Hello Hubski! I’ve managed to have a month-long vacation between my end-of-studies internship and my first job and I’m currently planning to spend it in the Canadian Rockies and in Alaska. I’ve booked my plane ticket and I arrive in Vancouver August 10th, leaving September 10th. It’s a bit last minute, but it should be manageable. Reading back some Trip Reports, I saw that some of you (Merlin, rezzeJ, ButterflyEffect, veen) went there: I would love to have a feedback on some pre-plans and suggestions about the unknown —unknowns great spots!
Current plan:
Renting a car in Vancouver [is it better to rent through person-to-person service like Turo than through a rental company?] and heading towards Jasper National Park, here I’m planning to do some day hike and some multi-day backcountry hike (managed to get a last spot at camping for Berg Lake Trail, I’m trying to see if I can catch some last minute cancellations for Tonquin Valley, Skyline Trail and/or Fisherman’s bay camp).
I’m planning 8-9 days in Jasper, then heading towards Yoho National Park and Banff National Park. There I’m planning the same kind of activities: day-hike and multi-day hike if I can get some last-minute cancellation (Lake O’Hara, Rockwall, Mont Assiniboine).
Do you have any suggestions about great day-hike that you did? Do you think travelling by car is the best option or is public transport an option? Do you think 8-9 days / park is too much? Do you think that fitting in Glacier National Park (US side) would be worth it? Any suggestions If I make it there?
Concernant the Alaska-part, I’m planning around 12 days there. Arriving in Anchorage, I will go to Denali National Parks a few days and then heading south towards Kenai Fjords. Do you have any suggestions for Denali? Is going further north to Fairbanks worth it? Concerning Kenai Fjords, is renting a kayak and going solo around the fjords camping an option or do we have to take a tour? Anything I should absolutely do and I’m missing? I'm planning to use public transport there (bus/train).
Hubski’s input into my last trip around the US was amazing. Also got the chance to meet some of you! Any fellows around the Vancouver area that would want to join along for some hiking or just a drink?
I live in Kenai, Alaska and would say your outline looks pretty fun! Denali is worth going to because it's Denali and you should be there at least once in your life if given the opportunity. You are also guaranteed some great wildlife viewing. Fairbanks is an interesting place as well although it's really flat and very hot this time of the year. Most people flock to Fairbanks in the winter because of the amazing opportunities for Aurora-Gazing and the fact that it also takes almost a day to drive there from Anchorage (or an all-day train ride). There should also be some good berry picking opportunities there at the time of your visit as well. The railroad is a great way to travel if you are not in hurry and don't mind the cost of a ticket. Going south there are a bunch of options as well! If you guys wanna do kayaking there are excellent options out of Seward to explore Resurrection bay. They have a lot of different things going on for renting to tours, solo, or camping included trips. There are also some great day-hiking options in Seward and then the highway from Seward to Soldotna/Kenai is littered with good short multi-hour to long multi-day hikes. If you are into the water-scene and are feeling a little "extreme" I would HIGHLY recommend white-water rafting Six-Mile river in Hope which is just south of Anchorage. They are very fun but they are also class 5 rapids. They were my first white-water experience so beginners can handle it but you will get physical with the water haha I'm realizing I'm getting a little rambly, as you can tell, I'm a pretty big fan of where I'm from. It's almost impossible to come here and not have an amazing time so as long as you guys keep your eyes out and explore you should be ok.
Hey Merlin, thanks for your feedback ! I will probably skip Fairbanks based on the description, if it allows me to have one more day around Seward to do some hiking and/or the white-water rafting experience that sounds amazing!
You are very welcome! If you any questions about anything just shoot me a message and I'll do my best to answer! I also must say that if you go south from Denali there are some amazing opportunities to Brewery Hop (if you are a beer drinker) Alaska is a great place for beer!
I mainly know Banff and Waterton but having lived in both places I know them pretty well. Glacier national park is %100 worth the trip as well as Waterton which is on the Canadian side. It’s smaller and filled with easy rewarding hikes as well as longer day trip type hikes. For Banff, public transit is pretty good and definitely encouraged because trying to find parking at some spots is a lost cause. For example when people ask me about getting to Moraine lake I tell them that parking is full between 7 am and 7 pm. There are shuttles that go from Banff to lake Louise and then more shuttles that take you around Lake Louise. We have a parking lot on the highway for when all the government parking in town fills up and they shuttle people from the parking lot literally on the highway. Roam is the public transit in Banff and it takes you to plenty of places outside of the actual townsite as well as Canmore. I’ll get back to this more about hikes in the area and Waterton if you decide to head that way. I don’t know Glacier as well but I can tell you a lot about Waterton.
