Please give any advice on things to see or places worth stopping for from Banff, Alberta CA to Jasper National Park. Making a last minute trip. What are some must see spots on Jasper? (Hoping Bobby sees this) Anything off the beaten path? Traveling with kids ages 9 to 15 that love hiking and kayak/canoes. Any place not as gimmicky and crowded as Lake Louise? Thanks!!
Athabasca Glacier, there is also a new look out on highway 93A, with glass floors. I love valley of 5 lakes hiking. There are 2 lakes by Jasper Park Lodge. A coffee at Jasper Park lodge would be fabulous, Jasper Gandola is awesome also. My boys did some white water rafting in Jasper. Lake in Jasper, you can swim in
Lake Louise is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Bring lots of food as no eating places in between. I will post pictures on Forum for you. There is a new Indian restaurant in Jasper. You should buy groceries and food at IGA in Banff. My boys were not fussy so I would take canned tuna, Hummus, pita bread with me. For years now we are camping but to stay in Jasper for large family, there are gorgeous bungalows on the roaring river. I think they are called roaring river chalets.
Lake Louise Hike, Going up to Tea House is 3.5 Km, would be tough with kids, Going around lake is good. I have coffee and baked goods at the most amazing Hotel there.
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Athabasca falls
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Thanks for the tips. Lake Louise is gorgeous but it was packed with crowds last time we went in 2019. My kids should be able to do the hike to the teahouse but do you think that is the best hike? We have about 2 full days in Banff before driving up to Jasper. We did it last minute so hoping to still have fun Inshallah
Johnston Canyon just off Banff is good also, maybe packed also. I go around the river and the falls in Banff and that is quite gorgeous. I like taking Gandola in Banff, its gorgeous. Many people climb it up. If you haven’t been up that Gandola, you need to, its breath taking. Banff is a lot more commercialized than Jasper. You wont see as many tourists in Jasper. That Drive is stunning. I pick up roast chicken at IGA grocery store, much cheaper than eating out.
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/cana…to-upper-falls
This is the Johnston Canyon. Lake louise hike is the best. Sulphur mountain, you can go up walking, come down on Gandola, or go up Gandola, come down walking.
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/canada/alberta/sulphur-mountain-trail
Valley of 5 lakes is an absolute wonder and no crowds, most don’t know about it.
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/canada/alberta/valley-of-the-five-lakes-loop
That rafting seems intense. I need more like class 3 at best for my youngest :) So we did Lake Louise and the Banff Gondola last time. Dont want to go back to Johnston Canyon. May spend more time in Moraine. SO CONFUSING! May go again to Lake Louise. HopIng to make it to the teahouse. I am looking into the Toe of the Athabasca Glacier Hike en route to Jasper on Icefield Parkway.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
Thanks for the tips. In Banff we did the Lake Agnes Tea House Hike. It was actually more steep than I thought it would be but kids managed fine. We had a surprise rain storm but luckily had our rain jackets. It gets COLD fast in the mountains, we learned the hard way in Many Glacier.
Oh and Athabasca Glacier was awesome too! Super crowded on the main trail but we ended up doing slightly longer hike from across the Icefields Visitor Center. Canadian Rockies are amazing.
PS. We ended up eating at Haldi in Jasper and next morning tried to get food at Andaaz but wait was too long. The Sun Cafe in front is Amazing though and I am glad as they had amazing teas.
PS. I hate saying this but OMG some of the intense desi crowds at Lake Louise were so annoying! So aggressive and so pushy and shovy just for a selfie or picture. We hiked further in to get away from the crowds. Ran into few in Moraine as well. Literally almost pushed my kid down just to get a picture. I gave them a piece of my mind and the dad apilogized....jeez
I had climbed up to Bee Hive that is Twice the distance as the Tea House and gets much steeper. The social fabric of our city has completely changed we are taking in a phenomenal number of immigrants from India. Some communities are 90 percent people of Indian origin.
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The Beehive would have been too much. It started pouring about 1/2 way up Lake Agnes Teahouse. The rocks got very slippery and I won’t talk about the horses. Hiking sticks saved us! We also did the Valley of 5 Lakes full loop. Despite being a pretty emerald color, they were a bit murky. Lake [NODE=“2”]Forum[/NODE] was our favorite with the dock. Kids just played a bit and we had to hurry as we wanted to be out before sunset. The fear of bears was VERY real even though we hadn’t even seen 1.
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