Banff and Jasper by RV

Day 1: Touchdown

We could not have asked for a better start to our travels! We arrived in Calgary from Baltimore without a hitch. All flights were on time, which gave us an early start to the long day of picking up the rental car and RV, getting oriented, and driving to our first campsite. During our RV orientation, we learned lots of new RV vocabulary – "inverter", "slides" - and how to best utilize the generator, filling up water and yes, dumping waste. Good thing we both work in healthcare so this is something we're familiar with!

We were also so lucky to be met by family in Calgary, who had already been traveling for 6 weeks in the area and are seasoned RV pros! We are so grateful for all the guidance they provided. Nishant took a quick spin to get acclimated to RV driving and we headed up the Icefields Parkway, one of the world's most scenic drives, to Silverhorn Creek campsite, between Banff and Jasper National Parks.

The scenery was stunning! We were surrounded by the majestic views of the Canadian Rockies topped with snow, and mountains carpeted in an endless see of the greenest trees - pines, spruce, and Douglas firs. We turned to each other many times while driving with wide eyes and a feeling of disbelief that we had made it here after so many months of planning.

We arrived at Silverhorn Creek camp site and were in awe of the view of the mountains as our backdrop.We noticed the refreshing smell of pine, pristine air, took our first RV showers, and had our first campsite dinner of pasta, salad and Texas toast! We snuggled into our small but adequate beds for a great night of sleep.

Day 2: Banff awaits

We woke eager to explore Banff. We continued along the Icefields Parkway, passing Bow summit, and Bow Lake which is fed by the nearby Crawfoot glacier and Wapta Icefield. We were gifted with the most amazing reflection of the mountain into Bow Lake created by its still blue waters!

We headed to Johnston Canyon for one of Banff’s most popular and stunning hikes through glacier fed waterfalls. We hiked the 12km path starting at the Lower Falls, continued to the Upper Falls, and were rewarded with the views of the Ink Pots, intense blue and green pools tinted by minerals in the water.

In the evening, we were energized by the day’s events and checked out the famous Lake Louise. The turquoise lake against a soaring mountain backdrop makes it a true wonder to behold!

Day 3: A day at the Lakes

We were so enamored by Bow Lake on our trip up the Icefields Parkway that we returned for a day of lake activities and family fun. We hiked, paddle boarded and kayaked and took in the cold refreshing waters of this amazing wonder. After lots of peer pressure and arm twisting, we all went in for a polar dip at the end!

In the afternoon, we checked out Peyto Lake, another of Banff's stunning turquoise lakes along the Icefields Parkway. This one is fed by the Peyto glacier. The steep climb up the lake was well worth it.

Day 4: Last day in Banff

We were lucky enough to secure shuttle tickets to Lake Moraine on this day. There are 2 ways to access Lake Moraine: arrive by car at the entrance road at 3:30am and hopefully be one of the early cars that is permitted to enter. Alternatively, one can go on the Canada parks website and secure tickets but only are released every 48 hours or so. We were lucky to do the latter! Our tenacity was rewarded by obtaining shuttle tickets to see this rare natural wonder. We took the Rock Pile hike to reach a sufficient elevation to take in the Lake’s full beauty. We sauntered along the Lakeshore trail to take in the Lake and felt the cool breezes coming off this glacier fed lake surrounded by the Valley of Ten Peaks.

In the afternoon we checked out a lesser travelled but very impressive, Yolo National Park, stopping first at Emerald Lakes and the Natural bridge. We were exhausted but were grateful for our amazing days in Banff! We packed up, and prepared with a good night’s rest to head over to Jasper National Park the next morning.

Day 5: A stop at the Colombia Icefield

En route to our next camp site at Jasper, we stopped at the Colombia Icefield to behold the largest icefield in the Canadian Rockies, which covers 125 square miles at depths of 1,200ft. Words fail to capture the magnificence of this stunning site! We checked out the visitor’s center to learn about the science of glaciers, and grab a delicious breakfast of chickpea sandwiches and a glacier bowl of mushroom, cabbage and noodles. We drove across to the highway to start the hike to the edge of the Athabasca Glacier which extends down from the Colombia Icefield. We were at the foot of the glacier within about 20 minutes.

We were also very moved by the signs along the trail indicating how much the glacier has receded over the last 200 years. We learned it recedes 5m per year. If this isn't enough to light a fire under us to work on protecting our planet, I don't know what is. We headed to our Jasper camp site at Wobassa had a quick dinner and headed to Athabasca Falls which amazed us with its awesome power!

Day 6: A rainy day of waterfalls and hot springs

On our first full day in Jasper, we headed to Maligne Canyon, the deepest canyon in the national park with a depth of more than 50 meters. We saw magnificent churning, powerful rivers and waterfalls as we hiked along walkways of bridges. We ended our hike at the 5th bridge and were grateful to be somewhat dry after a rainy morning.

The day’s wet weather presented a perfect opportunity to check out Miette Hot Springs – the hottest springs in the park areas. We were taken aback by the backdrop of mountains as we alternated dips in the cold and hot pools, 21C (70F) and 40C (104F) respectively. We were relaxed and ready for a Greek dinner at Something Else restaurant in Jasper town.

Day 7: Our last day in Jasper

We used our last day in Jasper to check out Beauty Creek to Stanley Falls which is a beautiful 3.6 km round trip hike that includes views of multiple waterfalls and rivers. It was raining this day so we had the area mostly to ourselves. We sung songs along the way to keep us motivated and to let bears know we were on the path! We decided to make the most of our last day in Jasper by visiting Sunwapta Falls to see the upper and lower falls that are fed by the Athabasca glacier that we visited earlier on our trip.

Day 8: Back to Calgary

Full of gratitude for a spectacular trip, we packed up and headed back down the Icefields Parkway towards to Calgary. We stayed our last night at a full-service RV park, Calloway Park, and enjoyed our last family night together with an Asian dinner we cooked in the RV, and a movie complete with a 2nd dinner of nachos and Oreo cookies!

This trip was perfect way to ease into our travel adventure. We got a taste of a different currency, language, signage, terms –“what does WC mean?!”, customs experience post covid, but with the comfort of an extended family of problem solvers. The RV experience was a new challenge for us. While not roughing it in any way, we had to learn to limit our water use, live/cook/sleep in a small space, remember how to do laundry by hand, and create the sense of home in a small amount of time. We tested our gear for the upcoming Camino and made notes of what worked well and what we need to adjust in the Bay Area during our visit. There were some frustrations with limited wifi use and navigation, but that was easily overcome by working together with our family. We will never forget RV morning snuggles, smells of nature, magical time with family, and the jaw dropping beauty of the Canadian Rockies!