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one night stay between Calgary and Banff/day trips from Banff

Hello,

We have a family trip coming up in July to Banff. We have accommodations set up for all but our first night. We are arriving at 10:00 am in Calgary. We will be traveling the following day to Moraine Lake. Any suggestions for where we should stay for one night either in Calgary or on the way to Moraine Lake?

Also, suggestions for day trips? We have two days at Lake Moraine and then 5 more days to play. Adults ranging from 19-56, fairly active family.

Thanks!!

Posted by
16028 posts

I would want to get into the mountains that first night, rather than staying in Calgary. So Banff or Lake Louise. I do not have any specific lodging recommendations, as we have only stayed in the hostel in the town of Lake Louise, but I know there are lots of choices in and around Banff.

Once you get to Moraine Lake, you will find it so beautiful you won’t want to leave on a day trip elsewhere. There are lots of good hikes right from the lodge, ranging from easy to moderate to strenuous, so take your pick. When I was last there it was recommended you hike in a group of four or more, and I assume that is still the case. There was a sign where you could wait to join up with others to form a group if needed.

Posted by
7 posts

Thank you! Any idea why the group of at least 4 is recommended?

Posted by
16028 posts

Bear safety. You never want to surprise a bear, so walking in a group and talking among yourselves is the way to avoid that.

Posted by
1281 posts

Canmore comes to mind, although on my trip, I motored directly to Banff and stayed at the hostel there. Canmore overlooks the Sisters mountains as I recall. Someone could correct me.

Posted by
5835 posts

Canmore is about a 90 minute drive from Calgary airport and the gateway to Banff NP. Canmore is less of a "zoo" than Banff town.

Posted by
327 posts

When you say July, do you mean next week - what date are you looking for? You may just have to take whatever accommodation you can get at this late date! You could try Canmore or Kananaskis but I would get on it quickly! Good luck!

It's the peak of the peak season in the Canadian Rockies, and the Calgary Stampede (July 5-14, 2019) draws even more visitors to the region during and around that time.

Posted by
7 posts

We are traveling the last week of July so I expect it will be high season still. Unfortunately it was the only week that worked with our schedules.

Thanks all for the suggestions!

Happy to learn of any ideas of day trips, must see's from the Banff area!

Posted by
5835 posts

...must see's from the Banff area!

Icefields Parkway - Multiple points of interest. Columbia Ice fields.

Lake Louise Chateau and Lake (Stop at Lake Louise Visitor's Center)

Yoho NP and Emerald Lake

Posted by
16028 posts

On your Lake Louise day, walk up to Lake Agnes Teahouse for some team and apple crumble.

http://www.lakeagnesteahouse.com/index.php

Just watch out for the squirrels. One ran up my arm and tried to grab a bite of apple crumble from the fork as I raised it to my mouth! I shook him off and he landed on the next table, much to everyone’s chagrin (including no doubt the squirrel).

Posted by
149 posts

I also recommend staying the first night in Canmore. It’s nicer than the town of Banff. If by chance you’re arriving on a Sunday, go to the Calgary zoo for brunch and a visit before heading toward the mountains. Canmore’s tourist info can give you trail advice around Canmore and for Banff.

The Lake Louise tea houses are worthy hikes. You could also rent a canoe for the stereotypical Canadian experience. Definitely drive the ice fields parkway for the scenery. Go at least as far as Athabasca falls. If not all the way to Jasper. The snowcoach tours out onto Athabasca glacier are pricy but worth it for a unique experience.

Posted by
7 posts

Thank you all for these fantastic tips and suggestions. Booked a suite in Canmore our first night.

As far as interests, definitely mostly outdoorsy/scenic stuff. We all hike but to be honest, I am afraid of the bear situation. We are used to black bears where we live but we have no experience with grizzly bears. eeek!

Will definitely check out the icefields, that sounds amazing!

Thank you all again! Will keep checking back in for any further "must see or do" suggestions!

Posted by
7595 posts

We did four days in the Canadian Rockies on a bus tour from Vancouver. We stayed in Banff, Jasper and Lake Louise. Fantastic trip. There is so much to see that I would recommend taking a tour. We used Key West Tours.

