debwhite

Following wonderful trips to the Southwest ( Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon and Sedona) followed by the Dolomites in Italy, we're heading to the Canadian Rockies! Plan to fly in from Boston to Calgary and spend 10-14 days. We like to hike, but as young seniors, we usually do 1/2 day hikes. Read that ideally July and early August are likely to have the most trails open, but are the crowds so huge that we'll be sitting in traffic, or having trouble parking? . Suggestions most welcome, especially about the crowds and timing. We could consider slightly earlier or later. Guess we should be booking air and lodging now!
thanks.

tomfuller

Check out Brewster bus tours if you don't want to rent a car from the Calgary airport.
It's been decades since I was in Banff but I've been to Jasper several times in the past 20 years.
I/we arrive in Jasper on the ViaRail Canadian and usually stay at the HI Hostel several km out of town near the north end of the Icefield Highway
The Canadian Rockies are beautiful no matter which part you're in IMO.

kgsneds

Renting a car is definitely the best way to see the Rockies. They've greatly improved transport options between Calgary & Lake Louise, but there is still no public transport in Jasper NP.
Brewsters (or other company) bus tours are one way to do it, but are generally a poor option if you are interested hiking. They don't tend to leave much time for your own activities, let alone 1/2 day hikes.

I would rent a car in Calgary, and self drive. You can always supplement with day or half tours with local companies (hiking, wildlife tours etc) if you want some "days off".

To have the most hiking & sightseeing options, you'd want to come between late July and mid September. Peak time in the Rockies is essentially end of May to Canadian Thanskgiving (early October). It will be busy any of those months, but the big crowds tend to be right at the major sites, and once you hike 10-15 minutes beyond any trailheads, crowds thin dramatically. You can also plan your days to hit the big stuff early or late, and often avoid much of the traffic.

Parking is a problem at places like Lake Louise, Moraine Lake and Emerald Lake, but they have free buses from Banff and Lake Louise during the summer to Lake Louise. In September, they do free shuttles to Moraine Lake, and we're hoping they might expand that service next summer. There's also a paid hop-on hop off shuttle that does Banff to Johnston Canyon, Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. Otherwise, you plan to get to the big sites early and do them during the week if possible, and then be off hiking before it gets too bad.

I would avoid the first weekend in July (July 1 being our national holiday), the first weekend in August (first Monday in August is a holiday here) and Labour Day weekend. Perhaps either July between the holidays or come right after Labour Day.

With 10-14 days, you have time to add in Waterton NP and/or some time in southern BC (Drumheller/Writing on Stone PP/Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump/Frank Slide etc).

Since you are interested in hiking, I'd probably try to stay in Lake Louise. That way you are close to the hiking trails there and in Yoho NP. Then at least 3-4 nights in Jasper. You could do some nights in Banff as well. Maybe something like this:

Day 1- arrive, head to Lake Louise
Day 2 - Lake Louise/Yoho
Day 3 - Lake Louise/Yoho
Day 4 - to Jasper
Day 5 - Jasper
Day 6 - Jasper
Day 7- Jasper
Day 8 - to Banff or Canmore
Day 9 - Banff area
Day 11 - flex time in Banff
Day 12 - to Waterton NP,day to see things along the way
Day 13 - Waterton NP
Day 14 - home

kgsneds

And yes, I would get booking at your earliest convenience though you are probably fine up through early 2018.

That said, some of the best and more affordable accommodation in Jasper is at Private Home Accommodations (www.stayinjasper.co). Many of those may not take bookings until early 2018 as the operators need to figure out their own holiday schedules. Some smaller hotels/lodges also won't take reservations yet - Alpine Village, which gets great reviews in Jasper - doesn't take bookings until 2018.

So it's strong suggested that if you book now - unless it's your ideal place - get something with a good cancellation policy. That way you can cancel if you find something more to your liking/less expensive later on.

debwhite

Thank you for those helpful suggestions. We were looking at late June, but will check flights for early or mid July. Definitely renting a car at Calgary for the trip. My only other concern is the traffic on the roads during the summer. At Yellowstone National Park, I remember sitting in traffic when we visited many years ago! Can't go early september this year, unfortunately.

ShaquilleG

We went in early June this year to Banff NP. The parking at Lake Louise & Morraine was a bit crowded (more so Louise which took us like 20-30 mins to get a spot). Renting from Calgary is your best bet as it’s best to have a vehicle to explore the parks. Finding a place to stay is definitely first priority as place go fast or get really expensive. You can potentially find a good Airbnb/hotel in Canmore which is a great base spot.

I will include that the Flights out there & Airbnbs/hotels/lodging did get significantly more expensive after about the 3rd week of June which is why we choose early June. But the downside to that is there were still a good amount of trails that were still closed or cautioned because of possible avalanches/ice.