When to Visit Canadian Rockies
 

I have wanted to go to the Canadian Rockies for many years, and I think 2016 is the year. We are thinking of going in September. Is this a good month to visit in terms of fewer crowds and weather? Does it matter whether we go early or late September? Thanks for your help!

september is a good month to go. a few less people as the kids are back in school but still busy. the first monday of the month is a holiday so come after that.

I went last year in late September and it was beautiful. Few crowds and mild weather.

Canadian Rockies is always beautiful...So travelling to this beautiful destination is depends on the kind of experience that the visitor is looking for...

Dear If you are planning to travel Rockies and want to avoid heavy crowd of the busiest season then September is the best time to visit the area for the sake of the scenery and hiking. That is when the mountain lakes are thawed and the brilliant turquoise colour of their water can be enjoyed.

Thank you very much for your responses. I have read that for some trails, you should hike with at least 4 people, and that you can wait at the trailhead for more hikers if you have fewer than that number. It will only be my husband and myself. In September, are the trails so much quieter that it is a long wait for more hikers to show up?

I stayed on well-traveled paths around the lakes, etc., and didn't do any really long hikes into the woods or back country.

There were enough people on those trails to feel perfectly safe by myself.

I did see one sign advising walking in groups of 4 and there happened to be some other people there at the time so I just tagged along with them, but again, we didn't venture too far along the trail.

I think you probably will not have to wait very long for other hikers.

The tight group of 4 restrictions exist only for the trails around Moraine Lake (other than the rockpile and lakeside trail). Generally it's not difficult to find other people, though you must stay quite close together and for the whole time, so you need to find people who are doing the same trail and same speed.

There should be no problems during the weekends, but on weekdays you may need to wait a bit. It also depends on when the larch trees come to their fall color peak - there are lots of crowds when that happens.

Thanks everyone! I checked wunderground.com, and it looks like lows are generally in the 20's and 30's. Is there snow very often in September?

Kgsneds--I know you are an expert on the area. When would you visit?

Panecott--your trip report was very helpful!

Glad to hear it, Digby.

I'm in the mountains every month of the year, so there's no truly bad time. Well, OK, the cold, damp period in October/early November when it's getting too unpleasant for rock climbing and not enough ice/snow yet for winter activities can be depressing...

However, unless you're going for winter sports, I think September is an ideal time. Other than around Moraine Lake, you miss the worst of the summer crowds, the weather is cooler and the days aren't too short. Unlike June, all the seasonal roads are open, lakes thawed and trails almost always passable.

At lower elevations, snow is quite unusual in September. Last year there was a fluke storm around Labour Day that dumped 10+cm on Calgary and lots more in the mountains. However, that melted off very quickly.

Up in the higher elevations - i.e. Lake Louise, Icefields Parkway, Highwood Pass - dustings of snow can happen any time of year. The later in September, the more likely there is to be a dusting. But it's likely to be very transient at the elevations you'd be visiting.

Certainly lows in September could be in the 20s and 30s, but that's likely again at the higher elevation places. And it would be much warmer during the day - it's a fairly dry climate here so we get warm days, but cool nights. In places like Banff and Jasper, you could easily still get days in the low 70s, but drop down to the 30s at night.

Thanks very much for your detailed reply--very helpful!

I am in the process of working on our itinerary for September next year. I think we will leave the first weekend after Labor Day. In terms of weather, would it be better to do the Icefields Parkway and Jasper at the start of our trip and the Lake Louise area after? Or does it matter?

Well, we have ended up getting quite a bit of snow in September! Sigh.... But it's melting off quickly.

I don't think it really matters whether you do Jasper/Icefields or Lake Louise first. Jasper is at a slightly lower elevation (though natural attractions in the area like Maligne Lake and Edith Cavell Meadows are not) so it can be a tad warmer. But you can get wintry weather in either location - as evidenced by the past week.

Thanks kgsneds! Is it unusual to get so much snow in early September?

It's not that unusual, but not something that happens every year. Snow can happen at higher elevations year round - I've been snowed on every month this year!

I think it was a bit more unusual this year in that we have had fairly cold temps and snow to quite low elevations (i.e. valley bottoms) in late August and early September. The lower stuff has all melted off quickly, but sub freezing temps in Canmore in late August was a bit of a jolt. Especially after a very warm, very dry summer. It seemed to go from full on summer to full on winter all at once.

Last year we had a big dump of snow in early September, but it melted off and we had quite a mild autumn. This year we seem to be headed back to more seasonal temps - some warmer days, some cooler & damp days.

My husband and I spent 2 lovely weeks driving from Spokane to Lake Louise, then to Jasper and back down to Canmore/Banff , 9/1-9/15. With the exception of one day in Lake Louise, the weather was lovely and the Canadian Rockies and surrounding scenery are spectacular! When driving up the Icefield Parkway we stopped to do a small hike to Peyto Lake and we did have some snow flurries, but that was actually wonderful for us as we live in south Florida and it was a refreshing change. The temperatures for our entire trip ranged from the 30s to the 70s farenheit. If you love beautiful unspoiled panoramic scenery, you will no doubt love the Canadian Rockies.

Thanks Bucketlister!