Overwhelmed by Conflicting Recommendations?
Are you planning a trip to the Canadian Rockies but are overwhelmed by the conflicting recommendations of various websites? What should you see on a 5 or 7-day trip to the Canadian Rockies? Should you go to Banff or Jasper National Park (NP)? What are the most beautiful sights to see in Banff and Jasper? These are typical questions asked by people. This post gives you the best itinerary for the Canadian Rockies that could be tailored for both short and long trips.
An updated and simplified itinerary can be found at: Uncover Awe-Inspiring Views: Your Ultimate Canadian Rockies Travel Guide.
Author & Photographer: George Mitchell
Our advice below is not based on a couple of tourist trips. Our recommendations are based on our extensive experience living in Alberta (AB) for ten years. We are avid hikers, nature lovers and photographers (all photos are my own). The Rocky Mountains were our weekend playground. We often hosted out-of-province friends and family using the itinerary we are recommending.
All of our recommendations are top rated by Google Maps Ratings, which is based on everyone not just tourists. Each place recommended in this post and our custom Rocky Mountain Itinerary Map is appended with a Google Maps Rating (G0 to G5).
Banff the Town and Louise the Lake
First of all, do NOT go to Banff the town and Lake Louise… seriously! Times have changed since we first moved to Alberta. There are too many tourists thinking that Banff the Town and Louise the Lake are the ultimate destinations of the Rockies. They are not!
My niece from Montreal came to work in Banff one summer many moons ago. After talking with her co-workers, I said it’s time to go to the Rockies. Their mouths dropped. Banff is a very attractive tourist town, but it is the opposite of wilderness.
If you do not have a car then Banff the town and Lake Louise are accessible by bus and train and you can have a great time while you are there. If you have a car, Lake Louise is not worth the $38 parking fee and the traffic congestion it entails. In fact, Lake Louise is often not sunlit so its’ turquoise colour is often not as special as many other lakes. However, if this is still your ultimate destination then ignore this post and instead please read:
The Best Rocky Mountain Itinerary
In order to see the best sights of the Canadian Rockies you need to drive your own vehicle or rent a car. There is no public transportation on the most important sightseeing highway between Lake Louise and Jasper.
The best base for accommodation is the Lake Louise Village hotels and campground or the Waterfowl Lakes Campground. If you are on a short trip do you really want to spend your time driving back and forth from Banff 58 km (45 minutes), Canmore 80 km (1 hr), or Calgary 183 km (2 hrs) away from Lake Louise? All distances and driving times are one way (OW). Waterfowl Lakes Campground is 61 km (45 minutes) north of Lake Louise but it is on the prime sightseeing road, the Icefield Parkway.
We have broken the itinerary into three options or road segments. If you have limited time — and ≤ 7 days is a very limited time — we would recommend that you focus primarily on the Icefield Parkway, segment 2 below. You then add-on what ever parts of segment 1 and 3 that you really want to see to fill out your 5 or 7 or 11 day trip. If you have two or more weeks, follow the detailed itineraries in the posts referenced below.
1 Lake Louise Area
This segment will require a minimum of two days, day 1A and day 1B.
1A Moraine Lake
The glacial green Moraine Lake is gorgeous. This is the one place worth visiting in the Lake Louise area. The road is closed to cars and you have to take the $8 per person shuttle bus. Yes there will still be a lot of people but this lake is worth a visit. Due to the long lineups for the return bus, you will want to get the most out of this trip. You should book the shuttle to see Moraine Lake first. If you like canoeing or hiking, you should probably spend most of the day here. Bring you own food for a picnic. Here are the best things to do:
- Hike the short Rock Pile Interpretive Trail to the best view of the lake and the ten peaks, Wenkchemna.
- Canoe the lake to feel “almost alone”.
- Take the half-day hike to Larch Valley or the longer hikes:
a) Larch Valley – Sentinel Pass Trail
b) Eiffel Lake Wenkchemna Pass Trail
For more details and photos, see:
1B Yoho NP
You can see a couple of spectacular places in Yoho NP, which is in British Columbia (BC), 39 km from Lake Louise.
Emerald Lake
Emerald Lake is a gorgeous glacial green lake. Go to this very popular place early in the morning or possibly late afternoon to get parking. We just waited in the parking lot until someone left.
