A friend of mine recently returned from visiting friends in Vancouver. This person has visited Canada & the Rockies a number of times, however, on this last trip, she drove south to Seattle, then into the cascade mountains, and she thought they were better than the Canadian Rockies. Is this true, as we were thinking of visiting Canada & possibly Seattle, with limited time, hence one or the other.

OOps, I should have mentioned that her reason for liking the Cascade Mountains, was....less touristy and still very scenic. Would love to hear from people who know each region.

It would be interesting to know *where* in the Cascades she was. I think the North Cascades are absolutely spectacular and rarely very crowded, but I've never been to the Canadian Rockies so can't compare the two.

I have been to both, and while the cascades here in OR and WA are nice, the Canadian Rockies are AMAZING!!! I do think the OR and WA cascades are overall less touristy, but that would not (has not)detered us from heading to Canada as well.

For your trip, what are you looking for? To get out hiking up onto the mountains or to do casual strolls a mile or so from a trailhead?

Also, what time of year are you talking about? The Canadian Rockies get jammed in July and August, but if you go in Sept when they are still spectacular, the crowds drop off immensely.

I live between the Olympic Mountains and the Cascade Mountains.

They are both very beautiful.

However, they don't have a Banff, a Lake Louise, a Jasper, or an Icefield Parkway.

both northern cascades and the canadian rockies are beautiful and have great hiking.

the cascades are smaller and craggy looking, a miniture "swiss alps". not at all crowded, but there are few places to stay. good hiking to spectacular views (cascade pass). but you would want to combine this with other parts of Washington. the major volcanic peaks of the nw are not considered part of northern cascades national park.

i did not see tons of wildlife in the cascades but i was only hiking in them for abourt 3 days. in sept.

the canadian rockies are probably one of the the most spectacular mountain experiences (although some might vote for the high sierras or the vast ranges in alaska) in north america.

the canadian rockies are accessible, give you many lodging choices and i think the chance to see more wildlife.

you'll also see glaciers and the athabasca river is beautiful... hiking is great and you have many different choices in your hiking experiences, river walks, mountain hikes, valley hikes, glacier hikes, and my favorite, wilcox pass. you can have a taste of civilization with jasper, the laid back town, and Banff where you can shop as high end as you like... i was there at the beginning of oct. warm days cool nights, snow at the highest elevations... the middle of the elk rut. wow that was something else, a whole lot of bugling goin' on... i guess i vote Canadians rockies....

Unlike the Canadian Rockies (or the US Rockies for that matter) the Cascades are recent volcanic mountains, with the relevant volcanoes still very much in evidence and occasionally annoyingly so.

The Rockies have spectacular vertical faces and marvelous long ridges above the tree line. These are less common in the Cascades; however the Cascades have the likes of Mts. Rainier, Hood, Adams and Baker, and of course St. Helens, which are individually unique and worthy of visits.

The Candian Rockies are breathtaking as much for the overall environment as for the individual peaks. Lake Louise is really quite wonderful, but extremely popular and wandering along the lakeshore near the Chateau you'd think you're in Disneyland or some such, with paved paths, thousands of people, buses idling in the parking lots, and people waiting for tea and biscuits in the hotel.

The core of the Canadian Rockies - Banff and Jasper NPs, are very well (maybe over-) developed for visitors. We like the much lower key, but still fabulous, Yoho NP and the Kootenays to the south and west of Banff - not as spectacular maybe, but still beautiful.

In reality, Seattle is only about 10 driving hours from Banff - a long day or an easy 2 days, so if your itinerary permits, starting in Calgary, going through Banff, then down through the Kootenays to NE Washington State, then across the North Cascades highway (WA SR20) will give you the best of both regions.