This was a bucket list trip for me. We visited Banff, Yoho, and Jasper National Parks. Everything was so breathtaking and beautiful! It was amazing to see mountains, glaciers, canyons, rivers, lakes, islands, and waterfalls all in one place. We also saw quite a bit of wildlife: grizzly bear, mountain goats, elk, and longhorn sheep. We loved exploring this part of our Earth and being together as a family. Sidenote: I love how Canadians call bathrooms washrooms and I loved how they say out, about, sorry, and eh....it reminded me of my grandma who grew up in Alberta.
Before you visit these National Parks, you need to buy a Discover Pass through Parks Canada. It was $151.25 plus shipping when we went. It took about 4 weeks for the pass to be mailed but Parks Canada was temporarily accepting the email confirmation that showed a valid entry pass. The printed email confirmation could be used until one month from the date of purchase. Check their website to make sure if this is still the case when you go or just order the pass in advance.
You may want to purchase bear spray once you arrive in Canada if you are planning on hiking.
Also in advance you will need to reserve the shuttle for Moraine Lake and Lake Louise since Moraine Lake is closed to personal vehicles year round. It was $8/adult and youth were free plus a $3 service fee. The reservations became available on April 18, 2024 at 8 am MDT the year we went and it felt like we were trying to get Taylor Swift concert tickets. Make sure you have an account through Parks Canada Reservations and can log in before the day the reservations open up. We even practiced working the system so we could do it quickly the day of. Once you have signed in, click "Day Use." Then select "Shuttle to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake (Banff)", choose your date, and input your party size. My husband and I had seperate logins on different computers and made sure we logged in early that morning. It put each of us in a random queue and my husband was 10,000+ and I was 20,000+ even though I had logged in before him. It took maybe a half hour of waiting and then we finally got through and got the time slot and day we wanted. Since it was pretty cheap, we got passes for 2 different days in case we had bad weather on the day we were planning to go. The shuttle departs from the Lake Louise Park and Ride, located at the Lake Louise Ski Area.
Basic Itinerary (I will write more about each of these places below):
Â
Day 1
Arrive in Calgary
Canmore Engine Bridge
Stay in Harvey Heights
Â
Day 2
Johnston Canyon hike
Town of Banff (shopping and lunch)
Cascade Ponds
Two Jack Lake
Johnson Lake
Boat cruise on Lake Minnewanka
Grassi Lakes hike
Â
Day 3:
Lake Louise
Moraine Lake
Canoeing on Emerald Lake
Natural Bridge
Takakkaw Falls
Â
Day 4:
Hoodoos Viewpoint
Surprise Corner Viewpoint
Bow Falls
Vemillion Lakes
Banff Gondola
Sky Bistro for lunch
Banff Town Sign
Banff Trail Riders and Cookout
Â
Day 5:
Icefields Parkway:
Bow Lake
Peyto Lake
Mistaya Canyon
Big Bend Overlook
Athabasca Glacier
Glacier SkyWalk
Tangle Falls
Sunwapta Falls
Athabasca Falls
Pyramid Lake
Â
Day 6:
Canoeing on Pyramid Lake
Patricia Lake picnic
White Water Rafting down the Athabasca River
Â
Day 7:
Maligne Canyon
Maligne Lake boat tour to Spirit Island
Pyramid Island
Â
Day 8:
Drive to Calgary
Weeping Wall
Waterfowl Lake
Morant's Curve
Cascade of Time Garden view
Calgary Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Fly Home
Things to Bring
(This post contains affiliate links)
Stanley Ice Flow Tumbler (we have one of these water bottles for each member of our family)
iPhone 14 Pro Max (this is what I took all of our photos on)
Canmore
Canmore Engine Bridge: This was a surprise gem. We went after dinner and loved walking along the path, skipping rocks in the Bow River, and enjoying the sunset over the mountains. It was a magical evening.
Food:
Bridgette Bar: We loved the family style food selections and the area and atmosphere of this restaurant. Would recommend.
Iron Goat: We waited over an hour for our food and the food was mediocre. Would not recommend.
Banff National Park
Johnston Canyon: We woke up early and got to the trailhead before 8 am (we even saw a bear along the road on our way). I'm so glad we got there early because it wasn't too busy yet. We walked to the Upper Falls which is 1.6 miles one way (about 3 miles round trip). On the way back we stopped at the the Lower Falls.
