Lonely Planet Banff, Jasper and Glacier National Parks , livre ebook

Banff, Jasper & Glacier National Parks

Contents

PLAN YOUR TRIP

Welcome to Banff, Jasper & Glacier
Banff, Jasper & Glacier’s Top 20
Need to Know
What’s New
If You Like…
Month by Month
Itineraries
Activities
Family Travel
Travel with Pets

ON THE TRACK

BANFF NATIONAL PARK
Day Hikes
Banff Town & Around
Lake Louise & Around
Icefields Parkway
Overnight Hikes
Driving
Cycling
Other Activities
Sights
Tours
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking & Entertainment
Shopping
AROUND BANFF NATIONAL PARK
Canmore
Kananaskis Country
Yoho National Park
Lake O’Hara
Mt Assiniboine Provincial Park
Kootenay National Park & Radium Hot Springs
Golden
JASPER NATIONAL PARK
Day Hikes
Icefields Parkway
Jasper Town & Around
Maligne Lake Area
North of Jasper Town
Overnight Hikes
Driving
Cycling
Other Activities
Sights
Tours
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking & Entertainment
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
Day Hikes
Going-to-the-Sun Road
South of Going-to-the-Sun Road
North of Going-to-the-Sun Road
Cycling
Other Activities
Sights
Tours
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking & Entertainment
Shopping
AROUND GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
West Glacier
St Mary
East Glacier
Blackfeet Indian Reservation
Whitefish
WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK
Day Hikes
Driving
Cycling
Other Activities
Sights
Tours
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking & Entertainment
Shopping

UNDERSTAND

The Parks Today
History
Geology
Wildlife
Conservation

SURVIVE

Health & Safety
BEFORE YOU GO
Medical Checklist
Recommended Vaccinations
Health Insurance
Further Reading
IN THE PARKS
Medical Assistance
Infectious Diseases
Environmental Hazards
SAFE HIKING
Avalanches
Crossing Streams
Lightning
Rescue & Evacuation
SAFE CYCLING
Clothing & Equipment
Clothing
Equipment
Buying & Renting Locally
Directory A–Z
Accessible Travel
Accommodations
Climate
Customs Regulations
Electricity
Food
Insurance
Internet Access
Legal Matters
LGBTIQ+ Travelers
Maps
Money
Opening Hours
Post
Public Holidays
Telephone
Time
Toilets
Tourist Information
Volunteering
Transportation
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Air
Bus
Car & Motorcycle
Train
GETTING AROUND
Bicycle
Bus
Car & Motorcycle
Hitchhiking
Behind the Scenes
Our Writers
Welcome to Banff, Jasper & Glacier

Sit atop a mountain, hike through the forest, feel the spray of a waterfall: Banff, Jasper and Glacier offer outdoor experiences at their simplest and best.

Historical Heritage
While other countries protect ancient ruins and medieval castles, the Rocky Mountains offer up Banff, Jasper and Glacier, legendary natural wonders replete with crenelated peaks, majestic meadows and scenery-shaping glaciers that together make up an important part of North America’s historical jigsaw. Of the hundreds of national parks scattered around the world today, Banff, created in 1885, is the third oldest. Associated with the development of America’s cross-continental railroads, which lured wealthy visitors, these protected areas practically invented modern tourism, and their hold on the popular imagination has not diminished.

Wilderness Walks
There are bucketloads of things to do in Banff, Jasper and Glacier, from an easy round of golf to heart-in-your-mouth white-water rafting. But arguably the most rewarding activity in the parks is the simplest – hiking. Walking along a well-maintained trail amid classic mountain splendor is one of life’s great spiritual diversions. You won’t be the first convert: hiking, by default, was the primary means of transportation for the indigenous peoples of the Rockies and the early European explorers who followed.

Protected Environments
Acting as a litmus test for the tricky balance between ecological integrity and a rip-roaring visitor experience, the Rocky Mountain national parks have long played a key role in safeguarding North America’s natural environment. Glacier protects an ecosystem largely free from human meddling. Banff exhibits some of the finest wildlife-watching in North America, and Jasper is a dark-sky preserve devoid of unnecessary light pollution; underneath the myriad adventure opportunities lies savvy park management paving the way to a greener future.

Outdoor Accessibility
One of the advantages of the Rocky Mountain parks is their accessibility. Banff, in particular, embodies the fragile, sometimes controversial, juxtaposition between the tamed and the untamed. While some frown at the commercialization of Banff Ave, the home comforts have their merits. Outfitters and guides add safety to potentially complicated trip planning, while speedy gondolas allow people who might otherwise not have the opportunity to get up above the timberline to experience flower-carpeted alpine meadows and wild animals roaming through their natural habitats.

