2 Weeks in Banff and Jasper
Discover Banff’s charm with our easy travel plan! You will travel to Banff Avenue and Banff National Park, where you will have scenic adventures at Moraine Lake and Lake Louise, where you can hike and paddle on the turquoise waters. Explore the Icefields Parkway, showcasing glaciers, waterfalls, hikes, and maybe some wildlife like the bighorn sheep. Between Banff and Jasper, you will enjoy breathtaking views, experience nature from long ago, and uncover the beauty of Canada with our optimized itinerary! #BanffTravel #ExploreCanada #AdventureItinerary
If you are looking for an amazing adventure in the Canadian wilderness, then do we have the trip for you. The photos do NOT EVEN do the views justice, and there just aren’t words to describe the beauty of everything we saw.
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Given that the roads can be a little sketchy in the winter, or downright closed, we recommend taking your trip in late summer. This way you still have warm days and the colors of fall are beginning to pop in. Our favorite time so far has been in early September. We rented a camper to tow and hit the road north, leaving from the Seattle area on a 12 day trip.
Throughout this post we have some essentials listed to pack for hiking and camping in Canada.
The Truffle Pig
I know, why would we start off our itinerary with food…because we love food and we spent most of the trip roughing it and cooking over our campfire. So we decided to grab great food when and where we could find it. Truffle Pig (https://www.trufflepigs.com/bistro) is a cute and super quaint bistro and lodge in the little town of Field, British Columbia. We highly recommend stopping for lunch and a craft cocktail before your start getting your hike on.
Emerald Lake
Our first hike was a quick 2.5 mile jaunt around the north shore of Emerald Lake. As you can tell, the water color is absolutely amazing. Spoiler alert, most of the water on this trip looks like this and it is truly a sight to see. When you get to the end of the flat trail there is a cute bridge over the small river that feeds into the lake. It’s a great photo spot and if you’re up for even more adventure the hike continues up the mountain. Even in September, the weather can be unreliable so layering is important. We recommend the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer 2 jacket.
These jackets are great quality, will last for years, are super warm, and weight less than 8 ounces. They can easily be compacted down into a small backpack or purse making them so easy to take everywhere, just incase you need it.
Some of our hikes on this trip were quite windy and cold. The wind is coming through the pass over glaciers so prepare yourself for some very chilly moments. On this particular hike in glacier pass, there is about 1.5 mile all uphill portion. The views are worth the stop. These durable, wind and water resistant pants are great for climbing and hiking. They’re roomy in the legs for breathability and so comfortable. They were made in iceland where I purchased them, but they are great for both summer and winter weather.
Make sure you have your bear spray and airhorn on you so you’re ready if you run into one of these beautiful creatures.
Wilco Pass Trail
A quick 2.15 miles and 560ft up, round-trip hike provides you with a beautiful glacier views. You can do the complete point-to-point hike of 7.2 miles, but we just wanted to get a picture with the chairs and then continue on our journey. A quick side note: depending on the time of year, you might see some big horn sheep.