Cascade Ponds: (before Two Jack Lake or Lake Minnewanka): bridges, picnic tables, barbeques. This was such a charming, relaxing spot with bridges over the ponds and views of the mountains. I wish we would have brought a picnic lunch here or to Two Jack Lake.
Two Jack Lake: Beautiful! This would be a great spot for a picnic lunch.
Johnson Lake: Probably could have skipped.
Boat Cruise on Lake Minnewanka: We chose the 1:20 pm sail time. I would recommend buying tickets in advance here. The classic 1-hour tour is $69/adult and $44.85/child (prices subject to change). You must check in 15 minutes before your departure and I would even get there a half hour or so early to find parking (their website says 2 hours but it didn't take us that long to wait for someone to leave). After our cruise, we got ice cream at a shop at the lake.
Grassi Lakes: This was more of a moderate 2.1-mile hike as it had a steeper incline on the way to the lakes. We got there in the evening and, although it wasn't crowded at all, the sun had set behind the mountains by the time we got to the top so the lakes did not reflect the beautiful blue color as I think it would with the sun. It was still beautiful and I'm glad we did this hike. You must pay for parking online here.
Â
Lake Louise: We took the 6:30 am Parks Canada Shuttle (must book months in advance...see description above) to Lake Louise and got there by 7 am. We walked to the water's edge and then hiked 1.5 miles to the Fairview Lookout which had a pretty steep incline.
Moraine Lake: To access Moraine Lake, you have to reserve a shuttle months in advance to take you there since personal vehicles cannot access the lake. We booked the shuttle through Parks Canada which also took us to Lake Louise. We reserved the 6:30 am shuttle and decided to do Lake Louise first. At Moraine Lake we did the short walk (0.5 mile) up Rockpile Trail for amazing views of the lake. I kind of wish we would have walked down to the water's edge but honestly, I didn't even think about it while we were there.
Morant’s Curve Viewpoint (near Lake Louise): I totally spaced stopping by Morant's Curve the day we went to Lake Louise. But we made sure we stopped there on the way back from Jasper to get a photo. Some people had been waiting for the train to come for an hour but we didn't stick around for the train.
Hoodoos Trail: Short path to viewpoints.
Surprise Corner Viewpoint (limited parking...we had to wait a bit for a spot): To see Sulphur Mountain and the iconic Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.
Bow Falls: Quick stop
Vemillion Lakes: So beautiful with amazing views. We stopped by twice because it was cold and foggy the first time we went and I wanted to see it on a clear day. I'm so glad we did.
Banff Gondola to the top of Sulpher Mountain: Unfortunately, it was a cloudy, rainy day the day we booked our gondola ride. We were able to find parking in the lot...maybe because it wasn't great weather. We still managed to see decent views though. We walked the boardwalk to their viewpoint which was really breathtaking and then went to the Sky Bistro for lunch. We chose the 11:30 am upload time and 1:30 pm download time on the gondola so we could be there for lunch. On our way back down the gondola, everything was completely covered In clouds. You can buy tickets in advance here or when you get there (which may be better depending on crowds and weather).
Sky Bistro for lunch: Make reservations 30 days in advance. We made a lunch reservation for noon. The food was delicious and the views were amazing until the clouds rolled In.
Banff Town Sign
Banff Trail Riders and Cookout: It was freezing and wet the evening we went but it was still one of our favorite things we did. Our guides were awesome and the food was really good. We did the 5:00 pm 3-hour tour. It was pricey but worth it. You can book your tickets in advance here. If it is raining, they sell ponchos with sleeves for $9 (they don't allow ponchos without sleeves as it can scare the horses).
Cascade of Time Garden: We stopped here just to get a picture of the iconic view.
Food:
Nourish Bistro (in town): Pretty good food...not super memorable though.
Trailhead Cafe (near Lake Louise): Great lunch place. Definitely would recommend it. We ate here twice: once on the day we went to Lake Louise and the other day on our drive back from Jasper. There was a long line the second time we came.
Â
Yoho National Park
Canoeing on Emerald Lake: This was probably my favorite thing we did on our trip. After visiting Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, we picked up lunch from Trailhead Cafe and ate in the car as we drove to Emerald Lake (listen to the Guide Along App on the way!). We got to Emerald Lake around 11:30 am and the parking was really full. My husband dropped us off so we could get in line for the canoes while he parked pretty far away. The line for the canoes took 20-30 minutes and the line was longer when we got off the canoes so I would get there earlier if you can. $90 for a 1-hour canoe rental. You must have an adult in each canoe.
