Trip Report: Glacier National Park and the Canadian Rockies

[takesiteasy]

We took a trip to the mountains. Luckily were were there before the current fires (but we are now getting the smoke from them). Thanks to everyone here who gave us tips for places to see.

A trip report is posted to the blog. I hope you enjoy it.

http://travelswithrockythedog.blogspot.com/2018/08/a-trip-to-glacier-national-park-and.html

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Except for heat and bugs, that sounded like a great trip! Thanks for taking us along!

 

[PaulT]

Nice report. We went to Lake Louise & Canadian Rockies last year in July and experienced similar crowds. You are right about the second photo being more representative of the experience there. Some locals said to go mid week after school starts for smaller crowds.

Nice photos. Very much worth the visit even with the high fuel costs.

Paul

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Thanks Al for the ride along.Crowds/heat not much fun to work around.
Looks like the trip turned out to be a good one.
Frank

 

[Bill D]

Nice trip. Beautiful photos.

I hear you about the crowds in Lake Louise, Banff and Jasper in the summer months. Our summer months are short, so the crowds really come out.
To be honest summer is my least favourite time to visit the parks. We usually visit Jasper monthly. Prior to the May long weekend and after the Sept long weekend, we practically have the national park to ourselves. If you can catch the fall colours at the right time, it's magnificent. The water is also has less silt and the colour is amazing.

The Maligne Canyon in Jasper is a magical place in the winter time. We have went back 2 weeks apart and it was an entirely different experience. It is truly alive. Frozen ice bubbles covering water falls. Ice climbers. Walking on the raging river you witnessed in the summer is a cool experience.

Anyhow, I'm glad you had a great trip Easy and I hope you come back in the off season. Wapiti campground in Jasper is open year round. It has a very clean shower, unlimited firewood for $8.80. You can choose a plug in site or a non powered site. There are typically less than 10 campers and usually about 2 or 3. We've camped in temps as low as -31C / -23.8F with no issues at all.

I'm surprised you passed on the Snaring River overflow. It's only $14. It's so big, you can usually find a relatively private spot. The view is pretty amazing in the morning, being surround by mountains on all four sides. I hear you though, it's not "really" camping, especially given that you can't have a fire in this section. There are a lot of people there too. It feels more like a festival.

Thanks for posting the info and pics on the northern part of the US. Very beautiful as well and an area I'd like to explore. I'll be sure to re-read your blog when I do.

 

[takesiteasy]

Except for heat and bugs, that sounded like a great trip! Thanks for taking us along!

Thanks for your suggestions about the Two Medicine area! We enjoyed that area quite a bit.

Nice report. We went to Lake Louise & Canadian Rockies last year in July and experienced similar crowds. You are right about the second photo being more representative of the experience there. Some locals said to go mid week after school starts for smaller crowds.

Nice photos. Very much worth the visit even with the high fuel costs.

Paul

Yes, we enjoyed the trip even with the downsides. Thanks for your comments!

Thanks Al for the ride along.Crowds/heat not much fun to work around.
Looks like the trip turned out to be a good one.
Frank

Frank, thanks for the tip about Kintla Lake- that was a highpoint.

... snip

Thanks for posting the info and pics on the northern part of the US. Very beautiful as well and an area I'd like to explore. I'll be sure to re-read your blog when I do.

Bill, thanks for your comments. We would love to return in the off-season. There is lots more to see. The Jasper overflow lot is a scene for sure. At another point we would have been fine staying there but we were ready to head home by then. I'm glad you enjoyed our write-up and might find it useful.

 

[Smokecreek1]

Really enjoyed that and seeing how I doubt I'll never make it there myself-thanks for taking me along. Families from Hell and campgrounds -why we have our pop-ups I guess-again thanks!

Smoke

 

[Vic Harder]

lovely looking shots of Kintla lake. I have a trip laid out that goes there for next summer. Did you check out Bowman Lake too?

 

[longhorn1]

Wonderful trip. Great photos. This similar trip is in our plans in a couple of years. Thanks for sharing. jd

 

[hoyden]

Lovely photos! Thanks for the write-up!

