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We have this summer's vacation narrowed down to Banff and one other spot.

(1) How many days can we fill? What are the must see/do things in the Banff region?

You can easily fill a week if you want. We went this fall for four full days (not including travel days) and I think it was too short.

You'll want to do the Icefields Parkway, which is a full day of activity. It will take you to from Lake Louise basically to Jasper. You might consider spending the night in Jasper. Jasper National Park is its own beautiful place north of Banff. We did not but it's truly a full day up and back. There is no cell service on the Icefields Parkway so you should download one of those GPS activated tour apps on your phone. We did and it was helpful, but the one we got was buggy so I wouldn't recommend the one we used.

You will also want to go to Lake Louise because it's as beautiful as they say. Even in late fall. That's probably a day too, especially if you do the teahouse/beehive hike. We decided not to do that hike but it's very scenic in the summer (treacherous in when there's snow, as there was when we went).

I want to go back to visit Moraine Lake. It's only open to tour groups and in the summer. Our trip began the day after they closed for the winter (Canadian Thanksgiving is the typical date). It's off of the Icefields Parkway, I think.


(2) Toying with taking the train from Vancouver to Banff, anyone here done that? Thoughts?

I would love to do it. Never had. But obviously that adds time to your trip. Banff NP is a short drive from Calgary if you would rather just spend the time in the Rockies.

(3) Being Marriott brand loyal, we are looking at staying not in Banff proper, but at the Kananaskis Mountain Lodge in Kananaskis. Is this going to be a huge problem getting to and from stuff?


Huge problem? No. But it will add 30 minutes to your day. We went out to Kananaskis Country for a night hike and it was amazing (and amazingly cold) in October. The resort and area is secluded, one road in and out to the Trans Canada Highway, which would take you to Banff NP/Jasper NP. I'm sure the resort is amazing though, they hosted one of the G conferences recently.

I would recommend the night hike tour. That was a high point of our trip and the whole trip was great. I can dig out the company who did it for us if you want. Kananaskis Country is dark sky territory so you can really see the constellations during the hikes.

We stayed in the town of Canmore at the Malcolm Hotel. It was a very convenient hotel, not far from the Trans Canada Highway but a short (~5-10 min) walk to both the downtown area of Canmore (convenient for shopping/dining/chilling) and some of the more commercial districts/gas stations, etc. It's in a new mixed use development that also has its own restaurants, etc.

I would not stay in Banff town. It's like mountain Myrtle Beach (well, higher end than Myrtle Beach but just as commercialized). We went for one afternoon and that was enough for us. Canmore was much better and IMHO slightly more convenient to the Trans Canada, which you'll use to access both National Parks.

(4) Anyone have recommended itineraries?

Thanks in advance.