Banff, Jasper & Yoho National Parks
A few memorable hikes:
- Mt. Edith Cavell/Angel Glacier (beautiful hike w/ great views up in Jasper)
- Iceline Trail (in Yoho by the hotel - also awesome hike w/ lots of variations so you can adjust distance)
- Plain of Six Glaciers @ Lake Louise - go in the AM so the lake is still (great for pics). Tons of trails around Lake Louise which are a little crowded but great views.
- Canoe on Moraine Lake
- We did an amazing hike up near Moraine Lake called Larch Valley - beautiful spot which also connects to Lake Louise if you want to make a longer day hike out of it.
- Icefield Parkway up to Jasper is a beautiful 3+ hour drive. Tons of stuff along the way (mostly just giant glaciers which you can do different hikes at). Definitely do it at least once but the weather varies so be prepared.
- Stuff we didn’t do that I wanted to:
- Waputik Icefield & Guided glacier walks
- Lots more up in Jasper - it was a long drive so may be good to find a place to stay up there. We’ll definitely spend more time up there next time we go since it’s more remote and wild feeling (compared to the more popular Banff spots like Lake Louise and Lake Moraine)
- There were a few less accessible hikes in Banff that required either bus transport or long trails to get to them - definitely needed to plan ahead for those and take a full day but I can’t remember the name…
Eating & Non-hiking:
- Model Milk in Calgary was great - nice Sunday menu and hip vibe. Good if you have to stay in Calgary before you go to Banff
- As for Banff itself it’s all good/mountain food so you can’t really go wrong. There was a place near the hotel in Yoho called Truffle Pigs Bistro we had a few good dinners at, along with a sandwich place called The Siding Cafe in the same town. Bunch of stuff in Banff itself but mostly run of the mill mountain food places. Nothing too crazy nice there (lots of pub food, etc - Bear Street Tavern was good pizza and we also went to Banff Brewing Co I think)
- Bizarre but we had Korean food at an amazing place in Jasper called Kimchi House. Seriously amazing.
- Afternoon tea @ Fairmont in Banff is cool - they have a nice spa too - we spent a non-hiking day just chilling there/in Banff the town which was really nice.