Vancouver & Rockies - specific questions
 

Hi there - congratulations to all the contributors on this forum; the advice is fantastic.
We are (finally) visiting Canada in late Sept-early Oct this year. Our travel itinerary is something like this:-
Vancouver-Campbell River for Knights Inlet-Vancouver-Kelowna-Emerald Lake-Jasper-Banff-Calgary
My questions are:-
Is it possible to fly from Vancouver to Campbell River (we're taking a short tour from there to Knights Inlet to visit the grizzlies)and if so, can someone suggest the name of an operator?
Any experiences of Knights Inlet? (if we don't see a grizzly we'll be so disappointed)
Is Kelowna or Kamloops the better stopover on the way to the Rockies?
We don't like to drive anymore than say, four hours between each destination - have I got our itinerary right?
Will the weather be truly awful in early October? (Although there's nothing we can do about it now if it is!)
Thanks so much, any input would be appreciated. We're so looking forward to visiting your part of the world (coming from Oz).

Hello Gwaihir,

For Campbell River, I will leave you in the good hands of the west coast experts.

>>>>>>Is Kelowna or Kamloops the better stopover on the way to the Rockies?<<<<<<

Kelowna is the prettier of the two.

Vancouver to Kelowna is 370 - 500 km / 4 - 5.5 hours (depending on how scenic a route you want to take).

Kelowna to Emerald Lake is about 340 km / 3.5 hours.

(If you look this information up on distance / time websites, use the nearest town, Field, when you make an enquiry about Emerald Lake.)

Emerald Lake (Field) to Jasper is 300 km / nominally 3.25 hours. But the Icefields Parkway between Lake Louise and Jasper has several scenic lookout points that are worth a stop, so expect the drive to take you longer.

Jasper to Banff is 290 km / 3 hours. Expect it to take longer because of stops at scenic spots.

Banff to Calgary is 130 km / 1.5 hours. That gets you to Calgary's city limits. Calculate an additional 1/2 hour to get from the western city limits to the airport.

>>>>>>Will the weather be truly awful in early October?<<<<<<

You have a good chance of getting bracing but not awful weather. You can expect to encounter some snow while you travel through the mountains, but the road crews do a pretty good job of keeping the highways clear.

In Banff the average daily high in the first week of October is 12 deg C, and the average low is -2 deg C. The actual temperature on a given day can be 10 deg C on either side of the average. In the last few years the high for that period has ranged from 2 deg C to 23 deg C, and the low has ranged from -10 deg C to 5 deg C.

Bring hiking boots and layers. Bring what you think of as a winter jacket (that we think of as a spring / fall jacket), warm hat, scarf and gloves or mittens. The kind of jacket that has a waterproof outer layer and a fleece lining is very practical. If it has a built-in hood, so much the better. A thigh length jacket is better than a waist length one. Some lightweight long underwear would not go amiss.

Do not make the mistake of bringing only warm clothes like sweaters (jumpers), etc. Canadian buildings are well heated, and you could end up sweltering when you're inside. You often will feel comfortable with no more than a long sleeved cotton shirt or long sleeved cotton turtleneck top when you're indoors. That's why we always emphasize layers when we give advice here.

Restaurants in the mountains and even in our western cities are pretty casual. In a moderately priced restaurant, you can wear jeans, corduroy pants, whatever. In an upscale restaurant at dinner time, you can wear a smarter pair of slacks and a nice sweater (jumper).

If you'll still be in Canada at that point, October 10th will be the Canadian Thanksgiving public holiday. If you happen to be in the USA, it will be the Columbus Day public holiday there. Although Thanksgiving is a family oriented holiday, there is not a major shutdown of things -- at least there isn't in Calgary -- to the extent that there is on Christmas Day.

You can order a free map and travel guide from Tourism British Columbia at

http://www.hellobc.com/bcescapes/request_start.asp

and from Travel Alberta at

http://www1.travelalberta.com/cfforms/freestuff/

Here's a website where you can look up weather averages for Canada's larger towns and cities:

http://www.worldweather.org/056/m056.htm

You can get driving directions, distances, and times from Free Trip at

www.freetrip.com

and from Map Quest (which also provides route maps) at

www.mapquest.com

Sunrise in Banff on October 1st is about 7.40 a.m., and sunset is about 7.15 p.m.

Hope that helps.

Thank you for the quick reply Judy, I've read many of your posts and you are very helpful!
I should qualify myself by saying we don't mind driving all day as long as there's things to see and do along the way. However, Vancouver to Kelowna might be a problem for my husband...
When I was young(er) I backpacked across Europe in the heart of winter - we don't mind the cold, its the rain we want to avoid! But whatever the weather is, we'll just deal with it so long as we can do some hiking and sightseeing.
Thanks again.

Just wanted to add that you will find a variety of weather on your travels from the west coast through the interior of B.C. (Kelowna and the Okanagan) and on to the Rocky Mountains. Your trip will cover a large distance and a variety of different topographical and climate zones.

At the end of September - beginning of October it will be pleasant and mild on the west coast, warm in the interior of B.C., and, as Judy mentioned, it could be anything from warm to cold in the Rockies.

We have had absolutely glorious days while travelling around the Okanagan at the end of September & beginning of October - beautifully warm and sunny (summerlike, short sleeves) days. There is also a fall wine festival at that time, and you may find activities to suit you. More info at:

http://www.owfs.com/

All the following fly to Campbell River.

http://www.pacific-coastal.com/

http://www.flycma.com/

http://www.helijet.com/

You'll need to cab to wherever you're staying as the Airport is some distance from town.
Also Please Note the name is <b>Knight Inlet</b>.
It's true that many of the locals say Knight<i>s</i> Inlet but that is incorrect.
As to seeing Bears there is never a guarantee.
If it rains heavily through September many Salmon runs will have ascended their natal rivers, spawned/died/their bodies rotted all in a few weeks and you'll be out of luck.
However Bears are '<i>usually</i>' there feeding in/near some of the rivers that run into Knight Inlet.
BTW-I've been to almost all the fjords along the coast-Knight Inlet is breathtaking/gorgeous/amazing.
You'll see Cetaceans of various kinds, Salmon jumping all around you, Seals/maybe Sea Lions, Deer along the shoreline (<i>if you're on the water early enough</i>) and almost certainly Black Bears.

Thanks everyone for your input, I think we're on the right track and we'll stick with our current plans. If I have any more questions I'll know where to go!