Canadian Rockies (Banff & Jasper) and Glimpse of Vancouver

A weekend before 4th July, 2016 we decided to visit Banff and Jasper National Parks. We had always heard about it and have seen beautiful pictures! It is amazing, sometimes pictures do not justify the beauty of nature. We flew from San Francisco (SFO) to Calgary, Alberta (YYC). There are many flights from San Jose and Oakland as well. We had to reach Vancouver, British Columbia after our trip so had just over 3 days. It would have been nice if we had atleast 4-5 days.

Its about two hours drive from Calgary to Banff town. Usually we visit the Information Center before we start our trip. That’s what we did this time as well and information desk was very helpful and gave bunch of flyers to go around in Banff and Jasper!

Day 1 – Banff, Lake Louise

We started with Banff Gondola. It was a good start to the trip to see the Sulphur Mountains and Valleys from the top. After going to the top they have a walkway and stairs which lets you see valley from different points. Takes about 1.5 hours to complete it. Right next to the Gondola was Banff Hot Springs, unfortunately we couldnt go there because of time constraints but have heard its one of the TODOs.

Our end destination for day 1 was Lake Louise. On our way to Louise we stopped by Lake Minnewanka (Banff Lake), Bow Falls & River, Two Jack Lake and finally had a nice dinner at Fairmont Hotel at Lake Louise!

Day 2 – Lake Moraine, Lake Peyto, Jasper

Day started at 4:50 AM as we wanted to experience Sunrise at Lake Moraine (It was worth it – Must do). Lake Moraine is just 15 minutes away from Lake Louise. They have a lodge too by the lake if you want to stay at the lake. They have a small trail for the view point where you can see lake from the top! The trail includes few steps. You can rent canoes too here.

Then we headed to Lake Louise Gondola. Usually you can sight Grizzly Bears while on Gondola. They have two type of rides, Closed Cabins and Open Chairs. We decided to go with open chairs to take pictures. We were lucky to spot Grizzly Mumma Bear and a Cub on our way down.

We had a relaxing lunch by the shore of Lake Louise (Entered from Fairmont Hotel). If you purchase something at the hotel you can reimburese your parking.

Our day 2 stay was in Hinton, Alberta (About 1 hour outside of Jasper in North). En route to Jasper we visited some lakes and falls. Since we were short of time we cherry picked few places which were must visit. Some of them are listed below order in which they come while driving to Jasper from Lake Louise

• Bow Lake
• Peyto Lake
• Tangled Falls
• Sunwapta falls
• Athabasca Falls

 

We concluded the day after having dinner in Jasper Town. Lot of options were available including Pizza, Subway and Indian Buffet.

Day 3 – Lake Medicine, Columbia Ice Fields

We had to reach back to Banff (About 4.5 hours of drive). On our way back we decided to do few pit stops at Lake Medicine and Lake Maligne. Drive to these lakes is very beautiful. On our way back from these we were lucky to spot few animals including Elks, Mountain Goats and Black Bears.

 

Later we headed to Columbia Icefield Glacier (about 1.5 hours drive south). It included a ride and walk on Glaciers and Skywalk Bridge. You can do both or either one. But they are worth it. We also carried an empty bottle to fill in some glacier water. Water was crystal clear and freezing cold!!

We were so mesmerized by Lake Louise that we decided to visit again for sunset and dinner before reaching Banff Town.

Day 4 – Lake Minnewanka Cruise, Calgary, Vancouver

We had half a day in Banff before we had to reach Calgary to take a flight to Vancouver, British Columbia (YYV). We deicided to go to Lake Minnewanka to do 1 hour cruise. Day was bright, we enjoyed the cruise! Lake Vermillion is one of the must visits for sunrise if you are in Banff Town.

Day 5 – Vancouver

Originally we had thought to visit Buchart Gardens in Victoria Islands. Because of time constraints we changed our plans to visit local places in Vacouver like Stanley Park and Capilano Suspension Bridge. We also did a walk at Canada Place. Its water front and also a famous ride “Flyover Canada” is located there.

On the last day of our tour we had couple hours to drive to Shannon Falls up north of Vancouver (About 1 hour drive) on way to Whistler Town. Drive is very scenic.

Canada Visas

• You can apply for Visas online by submitting all the required documents  – Apply For Canadian Visas (Fees about CAD 100 ~ USD 85)
• They require to have your itinerary be sent to them with all the bookings in advance. In our case we did not so I just wrote a text document explaining what our trip looks like and where we plan to visit
• Once approved they might ask you to mail passports with return shipping envelop to Visa Application Center (VAC) in LA or NY
  • Please note there is additional fee of USD 37 per person upto 4 person in family which you have to mail to Salt Lake City, Utah.
  • You pay for return shipping of your passport unless you plan to pick up from VAC
• If you are flying from US it might take upto 13 days for the Visas to be processed after applicaiton
• Their process is very easy with time to time notification and updates about the applicaiton

Additional Pointers

• Tourist season starts around June end onwards until early September
• Weather forecast changes on daily basis. Do not trust 10 days weather forecast to plan your trips
• Good idea to carry food with you, so you save some time
• Try to search groupons for activities like Gondola, Cruise etc.
• We bought most of our tickets here – Activities in The Rockies
• Most activities have last entries by 5:00 PM so plan accordingly
• Canada follows speeds in KM/L. Keep a watch while driving