Natural Bridge: Very cool!
Takkakaw Falls: 1-mile easy walk along a paved road. This is the second largest waterfall in Canada.
Icefields Parkway
No cell service! Download Google Maps before or take screenshots of the distances between stops (I wish we had done this). Make sure you get gas before and pack a lunch to eat along the way! The GuideAlong App is a must for this drive! We did the Canadian
Rockies Tour you can purchase here. It was the perfect tour guide and we loved hearing all the history about the area and each of the stops along the way. Get ready for the most beautiful drive you have ever been on! Seriously, how are all of these amazing things so close together?
Bow Lake (on the side of the road...beautiful!)
Peyto Lake: Beautiful! Probably my favorite stop on the Icefields Parkway. It's a 10-minute hike up to the viewpoint which was very crowded. We walked a little further and found the second lookout, which is no longer marked (I shared a picture below where you take the trail to the second overlook).
Where my husband is pointing is the small trail that leads to the second overlook (unmarked).
Mistaya Canyon (beautiful): 1.2 miles, 32 minutes walk there and back. Very easy and worth it.
Big Bend Overlook
Athabasca Glacier: We did the 12:45 pm Columbia Icefield Adventure. It costs $93.74 per person and you can book your tickets in advance here. The tour takes 2.5-3 hours and includes the Glacier Sky Walk. None of us had ever walked on a glacier before which was pretty amazing.
Glacier SkyWalk: Honestly, this was pretty lame but we went because the shuttle took us there (included in our ticket). I think it's just a way for them to make more money.
Tangle Creek Falls: A great stop with no effort as it is right off the road. Park across from the falls and walk across the street.
Sunwapta Falls: 5-10 minute walk to the viewpoint.
Athabasca Falls: Easy 0.6-mile walk to the falls. Worth it!
Weeping Wall (along the side of the road)
Waterfowl Lake (on the side of the road)
Jasper National Park
Pyramid Lake Lodge: One of the best things we did, in my opinion, was stay at Pyramid Lake Lodge. The lake was so beautiful and we enjoyed spending our evenings and mornings sitting on the dock and enjoying the view while drinking the free hot cocoa from the lobby. The kids LOVED playing corn hole and we did this a lot as a family. We also enjoyed the hot tub and cooked our dinner on the barbeques one night. We stayed in the Tekarra Loft, which worked out perfectly for our family of 5.
Pyramid Lake canoeing: Our stay at Pyramid Lake Lodge came with one free hour of canoe/kayak rental which was so fun. We got there right at 10 am when the booth opened.
Pyramid Island: This was a fun, easy walk in the evening after dinner. It would be a nice spot to have a picnic lunch (there are a few picnic tables).
Patricia Lake: We wanted to check this place out so we picked up sandwiches from Patricia Street Deli (one of our favorite places that tragically burned down a few weeks later in a fire) and brought them here for a picnic lunch.
White Water Rafting down the Athabasca River: 3:30 pm tour through Jasper Rafting Adventures ($109 per adult, $55 per child). This was everyone's favorite thing we did. Our guide was amazing. The water was 4 degrees Celsius or 39 degrees Fahrenheit (coming from the glacier and doesn't have much time to heat up) but the company provided us with wet suits, booties, and jackets so it really didn't feel bad at all, which was surprising to me.
Maligne Canyon: Wow! This place is Incredible! It's so amazing what Mother Nature can do. I recommend parking at the fifth bridge.
Picnic Lunch along the Maligne River: We were lucky to find the most beautiful picnic spot along the Maligne River on our way to Maligne Lake from Maligne Canyon.
Maligne Lake Cruise to Spirit Island: We did the 12:45 pm cruise. It cost $70.52 per person and you can book your tickets in advance here. It was a 1.5 tour and we enjoyed hearing about the history. They let you get off the boat and walk a path to view Spirit Island. You can rent kayaks or canoes at the boathouse. We got ice cream after at Waffle Hut, which is there at the lake.
Â
Calgary Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: We stopped here for a photo on our way to the airport.
Food:
Patricia Street Deli: Highly recommend. The owners were the kindest people who felt like friends once we left. Tragically, their adorable deli burned in a fire just a few weeks later.
Jasper Brewing Company
Grandma's Place: Ice Cream (just ok). Temporarily closed.
Jasper Pizza Place
BeaverTails Jasper: We had to stop here for dessert on our last night to try this famous Canadian pastry. It was really good!
