Topic Wiki

List of TR's:

Kosher Food/ Restaurants:
The local supermarkets (e.g. Nesters or IGA in Banff) have many kosher shelf products.

There's frozen chicken and some meat products here, also a kosher aisle of dry foods: Safeway Glenmore Landing - 1600 90 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2V 5A8, Canada

Synagogue:
None, though check GoDaven for temporary minyanim

Things to Do:

Download the GuideAlong app (formerly known as GyPSy Guide) and purchase the package for the Canadian Rockies Tours for $24.99. This self-paced guided audio tour covers Banff National Park, Lake Louise, Yoho National Park, Jasper National Park and more. It's an incredibly useful and informative app.

Banff
Johnston Canyon hike, Upper Falls recommended, 2 hr round trip.
Banff Gondola, take boardwalk (15 min, spread out stairs) to peak for amazing views
Mountain Biking - e.g. Tunnel Bench Loop (moderate, lots of fun with great views)
Bow Falls and Bow River
Lake Minnewanka and Two Jack Lake loop drive - boat cruise tour and speedboat rentals available

Lake Louise (45 min drive from Banff)
Shoreline trail walk
Canoe rentals
Lake Agnes teahouse hike (moderate, 2.5 hrs round-trip, can continue to Little Beehive or Big Beehive)
Plain of 6 Glaciers hike (moderate, 5-6 hrs round trip, Tea House along the way)
Lake Louise gondola


Moraine Lake (30 min drive south from LL)
2023 Update: Access by personal vehicle to Morraine Lake is no longer allowed. The only options to get to Morraine Lake are by Canada Parks Shuttle, private Lake Morraine bussing companies, and maybe a private tour bus. Local Banff bus service (Roam) may also have a shuttle to Morraine in addition to their service to Lake Louise. Reservations for busses get booked up early, so plan at least 3-4 days ahead. [Parking is extremely limited, arrive very early or later in the day, road is closed when parking is full.]
Walk along lake
Canoe rentals sometimes available
Rockpile climb to great viewpoint

Athabasca Glacier Adventure (90 min drive from Lake Louise or Jasper)
Early arrival recommended (first tour is at 10:30am, book online in advance)
2 hour duration, bring bottle to drink glacier water
Wear layers, temperature is unpredictable
Skywalk is a tourist trap, you can skip it and stay on bus to return to parking lot

Icefields Parkway drive from Athabasca Glacier to Banff with scenic stops:
Parker Ridge trail 2-hour round-trip hike (medium difficulty, uphill climb)
Peyto Lake viewed from Bow Summit (cars must park in lower lot and walk 10 min, but later in the day the upper lot can be used)
Mistaya Canyon (beautiful pull-off hike along Icefields Pkwy. Hike is about 10 minutes down to a powerful river rushing through a canyon with waterfalls)
Bow Lake (quick pullout stop)

Jasper

Yoho National Park
Takakkaw Falls
Emerald Lake
Natural Bridge


Hotels:

Getting Around:
A car is basically a must, though there are shuttles from Banff to the major attractions.
The nearest commercial airport is Calgary (YYC), a 90 min drive from Banff.

Notes:


Author Topic: Banff and Jasper Master Thread  (Read 155754 times)

Offline eandd

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Re: Banff and Jasper Master Thread
« Reply #600 on: July 30, 2018, 05:04:25 PM »
Yes, they take Shabbos early, Mincha was about two hours before sunset. I stayed in a hotel 45 minutes away. The walk wasn't so pedestrian friendly, extremely wide roads - and walking signals require a push button.

The hotel in Calgary confirmed with me that I would be able to use the stairs. Came back Friday night, and the access to the stairs was locked. Had to argue for a long time with the hotel staff, until they finally allowed me to use the stairs. Plus having to use electric tape on the door, so I can enter without a card.  Next time, I would rather stay in an airbnb.

Thank you for your reply, would you mind posting which hotel you had stayed at?

Offline eandd

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Re: Banff and Jasper Master Thread
« Reply #601 on: July 30, 2018, 05:05:34 PM »
Or you can stay with a local family for Shabbos.

Are there families that host for sleeping, or is it normally just for meals?

Offline Specialized

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Re: Banff and Jasper Master Thread
« Reply #602 on: July 31, 2018, 06:37:06 PM »
Families host for both. Obviously, it depends on availability, etc and depends who is out of town. But we usually handle the traffic.

