Banff - Canadian Rockies- Calgary Area

[shadowcat]

We are planning a trip to the Canadian Rockies so if anyone has stayed there around the Calgary area any info you have will be appreciated. Initially we were going to stay up at Assinoboine Lodge up in the mountains (accessible only by helicopter or hiking in 13 or so miles). but we decide we wanted to be more mobile and experience as much of the area as possible, altho this place is awesome. Did anyone watch that PBS special on Canada's backcountry lodges? this place was featured and the area and views are phenomenol!
Anyway I guess the airport you fly into is in Calgary and we've been scoping out cabins but unless you've been there or get some input you really don't know what they are like. Trust me I've booked a joint thinking it was out in the woods based on the pics they showed only to find it was sitting on a main intersection in town on a noisey street! We've looked at Storm Mountain cabins and paradise Bungaloos. I don't know if anyone has stayed there pleeeease any recommendations on lodging or places not to be missed will be greatly appreciated.

 

[timmus]

I was there in Sept 04 for two weeks, but we mostly camped. The only night we spended in a cabin was at Miette Hot Springs Bungalows. Fireplace, clean, it was OK. The food was good and owners were very friendly.

The only place in Calgary I can tell you about is Hy's SteakHouse. Gosh that steak was good after two weeks of Chunky Soup and process cheese sandwiches. Oh, and we stayed at the Sandman Hotel, but that was like any big hotel in North America.

Have a nice trip !

 

[Jay H]

Been to Calgary so many times but only as a kid or teenager as my grandparents lived there... Been to the Calgary Tower (the cupcake) and been to the Calgary stampede about a 1/2 dozen times... However, we always stayed at relatives and I was there as a tourist and not a hiker so I have no idea about lodging. The ride to Banff on Rt 1 is great though... Very nice.

Good luck and take a lot of pictures...

Jay

 

[Neil]

When exactly are you going?

The Nec Plus Ultra is Lake O'Hara Lodge. Bar none. It might be booked solid for 2006 though. Skoki Lodge is another good one but totally different. You either hike or horseback ride to get there. Paradise Bungaloes are very close to Lake Louise but for the same $$ I'd try for Moraine Lake. Baker Creek Cabins will maybe be cheaper.

Consider the ACC (Alpine Club of Canada) hut system. Abbott's Hut is at 9600 feet.

 

[shadowcat]

Neil:

We are going around the 6-12th of August. are you familiar with the area near the junction of Castle mountain junction / 93S? One of the cabins we looked at is located here called Storm mountain lodge: http://www.stormmountainlodge.com/

the cabins look great for the price, my only concern is we want some privacy and don't want to be right on any major highway where we have to put up with tourists and heavy traffic noise. if you are familiar with that area is it flat or could they actually be up in the woods away from the road?

we had originally settled in on being up in the mts at a place you can only access if you hike or fly in but like i said if we did that we would be limited to that area for our entire trip (i hate to use the word limited for such a beautiful area but you know what i mean) & we would like to have some other options like mountain biking, cking out other parks etc.
how's the weather in august? we orig were going in july 6-12 but once we opted to change our game plan moved to aug in hopes of catching better weather.
thnx for the info and i'll ck out that place you mentioned and places around the other lake.

 

[king tut]

I went on a family trip out there back about 15 years ago. It is a very lovely area. We went thru montana, visited glacier NP, Lake Louise, Banff, Calgary,and Canmore. I can't remember any of the places that we stayed at though. I do remember seeing some very majestic hotels though in Banff and Lake Louise. The only bad memory i have is the awful country music that they played on the radio out there. They played both kinds of music, modern country and classic country. I think i am still scarred from this experience today. I'd like to get back out there someday, those mountains were gorgeous!

 

[MissionsMan]

Banff NP

My wife and I stayed in Banff 'bout 6yrs ago (January) and loved it!!! It was our honeymoon destination (with the promise i would leave my ice toys at home-i did not agree to not buying new or renting!!!).

We stayed at the Banff Rocky Mountain Resort and Conference Center (on Tunnel Road) and it was great. Not quite Banff Springs, but for our "needs", it was perfect. The place had a nice in-house restaurant and the apartments were nice as well - fireplaces, kitchenettes, etc., all the normal stuff, but nicely done. Also, there was a stunning view of Mt. Rundle from our apartment-gotta love that.

