wildlife in the Banff and Jasper area
 

For those of you that have been to the Canadian Rockies and also to Yellowstone & the Grand Tetons. Help me to decide where to go for 10 days in September. I'm mainly interested in wildlife and beautiful scenery. I'm from the Gulf Coast, so either place would be a treat for me.
Thanks,
Theresa

Banff and Jasper are both beautiful but Jasper is much less touristy and crowded. Banff is not the pristine, quaint little town it used to be.
Jasper has many varied activities and is second to none for natural beauty and wildlife. From gorgeous emerald green lakes to amazing snow covered mountain peaks.
We go there every summer for at least 1 weekend. (from Edmonton). Last year we saw big horn sheep, black bear, elk, and various smaller birds and mammals. I very highly reccomend it, also FYI, Beckers Chalet is has wonderful, reasonably priced accommodations.

Another vote for the Canadian Rockies. Awesome! Flying into Calgary, ten days should give you plenty of time to see Banff/Lake Louise, and drive the magnificent Icefield Parkway to Jasper and back.

Banff is indeed rather touristy, but I thought that Jasper was as well. We stayed at Pine Bungalows in Jasper, just far removed from town to be quiet yet offer quick access. Right on the river and we saw elk and deer outside our door.

Lake Louise area and the Icefild Parkway is tops in my book for scenery, and the Jasper area for wildlife {we saw deer, elk, bear, bighorn sheep, coyote and mountain goats}. Try to drive around early am or later in the evening for best chance at spotting wildlife, but don't feed them; we saw a sheep narrowly miss getting run over trying to get to some food.

You might consider Canmore as a less touristy option to Banff.

Wildlife and beautiful scenery?
You need to go to Africa!

"Canmore is less touristy than Banff" - well it may not be overrun with tourists but is is certainly packed with new construction and developments (housing etc), so that drives the wildlife away.
Canmore is not in the mountain parks but just outside the gates of Banff National Park. Good place for awesome cross-counry ski trails and as a jumping off point for either Banff or Kananaskis Provincial Park, but not for viewing wildlife - for that go to Jasper.
I don't agree that Jasper is as touristy as Banff, it can get a little crowded in mid-summer, but since it is much smaller than Banff, it really adds up to fewer people.
There is usually a lot of wildlife along the drive to Maligne Lake (in Jasper National Park), we've seen elk, sheep, several kinds of deer, moose, bears, foxes, coyotes, as well as squirrels (both "ground" and "regular"), and lots of birds including hawks, magpies, crows, Clark's Nutcrackers, Stellar Jays, etc. In winter we have even seen wolves.

Banff and Jasper National Park are huge, they are also connected to other (smaller) national parks - Yoho and Kootenay, so there are many places to explore and an abundance of spectacular scenery while you are doing the exploring.

Come to Canada!!!!!

If you're staying in Banff, take a day and drive a couple of hours further west to Emerald Lake. Probably the most beautiful lake in the mountains and a perfect place for a picnic lunch.

Last summer, our best nature shots were in the area between Jasper & Spirit Lake.

Hello Duncmom1, while you have received some great advice about the Canadian Rockies, no one has actually answered your original question about which place would suit your tastes better, Yellowstone / Grand Tetons or Canadian Rockies.

I'm sorry, I cannot answer your question because I've never gone to Yellowstone or the Grand Tetons.

I feel that perhaps the title of the thread is encouraging people to tell you what the Canadian Rockies can offer, but is leading them to overlook the question in your message.

If you're still trying to get that question answered, and if you have not yet made up your mind, perhaps you could start a new thread with another title.

On the other hand, I followed your online name to the U.S. forum, and got the impression from one of your posts there that perhaps you had settled on Yellowstone / Grand Tetons, but it's possible I misunderstood.

I have been to both and without a doubt would opt for Banff-Jasper over the US option (I am from Chicago). My family is big outdoor types, love wildlife, scenery, photography, etc. I suspect that traveling in September will eliminate big crowd situations at either location. Side benefit: The exchange rate will allow you to do some things you may not normally do.

Do Canada, make sure to have a big steak in Alberta! If you smoke, bring your own...you can't imagine the prices! I don't smoke however I couldn't help but notice the package price on the machines.

If you really want to stay in the US, you may want to consider Rocky Mountain Natl. Park. IMHO Yellowstone has nothing on it.

Thanks for the advise, placeu2. For the past 3 0r 4 years, we have gone either to Great Britian, Scotland or France, but with the dollar dropping, just can't swing it this year. My next item on my wish list was mountains and wildlife. We had thought Yellowstone, but were beginning to change our minds in favor of Canada. You have probably convinced us to choose the Canadian Rockies since you have seen both places. Wiil you please e-mail and tell of your experience there, great places to stay, eat, etc.
Thanks,
Theresa e-mail:[email protected]

Theresa,

I sent you an email last night. One to [email protected] (which came back) and one to [email protected]. Hopefully you got that one.

If wildlife is your priority, you could consider Waterton Lakes also in the Rockies but just north of the US border and contiguous with Glacier Park. It is about a three hour drive from Calgary so it is a lot quieter than Banff. There is much wildlife especially sheep, deer and bear right in the townsite. Its a treasure.