Offline jedderai

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Re: Banff and Jasper Master Thread
« Reply #603 on: August 14, 2018, 01:03:21 AM »
thanks for the write up is all u did doable with kids age 4 and 10 ? do u have any pic ?
Everything besides Johnstons Canyon in my opinion.  We did see younger kids but if you saw their faces it did not look like they were enjoying.  I am also not sure if there are any age or other requirements for the kayaks at Lake Louise, but give them a call at the Fairmont.

Offline jedderai

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Re: Banff and Jasper Master Thread
« Reply #604 on: August 14, 2018, 01:04:38 AM »
Thank you for taking the time to write up, will be helpful for our trip in August! Any notable stops on the icefields parkways besides for Peyto lake?

There are many along the way that will be hard to miss.  However, the 5 minute hike to Peyto was definitely a highlight.

Offline mgarfin

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Re: Banff and Jasper Master Thread
« Reply #605 on: August 14, 2018, 04:12:31 PM »
Thank you for taking the time to write up, will be helpful for our trip in August! Any notable stops on the icefields parkways besides for Peyto lake?

This has 100s

I have an app that anyone going to the Banff area must have (if driving yourself). It was recommended to us and we were so happy we downloaded it. Basically it's a GPS type app on your iPhone that gives you the tour of wherever you are at the time, like the ride to Banff, the ride to the icefields. It tells you the history of wherever you're driving at the moment - it knows where you are. It tells you things like how long a particular walk might take and perhaps stop here and not there. It's inexpensive and so worth it. Check the site. I bought the bundle when we went. Here's the site:
https://gypsyguide.com/tour/canadian-rockies/

Offline Specialized

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Re: Banff and Jasper Master Thread
« Reply #606 on: August 15, 2018, 09:40:58 AM »
It's wildfire season and that means visibility is unpredictable. Anybody out there, please post where it is clear. Right now, it looks like the best things are localized hikes, such as Grassi Lakes in Canmore.

Offline Dd80

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Re: Banff and Jasper Master Thread
« Reply #607 on: August 16, 2018, 01:29:12 AM »
It’s a really disappointing time here. I’ve spent so much time reading and researching this trip to Banff and Jasper with my family and it’s all a massive disaster. We can’t do anything as all there is outside is a big brown sky, zero visibility and strong smell of smoke. There is no gorgeous blue skies and green lakes- just brown brown and more brown as the skies are filled with smoke. We started in whistler where we couldn’t even do the peak to peak gondola due to the horrible visibility- headed onto our RV trip which turned into mindless hours of smoke filled skies instead of the amazing scenery I’ve been looking forward to for years! Literally years spent reading everyone’s trip notes and drooling over pictures... it’s now the fourth day of our trip here, we’ve done some water activity but it’s been so upsetting as there is a low brown sky and no visibility at all- I have not seen a blue sky or direct sim since Seattle last weekend. Tomorrow we have our Glaciers trip planned  but not holding my breath for any kind of classic Canadian Rockies scenery- has anyone else had this experience?

Offline mgarfin

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Re: Banff and Jasper Master Thread
« Reply #608 on: August 16, 2018, 11:27:12 AM »
It’s a really disappointing time here. I’ve spent so much time reading and researching this trip to Banff and Jasper with my family and it’s all a massive disaster. We can’t do anything as all there is outside is a big brown sky, zero visibility and strong smell of smoke. There is no gorgeous blue skies and green lakes- just brown brown and more brown as the skies are filled with smoke. We started in whistler where we couldn’t even do the peak to peak gondola due to the horrible visibility- headed onto our RV trip which turned into mindless hours of smoke filled skies instead of the amazing scenery I’ve been looking forward to for years! Literally years spent reading everyone’s trip notes and drooling over pictures... it’s now the fourth day of our trip here, we’ve done some water activity but it’s been so upsetting as there is a low brown sky and no visibility at all- I have not seen a blue sky or direct sim since Seattle last weekend. Tomorrow we have our Glaciers trip planned  but not holding my breath for any kind of classic Canadian Rockies scenery- has anyone else had this experience?

Wow
https://globalnews.ca/news/4390603/banff-officials-expect-busy-season-to-continue-despite-wildfire-smoke/

Offline Specialized

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Re: Banff and Jasper Master Thread
« Reply #609 on: August 16, 2018, 03:55:08 PM »
It’s a really disappointing time here. I’ve spent so much time reading and researching this trip to Banff and Jasper with my family and it’s all a massive disaster. We can’t do anything as all there is outside is a big brown sky, zero visibility and strong smell of smoke. There is no gorgeous blue skies and green lakes- just brown brown and more brown as the skies are filled with smoke. We started in whistler where we couldn’t even do the peak to peak gondola due to the horrible visibility- headed onto our RV trip which turned into mindless hours of smoke filled skies instead of the amazing scenery I’ve been looking forward to for years! Literally years spent reading everyone’s trip notes and drooling over pictures... it’s now the fourth day of our trip here, we’ve done some water activity but it’s been so upsetting as there is a low brown sky and no visibility at all- I have not seen a blue sky or direct sim since Seattle last weekend. Tomorrow we have our Glaciers trip planned  but not holding my breath for any kind of classic Canadian Rockies scenery- has anyone else had this experience?