Plain of Six Glaciers hike, Banff National Park | HARRY BEUGELINK / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Why I Love Banff, Jasper & Glacier
By Gregor Clark, Writer
I first visited Banff and Jasper in a May blizzard, on an unplanned detour while hitchhiking from California to France at age 20 (really!). Totally smitten, I made a point of visiting Glacier a year later, and I’ve been returning regularly ever since. No place on earth awes me like the northern Rockies’ vast unbroken sweeps of evergreen forest, the snow-covered stratification of the Icefields Pkwy’s chiseled crags, the unparalleled thrill of crossing paths with a perfectly camouflaged bighorn in Waterton’s high country or watching a grizzly from afar on the Mt Assiniboine trail. Primeval nature at its finest.
For more see, Our Writers
Banff, Jasper & Glacier’s Top 20

Icefields Parkway
There are amazing road trips, and then there’s the Icefields Pkwy ( here ). This iconic highway unfurls for 230km (143 miles) between Lake Louise and Jasper, and takes in some of the most mind-blowing mountain panoramas anywhere on the Continental Divide. En route you’ll pass cerulean lakes, crashing cascades, gleaming glaciers and the largest area of unbroken ice anywhere in North America, the mighty Columbia Icefield. It’s a true trip of a lifetime, so fuel up, sit back, and let one of the world’s great scenery shows unfold.

TRPHOTOS / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Going-to-the-Sun Road
The start is inauspicious enough: a signposted turning off US 2, the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it village of West Glacier, followed by a serendipitous plunge into dense forest around Apgar. It’s only on the shores of Lake McDonald that the views start getting better and better, until you feel as if the Going-to-the-Sun Rd really is – well – going to the sun. The highpoint is Logan Pass on the Continental Divide. After that it’s all downhill to St Mary, amid more jaw-dropping scenery and potent lessons in glacial erosion.

DEAN FIKAR / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Afternoon Tea at Lake Agnes
After slogging all day on the mountain trails around Lake Louise, what could be more civilized than a cup of Earl Grey and a slice of homemade cake? The historic teahouse at Lake Agnes has been serving refreshments to weary walkers since 1901 when it was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway, and it remains an ideal stop-off for parched hikers tackling the trail to the Big Beehive. For an altogether posher experience, you can enjoy the C$56 tea spread in the Chateau Lake Louise.

BRADLEY L. GRANT / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Skyline Trail
Cross-park views of Jasper are par for the course on the widely celebrated Skyline Trail . It could have had any number of descriptive names conferred upon it – the Homeric path, the celestial walk, the resplendent ramble – but instead its name describes it exactly as it is: a 45.8km (28.7-mile) promenade through Jasper’s splendidly glaciated high country that offers kilometer after kilometer of seemingly endless skyline. Is there a more spectacular hike anywhere in North America? Possibly not.

ANTON BASER / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences
Wildlife Watching
Black and grizzly bears may be the holy grail for wildlife spotters, but there are plenty of other animals to seek out, too. The parks support a hugely diverse range of species, from elk and bighorn sheep to mountain goats, marmots and moose, not to mention an entire aviary of unusual birds. The best time to see wildlife is always at dawn or dusk; bring along decent binoculars and a telephoto lens to help with the perfect view.

DONEFORTODAY / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Mt Assiniboine
If it’s a taste of the wilds you’re yearning for, Mt Assiniboine is where you’ll find it. The mountain’s pyramid-shaped peak marks the start of some of the finest backcountry trails anywhere in the Canadian Rockies. With its secret lakes, soaring mountains and remote backcountry campgrounds, Assiniboine feels like another world compared to the busy trails of Banff. It takes some effort and dedication to get here, though – you’ll need legs of steel, sturdy boots, proper supplies and, of course, a sense of adventure.

MEKDET / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Moraine Lake
Canoes have been the preferred method of transport in the Rockies since time immemorial, and they’re still the ideal way to explore the region’s lakes and rivers. Canoes and kayaks can be hired on many of the region’s waterways, but few water journeys can match Moraine Lake in the scenery stakes. Paddling out across this peacock-blue lake in a traditional canoe, gazing up to the icy summits of Wenkchemna Peak, you’ll feel like you’ve been transported back in time to the days of the early pioneers and voyageurs.

MATTEO COLOMBO / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences
Glacier’s Historic Hotels
As much museums of park history as evocative places to stay, Glacier’s historic hotels date from 1910s, when they were built by the Great Northern Railway to accommodate travelers fresh off b