 

[Happyjax]

Always fun to go on one of your trip reports!

 

[takesiteasy]

Really enjoyed that and seeing how I doubt I'll never make it there myself-thanks for taking me along. Families from Hell and campgrounds -why we have our pop-ups I guess-again thanks!

Smoke

Hey Smoke, never say never, right? Thanks for your comments- you are right, that's why we have pop-ups.

lovely looking shots of Kintla lake. I have a trip laid out that goes there for next summer. Did you check out Bowman Lake too?

Vic, the Bowman Lake road was under construction when we were there so we didn't drive it. I've heard Bowman Lake is very scenic also- maybe better than Kintla, but the campground is not on the lake like it is at Kintla. That's why we chose Kintla. You need to get to either one early in the day to get a campsite in the busy time. Thanks for your tip on Hwy 40 too- we enjoyed our time driving that.

Wonderful trip. Great photos. This similar trip is in our plans in a couple of years. Thanks for sharing. jd

Lovely photos! Thanks for the write-up!

Always fun to go on one of your trip reports!

Thanks for your comments everyone! It's nice to hear feedback.

 

[Batman]

These places are well known and popular. If we go there we should not be surprised that we're sharing them with many others with the same plans.

 

[takesiteasy]

These places are well known and popular. If we go there we should not be surprised that we're sharing them with many others with the same plans.

Batman- you are right. In truth, we were not surprised. But if we had our druthers, we would go in less popular times. We enjoy the places more when there are not crowds while others don't seem to mind. Thanks for your comment!

 

[klahanie]

easy, thanks for sharing.

I like the story of the young man in the campground. Do you think he was looking to share his site, and perhaps camp fee ? We have been the recipient but never the proposer of such an arrangement.

Interesting to read about your early start time to finding a camp site. Seems to me many leave late, around or after checkout time, and that selecting a site perhaps before being able to eye ball your known neighbours could be a crap shoot, but who knows.. Have you found a sweet spot time for finding a site ?

Funny about the "why we have a pop up comments". I remember last year desperately looking for a spot. Wheeling around and thru a few packed campgrounds full of every off road rig imaginable and wondering why oh why do they have to be here when they can camp "anywhere" !! (likewise I'm sure)

As for the park crowds, yes, busy. Reading these TRs makes me regret not exploring them more "back in the day" - a lesson perhaps for the younger reader (if there are any on here ). Can't see it getting any better in my lifetime. Kicker is, by visiting, we are contributing - I doubt the guy who arrives just behind me makes a charitable distinction...

Anyway, glad you made the effort. Some things you just have to see for yourself, taking the bad with the good.

 

[takesiteasy]

easy, thanks for sharing.

I like the story of the young man in the campground. Do you think he was looking to share his site, and perhaps camp fee ? We have been the recipient but never the proposer of such an arrangement.

Interesting to read about your early start time to finding a camp site. Seems to me many leave late, around or after checkout time, and that selecting a site perhaps before being able to eye ball your known neighbours could be a crap shoot, but who knows.. Have you found a sweet spot time for finding a site ?

Funny about the "why we have a pop up comments". I remember last year desperately looking for a spot. Wheeling around and thru a few packed campgrounds full of every off road rig imaginable and wondering why oh why do they have to be here when they can camp "anywhere" !! (likewise I'm sure)

As for the park crowds, yes, busy. Reading these TRs makes me regret not exploring them more "back in the day" - a lesson perhaps for the younger reader (if there are any on here ). Can't see it getting any better in my lifetime. Kicker is, by visiting, we are contributing - I doubt the guy who arrives just behind me makes a charitable distinction...

Anyway, glad you made the effort. Some things you just have to see for yourself, taking the bad with the good.

Klahanie, interesting question about the young man- My sense is he was just very friendly. He originally pointed us to a different campsite so I don't think he was looking for company- just took pity on us looking for parking.

We had the best luck getting a campsite between 9 and 10 AM- taking advantage of the early departures. Many campgrounds were full by 11 or 12.

Yes- take the good with the bad, overall it was good.

Thanks for your comments.