- Hike the lakeshore trail to the left of the Emerald Lake Lodge bridge. It is part of the longer Emerald Basin and Yoho Pass trails. There are many views along the way, unlike the end of this loop trail through the lodge. The further you walk, the less the people. Yoho Pass is a challenging and long 19.2 km round trip trail. We took my inexperienced sister and brother-in-law and they did well, even when we had to fire an overflowing stream!
- Canoe the lake to feel “almost alone”.
- Visit the Natural Bridge at the bottom of this road.
Takakkaw Falls
Takakkaw Falls are impressive and very high waterfalls.
- Stop at the Meeting of the Waters viewpoint.
- Enjoy (or Not) the harsh switchbacks along this road (trailers and buses not allowed).
- Hike the Yoho Skyline Trail or other trails in the area.
2 Icefield Parkway
The Icefield Parkway between Lake Louise Village and the town of Jasper provides 232 km of easy access to rugged Rockies, gorgeous glaciers, and turquoise lakes — all from the luxury of your car. There are not many roads in North America that are this spectacular for this long a distance with minimal human development and commercialization.
In fact, we think it is the best scenic highway in Canada, if not North America. The most special aspect of the Canadian Rockies is the glaciers (while they last), the gorgeous turquoise lakes and rivers they created, the rock flour (yes, it’s a real thing explained in the blog), 3400 km of superb hiking trails, and the wildlife. These are the key features of the Quintessential Canadian Rockies, of the Icefield Parkway.
2A Turquoise Lake & Mountain Viewpoints
Yes, the distance is short, but hopefully you came here to do more than quickly drive the parkway. The whole road is a must-see with many viewpoints, but you definitely want to stop at:
- Bow Lake,
- Waterfowl Lakes,
- Big Bend,
- Columbia Icefield Centre (Athabasca Glacier toe walk or tours),
- Sunwapta Canyon Viewpoint (and wildlife viewing),
- Tangle Falls, and
- Stutfield Glacier Viewpoint.
That’s 7 recommended stops. You are bound to see other spectacular views, like the one above, that you want to photograph.
If you plan on doing the recommended hikes below, they are co-located with these viewpoints. You will need at least two days splitting the Icefield Parkway into two road segments; e.g.: Lake Louise to Parker’s Ridge and Parker’s Ridge to Stutfield Glacier. Taking any of the Icefield tours will add another day.
2B Icefield Hikes and Tours
Most people are able to do the three best short hikes along the Icefield Parkway:
- Peyto Lake Trail for our favourite turquoise lake above,
- Parker’s Ridge Trail for the Saskatchewan Glacier view,
- Wilcox Pass Trail for a high-up view of Athabasca Glacier.
They are not long if you are in shape, but allow about half a day each because you want to enjoy the views, wildflowers, and wildlife that you may see. All our guests completed these hikes.
There are expensive glacier bus tours on the Athabasca Glacier and the glass Skywalk — or a no-cost option would be the do-it-yourself walk to the toe of the glacier from the lower parking lot, and great views shown above from the upper parking lot at the Icefield Centre.
Depending on how many hikes, tours, or programs you do, you will need at least two to four days just for the Parkway. You can easily spend all week here and see the best parts of both Banff and Jasper NPs. For a detailed itinerary and more photos, see:
3 Jasper Area
Jasper NP is just as nice as Banff NP and has half the number of tourists. I have included the northern part of the Icefield Parkway and other side roads in this segment, as Jasper (the town) would be the best base for this area. Besides chalets, we usually stayed at Wabasso or Whistler Campgrounds.
There are several must-see places to visit. You need at least two to three days, depending on how many hikes you want to do. The following are just some of the best places to see in Jasper & Mt Robson — 7 Best Places to Enjoy.
3A Athabasca Falls
You can feel the power of the water being forced through a narrow gap carved by the Athabasca Glacier when it was 72 km (45 mi) longer. The photo shows how close you can get to having a personal encounter with the falls. Don’t just go to this busy view to take your selfie. Walk the trail down to the lower potholed canyon for more views.
3B Mt. Edith Cavell
This panorama of Mt Edith Cavell is one of my favourite views, not just of this mountain but in all of the national parks. It also comes with gorgeous glacial green Cavell Lake and a couple of great hikes.
Path of The Glaciers Trail
The Path of The Glaciers Trail is the mandatory and mostly paved walk to the foot of Cavell Glacier and tarn with Angel Glacier hanging above.
Cavell Meadows Trail
The Cavell Meadows Trail climbs steeply to the alpine meadows with the best views of the whole valley as well as a straight on view of Angel Glacier.
