Banff + Jasper + Yoho National Park - July: 9 days

​I booked a trip to the Canadian Rockies on a whim. Impulse buy based on top of my bucket list wants.

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TRIP COST FOR 2
Flight: $350 (DTW <> YYZ <> YYC)
Camping: $197
Camping Gear: $200
Hotels: $610
Car Rental: $673
Misc: $680
Total: $3059
Per Person Total: $1529

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Can I just say Prince Harry & the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle went there for their honeymoon - so it has to be beautiful! As I planned out our days, I realized lodging is super expensive. So, our only viable option was camping!

I bought and packed it all into a checked carry on bag:

• 4 person tent (waterproofed it)
• 2 person sleeping pad w/ build in pillows
• 2 person sleeping bag
• 2 headlamps

We were planning to spend 11 days in the park, and tried to plan out a few activities per day, but also have enough time to relax so we weren't completely exhausted at the end of the day.

We flew from Detroit to Toronto, to Calgary.

We rented a car, and headed our way into Canmore. Since we were camping, we were on a mission to find one piece of comfort - pillows. We stumbled into "Home Hardware" hoping we would hit the jackpot and we did. 2 comfy pillows, snacks & water purchased, we were off.

Here was our itinerary:
Lake Louise & Lake Moraine are more of the well-known lakes, so why not start there! Both these lakes have big parking lots with a short walk to the lake, so we had plenty of time to do a hike today.

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DAY 1 / 2 : LAKE LOUISE & LAKE MORAINE

• Lake Louise
• Lake Moraine - can canoe on the lake 
• Lake Agnes and Plain of Six Glaciers Tea Houses trail

HIKING
Plain of the Six Glaciers trail (8.6mi round trip)

• visit tea house at the top
• access near Fairmont Chateau Hotel on Lake Louise

CAMPING
Lake Louise Campground (2 nights) - $65.80

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DAY 3: WHITE WATER RAFTING IN GOLDEN, BC
I thought white water rafting would be exhausting so I only planned this today, and explored Golden afterwards.

• White water rafting (half day) through Alpine Rafting
  • Half Day
    
  • Starts 11:45AM - 3:00 - $100/person - 3 hour trip
• Whitetooth Brewery
• The Wolfs Den Bar & Restaurant
  • Buffalo burger!!!!!

LODGING
Stay in Golden @ Whitewater Lodge ($178)

• There's a hot tub with a mountain view!

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DAY 4: YOHO / TAKAKKAW FALLS
We woke up super early, to get a first come, first serve campground at Takakkaw Falls. It's a short hike to the campground, with wheelbarrows to haul your things. Definitely a highlight of our trip! We found a campsite, set up, and stopped at sites along the way to Bow Lake and back to our campground.
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YOHO

• Natural Bridge
• Meeting of the waters confluent
• Takakkaw Falls (trail is 1.4km round trip - wear your rain jacket!)

NORTH BANFF (SOME OF ICEFIELDS PARKWAY)

• Herbert Lake - still lake - beautiful!
• Bow Lake
• Bow Summit - view of Peyto Lake - best of the best view! Our favorite place, hands down.

CAMPING:
Takakkaw Falls - first come, first serve campground

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DAY 5: ICEFIELDS PARKWAY - SCENIC DRIVE
Scenic drive day, with lots of stops.

SOUTH JASPER

• Icefields Parkway (scenic drive)
• Athabasca Glacier
• Tangle Falls
• Athabasca Falls (so crowded)

We skipped the skyway - save your money!

LODGING
Stay @ Maligne Lodge - $216

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DAY 6: MEDICINE LAKE / MALIGNE LAKE

• Medicine Lake (there was a forest fire in 2015, unreal - sad yet beautiful)
• Maligne Lake (it poured when we went, so we didn't see much)
• Maligne Canyon (closed for us, but wish we could've gone!)

CAMPING
Camp @ Wapiti - $38.40

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DAY 7: DRIVE DOWN TO BANFF / CANMORE
In between Lake Louise & Canmore

• Bow Valley Parkway - scenic drive
• Johnston Canyon Trail (Johnston Canyon to Ink Pots - 6.4mi)
• Sunshine Meadows (we skipped this)
  
  

CAMPING
Camp 2 nights @ Two Jack Main $71.60

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 DAY 8: SULPHUR MOUNTAIN GONDOLA

• Lake Minnewanka and the Minnewanka Scenic Drive
• Vermillion Lakes
• Sulphur Mountain Gondola - worth the money!

CAMPING
Camp @ Two Jack Main

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DAY 9: BANFF CITY & AREA

• Upper Banff Hotsprings (We should of done this, but we hammocked instead)
• Bike the Banff Legacy Trail from Bow Valley Parkway to Canmore (also didn't do, but if you have the energy, go for it!)

1hr & 30 min from Banff to Calgary

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HIGHLIGHT VIDEO