up.

In the afternoon, stop and do something that your son would consider to be fun. For example, rent a canoe at Lake Louise, and row out onto the lake.

Really, it would be more ideal to stay in Lake Louise. However, accommodation is more expensive there, and it gets very booked up, so you may be forced to stay in the Banff / Canmore area.

Day 4 - Explore the west end of Banff National Park (especially Moraine Lake) and nearby Yoho National Park (Railway Tunnels, Takakkaw Falls, natural bridge over the Kicking Horse River, and Emerald Lake).

The boundary between Banff and Yoho National Parks is about 10 minutes' drive west of Lake Louise.

The viewing point for the railway tunnels is maybe 5 minutes' drive beyond that.

Another couple of minutes' drive beyond that is the turn off to Takakkaw Falls.

The hamlet of Field is a few minutes' drive west of the turn off to Tak Falls, maybe 20 minutes' drive from Lake Louise.

A little bit past Field is the turn off to Emerald Lake. It is on that side road that you see the natural bridge over the Kicking Horse River.

Emerald Lake is perhaps 15 minutes' drive from Field (so about 35 minutes' drive from Lake Louise).

As you can tell, Yoho National Park is quite close to Lake Louise, and quite easy to visit from Lake Louise.

If you are staying in Banff, however, you need to add about 45 minutes in each direction for the drive between Banff and Lake Louise. If you are staying in Canmore, you need to add another 12 minutes in each direction on top of that. That may not sound like a lot, but staying in Banff adds 1.5 hours a day to your driving when you're exploring the Lake Louise / Yoho area. Staying in Canmore adds 2 hours per day to your driving when you're exploring the Lake Louise / Yoho area.

Day 5 - Explore the eastern part of Banff National Park (Johnston Canyon, Lake Minnewanka, Sulphur Mountain gondola, Banff townsite, etc.). At Johnston Canyon you should walk as far as the Lower Falls at a minimum. However, your son might enjoy going further, to the Upper Falls.

Finish off the day by driving back to Calgary.

Hope that helps.

BAK Jul 27th, 2007 05:08 PM

When I lived in Calgary with a six year old, he liked Heritage Park and the zoo better than the mountains, but inthemoujntainshe liked the places where he could climb big rocks, and he liked themuseum at the end of the main street in downtown Banff, near the river.

He liked ice cream at Mackay's Dairy in Cochrane on the way to Banff (not on the main road to Banff, but on a more interesting road)

BAK

xgao Jul 28th, 2007 04:22 AM

Thanks for pointint out the Heritage Park. Is there anything special about the zoo? My son has been to numerous zoos in the State. I am wondering is this something we can skip? What else would you recommend for a kid in Calgary? Is Glenbow museum worth a visit? I am thinking 1-2 days in Calgary should be enough (not including the trip to Tyrrell Museum).

BAK Jul 28th, 2007 08:02 AM

It's been a long time since I've been to the Glenbow.

Back then, there were some special shows he liked -- cowboys and early days of the west -- but he did not much care for other exhibits. There's probably a Glenbow web site with some good info.

He also liked going to the top of the Calgary Tower.

His favorite activity was going to small town rodeos, where it is possible to get really close to the cowboys and the horses. And often, thre are midway rides.

BAK

BAK

xgao Jul 28th, 2007 08:31 AM

Excuse my ignorance, since we won't be there for the Stampede, where can we watch rodeo in small towns outside Calgary?

Judy_in_Calgary Jul 28th, 2007 08:57 AM

You said you'd be in the area in late August. I don't know exactly what late August means.

Here is a list of rodeos and chuckwagon races in Alberta in the latter half of August.

* Pincher Creek (3 hours' drive south of Calgary) - rodeo - Aug 17th to 19th

* Red Deer (1.5 hours north of Calgary) - chuckwagon races - Aug 16th to 19th.

* Lethbridge (2.5 hours south of Calgary) - rodeo - Aug 23rd to 25th

* Okotoks (40 minutes south of Calgary) - rodeo - Aug 31st to Sept 1st.

xgao Jul 28th, 2007 09:25 AM

Thanks Judy. Okotoks sounds good as it is the closest and we will be there the last week of August. Do you think we need to budget a full day there?

Judy_in_Calgary Jul 28th, 2007 09:46 AM

>>>>>>Okotoks sounds good as it is the closest and we will be there the last week of August. Do you think we need to budget a full day there?<<<<<<

I think you should budget a full day, but play it by ear. See if the rodeo holds your son's interest for the full day.

If your son gets bored with the rodeo, perhaps you could spend half a day in Calgary's Heritage Park Historical Village:

http://www.heritagepark.ca/home.htm

or at Calgary Zoo:

http://www.calgaryzoo.org/

Something that my kids enjoyed when they were younger was Calaway Park. It's a few minutes' drive west of Calgary, just off the TransCanada Highway, on the way to Banff. But, if you go there, you get more value for your money if you spend the better part of a day there:

http://www.calawaypark.com/

Of course the Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, which you mentioned before, is an outstanding attraction.

xgao Jul 28th, 2007 09:58 AM

I just went to Okotoks' website. The Rodeo is at 7pm in the evening. What else could we do for the early part of the day? Can we combine the Heritage Park and Okotoks in one day?

Judy_in_Calgary Jul 28th, 2007 10:13 AM

>>>>>>Can we combine the Heritage Park and Okotoks in one day?<<<<<<

Sure, you can combine just about anything in the Calgary area during the day with the rodeo in Okotoks in the evening.

Sorry, I missed your response to BAK in which you said you weren't particularly interested in the zoo, because your son had been to many other zoos. Fair enough.

I also missed your question about the Glenbow Museum. I personally don't think the Glenbow would be of much interest to a 6-year-old.

I think Heritage Park is a much better place to spend a day. Be sure to go to the blacksmith's shop. The blacksmith will make a miniature horseshoe for your son while he watches. He'll heat the metal in the fire, hammer it into shape, cool it off, and give it to your son.

You said you had a friend in Calgary. If you haven't already done so, you should discuss this stuff with your friend.

xgao Jul 28th, 2007 11:25 AM

Thanks Judy. Well, my friend is a single and is relatively new to Calgary herself. That's why I think I probably will get better advise from this forum.

xgao Jul 30th, 2007 10:05 PM

I have reserved a suite with Casa Norma, out of the recommendation from the Crayston's (The Crayston's is booked for my desired date). Has anyone stayed there before? The address is 1219 Patricia Crescent. I hope the location is OK.


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