3C Maligne Canyon
This is more of a walk than a hike and definitely worth doing. The canyon is very soluble limestone formed from the skeletal remains of marine organisms. Cephalopod, brachiopod and crinoid fossils as well as ripple marks are embedded in the rocks on the way to the first bridge. This 365 million year old layer used to be the bed of a tropical sea before the Rockies were uplifted. It’s hard to believe that Canada was once tropical.
3D Maligne Lake and Opal Hills Trail
Maligne Lake is a very peaceful, scenic area, especially compared to Lake Louise. There are two hikes and one walk to do here.
At 2.6 km on the Opal Hills Trail, you reach the alpine meadows with lots of wildflowers and extensive views of Maligne Lake resting 307 m (1010 ft) below you. You feel like you are flying.
There are many more sights to enjoy in the Jasper area, such as Mt. Robson.
Final Comments on this Itinerary
This is an action-packed itinerary where you can get away from the crowds of tourists who head to sites that are famous because of name recognition. The places are all highly rated by the people, as shown by the high Google Map Ratings. The most beautiful turquoise lakes are Peyto G4.9, Bow 4.9, Emerald G4.8, Moraine G4.8, and Waterfowl G4.7! All of these lakes are considered more beautiful than Lake Louise.
If you just go to Banff the town and Louise the lake and miss the Icefield Parkway, you have missed the essence of the Rockies.
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Itinerary Planning
Do you want to learn how to plan an itinerary? Is your trip less than two weeks? Use this ready-made itinerary map to plan your trip.
Our custom planning maps include all the possible Points of Interest pinned. You can create you own custom maps using the Google My Maps app. There are so many thing to do that we have divided this road trip into separate layers in the Google map. Some layers such as Accommodation, Restaurants, and other road segments are initially hidden to keep the focus on the sights. We have included additional points of interest not described in these posts.
Google Maps Ratings
Google Maps provides a rating from 0 to 5 for all sights, hotels and restaurants (but not cities). All of our recommendations are appended with the rating (prefixed with a G) from Google Maps. As it is based on feedback from tourist and locals, it is much more reliable than travel booking websites. We consider a score of 4 to 4.39 to be Very Good; 4.4 to 5 to be Excellent.
Other Places to Add to Your Itinerary
Here are nearby places you might want to explore:
When is the Best Time to Visit the Rockies?
Here are the average high temperatures and rain days in Banff by season. I have divided the months by temperature similarity rather than traditional seasons.
Winter (Nov-Mar) is both cold and snowy, but a haven for skiers.
Spring (Apr-May) is warm enough for a road trip. But there will still be snow even at lower elevations. Many lakes may be at least partially frozen so you will not necessarily see the turquoise colours.
Summer (Jun-Aug) is warm and sunny. This is the best season for wildflowers and hiking when the snow has melted (hopefully). If you want to go in high season, you need to book your accommodation well in advance. Even campsites should be booked. However, there are First Come First Served (FCFS) campsites that were not full when we visited just a few weeks ago. Avoid regular and especially long weekends as they are booked by the locals well in advance.
However, these historical averages do not reflect current global climate changes. This past summer, the average high was 33 to 36°C when we visited. Summer is also the high season, and you need to book ahead and pay a lot of money unless you are camping.
Autumn (Sep 17°C and Oct 10°C) could be very beautiful time. You can still go hiking depending on when the first permanent snow starts. But the days are shorter and it it could snow in October – definitely at the higher elevations. On the plus side, the lighting is softer, the autumn foliage is gorgeous and snow highlights the rock layers of the mountains. It is ideal for photography.
| Season | Mean High Temp | Rain Days per Month |
|---|---|---|
| Nov-Mar | -0.8°C 30.6°F | 4.4 |
| Apr-May | 11.5°C 52.7°F | 6.5 |
| Jun-Aug | 21.3°C 70.4°F | 8.0 |
| Sep-Oct | 13.5°C 56.3°F | 5.0 |
Canada FAQ
Banff and Jasper are just two of the five contiguous parks in the Canadian Rockies (excluding Kananaskis and Waterton NP further south). Their combined area is about half the size of Switzerland, with only three towns of ca. 13,000 residents compared to 8.7 million people in Switzerland.
The Exploring Canada post answers questions such as:
- Where should I go in Canada?
- What is the best season for travel?
- What is the best clothing?
- Where should I go? What are the must-sees?
- How much time do I need for Canada?
- Can I see everything in a week?
- How safe is Canada?
Terra Encounters 
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