The accomodations were accurately rated at 3 stars, but sooo much nicer than the other so-called 3 star places in town - (we looked at the other places when we got there). Calgary was a speedbump on the AlCan (i think that was the highway!!!) and quickly out of view so cannot comment there - though a return trip to the area will see me visiting the Integral Designs factory in Calgary (to see where all my money has gone!!!).

Hope this helps....

mm

 

[Neil]

If you want to remain mobile and have diversity/access to various hikes and areas then you might prefer Baker Creek Cabins on the 1A between L. Louise and the Castle Mtn. Junction. The 1A is a lot less travelled than the 1.

Compare prices between Paradise and Deer Lodge. Paradise is a lot nicer IMO but prolly a lot more $$.

There isn't a lot of biking allowed inside the Nat'l parks but I can give you a great tip if you want a legal route with barely (prob none) other bikes on it. Otherwise biking from Canmore to Banff is pretty popular. Lots of biking outside of Banff Park to the East.

I have spent lots of time out there so can give you beta for any sort of trip you may wish to do. Tourist stuff I'm a little weak on though

PM me for more info....

 

[DougPaul]

We are going around the 6-12th of August. are you familiar with the area near the junction of Castle mountain junction / 93S? One of the cabins we looked at is located here called Storm mountain lodge: http://www.stormmountainlodge.com/

the cabins look great for the price, my only concern is we want some privacy and don't want to be right on any major highway where we have to put up with tourists and heavy traffic noise. if you are familiar with that area is it flat or could they actually be up in the woods away from the road?

The highway goes up through a narrow glacial valley. No place for hotels/motels/cabins far away from the road except in the towns. There are lots of places to stay in Banff and Jasper.

This is stretching my memory (it was over 10 years ago):
I have stayed in a place at Pyramid Lake in Jasper. Nice and away from the highway. A google search yields: http://www.maclabhotels.com/leisure_pyramidlake.htm. Seems a little expensive for my usual tastes, but that might be it.

A tourist guidebook should give you a selection of listings.

Doug

 

[Lovetohike]

Was there 10 years ago in mid-July. Flew into Calgary, only stayed to spend one day at the stampede, then went on to the Canmore area. This is primarily a good Mt. biking and horseback riding area. Then stayed in Banff for a couple days, at a pretty basic motel (Irwins??), then in Jasper for 4 days at a nice cottage on the Athabasca river (Alpine Village). We did it this way to take in the day hiking around Banff and Lake Louise and then around Jasper. From Canmore, did a Mt. Bike ride to Banff and the back around Mount Rundle, all on single track and dirt roads, about 20 miles. Near Banff did a great hike to Bourgeau Lake - spectacular. Also some great hiking right from Lake Louise. Same with Jasper. The cool thing about Jasper is that it's so far north that it stays light until after 10 PM in mid-summer, and is much more laid back and relaxed than Banff. A good book to get is: Classic Hikes in the Canadian Rockies by Graeme Pole. There are also lots of excllent Trails Illustrated and similar maps that are available all over Banff and in the park information sites. The weather can be a bit iffy even in summer. One day on the highway between Lake Louise and Jasper they had some pretty heavy wet snow that was making the hordes of bikers on the route very unhappy. No real accumulation, just a pretty miserable day to be on a bike. But that was only one day out of many.

 

[pudgy_groundhog]

I spent a week in Jasper/Banff last Labor Day, but we camped so I can't recommend any lodging.

We had planned on a five day backpacking trip in Jasper, but an unexpected half foot of snow the first night changed our plans and we ended up mostly day hiking in Banff. We hiked Helen Lake & Cirque Peak, Sentinel Pass, Mt. Temple, Eiffel Lake, Fairview, and Cavell Meadows. Our weather wasn't the best, so we didn't get in all the hiking we had planned, but it was still a great trip.

If you're interested, pictures and notes from our trip are posted here: http://www.pbase.com/pudgy_groundhog/rockies

There were a few guide books we had that were a great source of info, but I can't remember the names off the top of my head (I can get the names if you need some book recommendations).