Thanks for the suggestions ! After rethinking about it, I will stick to the Jasper-Banff area (there is a lot to do there and if I can save some time from going back and forth from National Parks, I will be able to do more backcountry hikes.
That’s fair, Waterton is pretty out of the way but also my favourite place on earth so I have to push it on everybody. What are you thinking for accommodations ? Things fill up fast because this is the busy season so if you are looking at hotels/hostels you should work on nailing down a few solid dates. Being spontaneous is alright too, some random homeless people camped in the trees behind my place for like 2 nights but I think 8-9 and somebody would have said something. I serve a lot of people who randomly end up at the hotel when they planned to be camping because the campsight filled up.
Back in ‘07 we did a family road trip through the Rockies, which was a big loop of Edmonton > Jasper > Mt Robson > Kamloops > Jasper > Calgary and back with a bunch of detours in about three weeks. My time in Calgary was spent mostly studying, but I did do a bunch of smaller easy hikes because I’m not at all experienced as a hiker. I remember Ptarmigan Cirque off the top of my head as a nice one. Really, just browse AllTrails and pick a few that look good. The Alberta / BC parks websites are also filled with information. My personal recommendations would be to try and get a glacier tour - I didn’t and I still kinda regret that. Lake Louise is a beautiful tourist trap, but worth it just so you can say you’ve been there when it inevirably gets posted on /r/earthporn again. I remember Bow Lake as a glass-like pristine beauty - all of the 93 from Jasper to Banff is gorgeous, by the way. Also check out Wells Gray national park and the parks south of Kananaskis (e.g. Peter Lougheed), which are just as beautiful as the bigger parks. Most sights aren’t easily accessible by public transport, IIRC. The more popular villages and resorts are, but if you go hiking a lot I don’t think you’ll regret the flexibility and storage a car has to offer. I went with a regular rental company and have no qualms against them (besides their infuriatingly expensive pricing for younger people).
I was 100% going to recommend this, Creativity. If you're driving between Jasper and Banff, I'm presuming you'll be going via the Icefields Parkway? If so, definitely get a tour of the Athabasca Glacier. You can either do a half day or full day, the latter taking you right up and onto the icefalls whereas the former stops further down. I did the shorter one and that was amazing in itself. I would definite do the full trip if I went again, but of course it depends on your budget. Also, in regards to Lake Louise, there's a small path you can take off from the main tourist hub which will lead you to a more secluded area; we found a spot with no-one in sight. And on the subjects of lakes, there's a trail that starts at the busy Moraine Lake that goes to the Consolation Lakes. Another beautiful and secluded spot. It's not that long a walk, but it is a restricted route due to bear activity. So you have to be in a group of at least four and bear spray is recommended. Another hike you might look into is to Ink Pots. It's about a 11km round trip. It starts at the Johnston Canyon waterfalls trail which is really busy but once you get onto the path to the Ink Pots there's hardly anyone. The hike itself is nothing special, but the destination is well worth it in my opinion.My personal recommendations would be to try and get a glacier tour - I didn’t and I still kinda regret that.
I will definitely look into Athabasca Glacier Tour. It's a bit expensive but depending on disponibilities and how much I'm going to spend in the first few days I will be able to see if I can afford it. Thanks for the tips!
Leaving a placeholder comment as I'm about to head out for a few hours. I have spent about two weeks in Jasper over the last two years, and have done both Skyline and Tonquin. They're amazing places, Tonquin is insanely muddy and buggy right now, but beautiful nonetheless. Skyline will be mostly snow free by the time you get there, so there's a bonus.
Okay, Creativity. If there are any cancellations on Skyline or Tonquin, go for it. Both are amazing experiences. There are a couple of great day hikes around there, too. Wilcox Pass is on the Icefields Parkway and is 100% a must if you are travelling to Banff from Jasper that way. Closer to Jasper, Bald Hills. Jasper is much more remote and much less touristy than Banff. You'll find far less people in the front or back country there - there are still tourists, for sure, but not as many. The backpacking is hard to beat in Jasper.
Thanks for the feedback ! I managed to get a camping spot at the Maccarib campground for Tonquin (1 night) ! Wilcox Pass is now on my to do list between Jasper & Banff.
One tip on Maccarib. As of three weeks ago both bridges to the campsite have been washed out. You'll have to cross a moving stream, it's not fast enough to sweep you off your feet but you will get wet if you don't have gaiters. Also keep going until you hit Amythyst Lake after you set up camp. It is so, so worth the extra handful of km.
Oh. I'm not planning on packing gaiters so wet foot it will be! I heard that Amythyst Lake was the highlight of the hike, their campground is still full though so I managed to get the closest one to it :)