Rocky Mountains - What you need for a great experience
Intro
I finally decided to pay Canada a visit, it was a hasty decision in September and had a hard time choosing the right time to go. I normally like the wintery, cold and abanneded feeling. Its just that i feel the most free then, it becomes a more raw connection to nature and everything else in the world seems to mean nothing. But I read the road to famous Lake Moraine normally close for the season in mid October due to avalanche danger, with that information I went between October 5 and October 12.
What to expect
Mid to late September is when autumn kicks in in the Rockies and you will have the best chance with golden larches.
In mid to late October I would say winter is starting, so I really hoped to see the last of the larch trees and also some snow capped mountains. Turned out I failed miserably this time, instead of snow capped mountains and cold I was in the middle of blue skies, no clouds and 22C/70F. As a native born Swedish I hate to admit it, but the cold is in my genes !
But the rockies is an amazing place and looks breathtaking all year round, high mountains and emerald colored lakes anywhere you look.
How to get here
Closest International airport is Calgary airport (YYC) so that was my final destination and a rental car was waiting for me at the airport. The drive to Canmore is about an hour and a half with a nice highway all the way, outside of Calgary it gets really dark so keep that in mind if arriving late.
There is also a bus service from the airport (YYC) to Banff, for most accurate information look at Airport Shuttle Express webpage.
Where to stay
Canmore
Canmore is a tourist town with everything you need (Starbucks, Mc Donalds, Subway, Gas stations …) But I must say it was a surprisingly charming town, only low buildings and I got the feeling they with purpose built it to look like an older town, even though the town is an old coal town so with all right.
I staid at Canadian Rockies Chalets, it was like an apartment and the check-in was smooth and easy even at very late arrival. I can highly recommend it. Canmore is like most towns in Alberta a stone throw away from the main highway 1 and will take you to most places in the Alberta region. Canmore is also the first town when entering the mountain region from Calgary airport.
Banff
Banff is probably the most famous town in the area with two ski-resorts nearby, its also the first municipality in Canada to be incorporated inside a national park. I didn’t stay in Banff due to high rental prices but I most say I really liked the town more than expected, it sure is a tourist town with great many souvenir shops and restaurants but its all wrapped up in a nice and cosy blankett. Parking can be somewhat of a problem some times so walking is the best way of transportation. Make sure to book accommodation early on since its a very popular place to stay.
Weather
Not much to say, as mentioned the weather was really “great”, warm and sunny but not sure if this is normal for the period. I think it was a little bit over normal, mornings and evening where cold and dropped to around 0C/32F so expect freezing during the night. Be careful to check forecast before you go since this is in the mountains so expect weather to change rapidly any time of year.
Getting around
In the Canadian Rockies (Banff area) you only have the towns, Banff and Canmore in the south and Jasper in the north. Not much in between so you will spend some time on the roads, the main highway between Banff/Canmore and Jasper is called Highway 1 but after Lake Louise you have to take road 93 to continue north since Highway 1 turns to the west at that point. The drive from Banff to Jasper is about 4 hours and a half but expect the double if you plan to stop (And you will !). I know they have some buses running and they seemed nice but a car is the real option if you are going for photography. Roads are very nice and I strongly recommend road 1A that runs parallell with highway 1 from Banff to Lake Louise, its an amazing road, much smaller than the highway and beautiful scenery. Also note there is regulations regarding walking around on the trails, some places there is a minimum of 5 people or youre not allowed to walk around. Its also mandatory to have bear spray in many places. bear spray is possible to rent or buy in most tourist shops with hiking theme.
What to wear
I would say prepare for cold but as in my case, expect anything. During mornings/evenings its can for sure be cold !
I recommend at least the following:
Good hiking boots
Thermal underwear
Hiking pants
Something warmer over your hiking pants
Really good gloves, preferably thinner ones under a pair of thicker ones
Hat
Down jacket or normal jacket with jumper.
National Parks
To enter the parks you must have a valid ticket which you can buy either on site or online. Be sure to check out Park Canadas webpage for up to date information before you go. You will find great trails all the information you need on their webpage, also note its mandatory to carry bear spray and on some trails you have to be a small group of people to be allowed to hike. But you can always wait at the start of the trail and ask others if you can join to form a group big enough.
Photography
For landscape photography I highly recommend Lake Louise of course, a beautiful lake but expect a lot of people during the day. My main goal was the famous Moraine lake and to catch the sunrise be here VERY early, way before the sun goes up since it gets crowded fast and the parking spots are fewer then you think. Also make sure the road is open at all since this road will be closed when the snow starts falling. I can write an whole paper on places to go but renting a car and just spend all your time on the road is the best way to find all the golden nuggets, there are so many lakes and mountains its impossible to summarize in a short blog post. Bring both telefoto lens and wide lenses !
Make sure to visit my gallery from this trip and if you have any questions write a comment down below.
Take care.
