Gr. Tet./Yellowstone or Can. Rockies (Banff/Jasper)? Help us decide!
 

Struggling with which to pick for a late summer/early fall trip. Both seem so beautiful. Looking to hike, spa, relax, eat and drink well and stay in some nice places we can enjoy and relax in a while. Usually, we hike a full day, drive to the park at night, wake up the next day, hike, and do it all over again. Maybe something a little slower paced (2-3 days in each place) this time for about a week/10 days.
Which should we do?
Thanks!

Flip a coin...you can't go wrong!

Utahtea

I don't think you can go wrong, either, but if you like nicer accommodations I would definitely choose the Canadian Rockies.

We stayed in the Lake Louise area last July (Post Hotel-my favorite place) and hiked in that area. It was really beautiful! I'd go back in a heartbeat and just can't come close to telling you how wonderful it was. I've hiked in the Tetons too-that is great also.
If you love good food-and a nice place to stay-I'd go with Lake Louise. Banff was too touristy for me-but good restaurants.

My solution was to do both.
We took 2 weeks and drove from Calgary.
Not a bad drive to Yellowstone.
Just haul it down I 15 and cut over to Bozeman and go south to West Yellowstone.

We came back over the Bearthooth and spent the night in Helena before returning to Calgary to fly home. Great trip.

I have not been to the Banff/Jasper area but there were no spas that I was aware of in GT or Yellowstone. National Parks are not know for great food either. Hiking is amazing :)

There are accomodations in Jackson which have spa features. We stayed at Signal Mountain which definitely does not have spa features but provides excellent access to great hiking. Jenny Lake Lodge is the premier accomodation in the "woods". We did four days in GT and then went up to Old Faithful cabins and did three days. Great hiking trip. That said, nothing will ever come close to the Canadian Rockies for me. The Post Hotel, previously mentioned, is great. I love Lake O'Hara (no spa here). There is a Willowstream spa at the Fairmont Banff Springs which is quite lovely, but for me the Post Hotel (Lake Louise) and Lake O'Hara areas are better hiking and offer first class food.
But utahtea got it right, flip a coin, you will eventually want to do both!

If you do decide to go to the CR and the Post Hotel-reserve early and ask for a room on the "preferred" side (creek side) and not the parking lot (train track side).

we have done all these areas but not from hiking point of view.
they are all wonderfully gorgeous.. but i find the rockies, banff and jaspar area more vast, and i do not think they have suffered the numerous fires the u.s. parks have.
accomodations can be pricey but excellent officila bed and breakfast guide for canada through b.c. and alberta tourist board.
we went WAY OFF beaten track and loved it.
drove from vancouver--whistler area and back in 10 days.

as stated.. you might be able to do both?

Well if spas are mandatory, then that rules out Yellowstone and the Tetons right away.
If you go to Banff, get ready for sticker shock, unless $500 Canadian a night is trivial.

As the others said, if you want to stay in "nice" places, Yellowstone and Tetons are very limited. It's hard to say which parks I liked better (we don't hike) and the scenery in both areas is both different and amazing. If you go to Canada, you can incorporate most of what you categorize nice stays into the trip in Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper. We enjoyed Chateau Lake Louise for the views, didn't like the Banff Springs b/c room size was very small (older hotel and overrated IMO). I have to admit though, after having done both and both are beautiful areas, the Canadian Rockies is a trip I would redo, Yellowstone/Tetons probably not.

True, there are no spas in either GT or Yellowstone National Parks; but, there are spas in Jackson (Rusty Parrot, Snake River Lodge). Our primary activity is hiking and we did not want to stay in Jackson for our visit to GT. It would have put us in the car for a lot more time than we wanted getting to and from trailheads.

cmcfong--ah yes the Rusty Parrot, now there's a place I'd definitely visit again!

easily!!.. go to the canadian rockies!.. and realize that this is 300 mile long! it is totally awesome! we were there 22 yrs ago.. (and it was where we got engaged!) we re from massachusetts..and this was the best trip.. totally scenic...everyday..and totally--totally a spiritual type of vacation..(and i hear yellowstone is the most VISITED national park of all.. so who wants to be where it is very crowded???.. ..so opt for the canadian rockies BIG TIME.. i guarantee u will NOT be disappointed!! and make sure you drive the whole length of it.. its just awesome!

the canadian rockies. and if you do some research on the web you can find nice places to stay. Castle Mountain is outside of Banff still beautiful - do the town of Banff as a day trip. Lake louise beautiful, laid back, Canmore also has great views but is more a town trying to become a destination. Jasper is by far the favorite and if you go in the fall, you have a chance of being caught up in the Elk rut. it is wild, Elk bugling and walking around the outskirts of town in large groups and just as many photographers chasing them. you can raft the athabathska river into early october, there is plenty to do and see. can you tell i love this place? hike wilcox pass.

Both if you can...Canadian Rockies if you don't want to drive that much. Chateau Lake Louise is absolutely amazing.