Moraine Lake is awesome, don't miss it.

Posted by
327 posts

Please don't be fearful of the Grizzly bears - just be aware and follow the safety protocols.

If you're driving, and cars are stopped for a bear (it's sometimes called a "bear jam"), slow down, stay in your car and keep the windows closed. Have a look and move on.

When you arrive at the National Park gates, you will be given a wildlife safety brochure - please read it. Parks Canada has a website for bear sightings - to help visitors stay off trails where there might be encounters with bears.

https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/mtn/ours-bears/miseajour-update/miseajour-update-byk

Posted by
4023 posts

Think about a trip to the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, incredible museum of dinosaur fossils, one was featured on the cover of National Geographic last year. It's about 1.5 hours north east of Calgary. You're already on the outskirts of Calgary heading in the right direction from the Calgary Airport. You can also hike through the Badlands while there. www.tyrrellmuseum.com

If a city's local history is of interest to you when you travel, Calgary has 3 excellent museums; Glenbow Museum, Heritage Park and Fort Calgary.

Posted by
303 posts

We just returned from a trip to this area. We rented at a car at the Calgary airport and spent our first night in Canmore as well. I would suggest you purchase your park passes online ahead of time. The line at the gates to the parks can get quite congested, and you can sail through by displaying your pass in the windshield. This is a MUST! We got off the Trans Canada to hike Johnston Canyon and did not have the pass in our windshield. Park rangers patrolled the parking lot as we hiked and issued tickets to any car without a park pass! (This was easily resolved once we showed them our pass.)

Johnston Canyon is a pretty hike to the Lower Falls, but be forewarned that the hike to the Upper Falls is mostly UP!

The drive to Moraine Lake is gorgeous, but be aware that if there is no parking at the lake, you won't be able to drive back until parking is available. If you go EARLY, you should have a better chance. Also note that you have to drive through the village of Lake Louise to get to the road leading to Moraine Lake, and there is a massive mess with construction that bogs down traffic.

The highlight of our trip was the Icefields Parkway. It is drop dead gorgeous. To travel the whole way from Lake Louise to Jasper can take 4 hours, allowing time to stop and take pictures and see the sights. You must gas up before you get on it as gas is scarce and expensive! You might want to get water and snacks to take along as well.

We really didn't spend much time in Banff, but we did drive out to Surprise Corner viewpoint to see the Banff Springs Hotel above the Bow River. Banff is mostly gift shops and restaurants.

I don't know where you are staying around Moraine Lake, but the Paradise Lodge just outside of Lake Louise and close to the road leading back to Moraine Lake is one of the best places we've ever stayed! We had a fully equipped suite in the lodge with a balcony with a view of the mountains. You can check them out on Trip Advisor.

There is a wealth of information about all these places online. Just Google them. Have a wonderful time!

Posted by
303 posts

One more thing I just remembered. The visitor center in Lake Louise (in the Samson Mall) is closed as they renovate it. There is a temporary trailer set up in the parking lot that is woefully short on brochures and info. I would hit another visitor center---- either in Canmore or Banff. We went into the one in Banff, and there was a better selection of info. Check your phone's map app to see where the parking is for the visitors center. It is behind the building and off a side street. In all honesty, I got just as much info online and in the lobby of the hotels!

Posted by
7 posts

Thank you all again! We leave Sat! Staying one night in Canmore, two nights at the Moraine Lake Lodge and the rest of the days in Banff where we will do day trips from. Really interested in doing the icefields. I think we will drive ourselves and maybe get a walking tour once there. Are there any must see points of interest along the way?

Posted by
7 posts

Thank you for the suggestion to buy park pass ahead of time...saved us probably hours of waiting in line!! Woo!

Posted by
7595 posts

We did a four day bus tour of the Canadian Rockies from Vancouver. It was great. We spent one night in Jasper, one night in Banff and one night in Lake Louise. We saw many, many wonderful scenic places. We walked on a glacier, took the cable car up the mountain (I think that was in Jasper). Many of the scenic places that we visited were in out of the way places, not sure how doing it on your own would work.

Suggest checking out tours.