Athabasca falls should be good without strong visibility. Try anything where you look down for the view. Try the Mistaya Canyon. Can you see the Bridal Veil Falls or the Tangle falls? We are looking for solutions.

Offline eandd

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Re: Banff and Jasper Master Thread
« Reply #610 on: August 16, 2018, 04:45:49 PM »
Thats so disappointing! How long do these situations typically last?

Offline Specialized

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Re: Banff and Jasper Master Thread
« Reply #611 on: August 19, 2018, 01:15:46 AM »
Thats so disappointing! How long do these situations typically last?
The wildfires go as long as they go, but the smoke sometimes clears with change of wind or rain. People are hoping for something better by Sunday night, but you never know. This current fire is not yet contained.

Offline Specialized

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Re: Banff and Jasper Master Thread
« Reply #612 on: August 19, 2018, 01:44:01 AM »

Offline eandd

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Re: Banff and Jasper Master Thread
« Reply #613 on: August 19, 2018, 03:22:22 PM »
http://cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/interactive-map?zoom=0.8&center=400000%2C1000000&month=8&day=19&year=2018#wb-cont

This is an interactive wildfire map to help plan your trip.

Thank you! was planning a trip for early September, thinking of pushing off until after Sukkot. Around when did the smoke finally clear last year?

Offline Specialized

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Re: Banff and Jasper Master Thread
« Reply #614 on: August 19, 2018, 07:19:09 PM »
Thank you! was planning a trip for early September, thinking of pushing off until after Sukkot. Around when did the smoke finally clear last year?
I don't remember, some time around then.

Offline Friars500

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Re: Banff and Jasper Master Thread
« Reply #615 on: August 20, 2018, 10:44:14 AM »
It’s a really disappointing time here. I’ve spent so much time reading and researching this trip to Banff and Jasper with my family and it’s all a massive disaster. We can’t do anything as all there is outside is a big brown sky, zero visibility and strong smell of smoke. There is no gorgeous blue skies and green lakes- just brown brown and more brown as the skies are filled with smoke. We started in whistler where we couldn’t even do the peak to peak gondola due to the horrible visibility- headed onto our RV trip which turned into mindless hours of smoke filled skies instead of the amazing scenery I’ve been looking forward to for years! Literally years spent reading everyone’s trip notes and drooling over pictures... it’s now the fourth day of our trip here, we’ve done some water activity but it’s been so upsetting as there is a low brown sky and no visibility at all- I have not seen a blue sky or direct sim since Seattle last weekend. Tomorrow we have our Glaciers trip planned  but not holding my breath for any kind of classic Canadian Rockies scenery- has anyone else had this experience?

Not that it will make you feel any better, but Vancouver is the same. I could copy and paste your paragraph, replace the local Banff stuff with local Vancouver and paste.

It really sucks, there wasn't a word of this in the forums and all this expense for nada. I can't even properly express ny anger and disappointment.

In short, Canada sucks.

Offline eandd

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Re: Banff and Jasper Master Thread
« Reply #616 on: August 20, 2018, 12:42:17 PM »
Not that it will make you feel any better, but Vancouver is the same. I could copy and paste your paragraph, replace the local Banff stuff with local Vancouver and paste.

It really sucks, there wasn't a word of this in the forums and all this expense for nada. I can't even properly express ny anger and disappointment.

In short, Canada sucks.

Uhhh I don't think Canada can control things like the wind blowing smoke and impeding visibility.

Offline Dawie

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Re: Banff and Jasper Master Thread
« Reply #617 on: August 20, 2018, 01:06:02 PM »
Uhhh I don't think Canada can control things like the wind blowing smoke and impeding visibility.
Justin got the technology from the Israeli's
The Iranians told him  ;D

Offline aarony

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Re: Banff and Jasper Master Thread
« Reply #618 on: August 20, 2018, 02:22:40 PM »
we had the same issue last year in vancouver ,whistler and banff..

Offline sam28

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Re: Banff and Jasper Master Thread
« Reply #619 on: August 20, 2018, 03:30:04 PM »
I was in Vancouver for a week in Aug 2years ago was beautiful weather .