8 Nights in the Canadian Rockies: Part 2 of 2 (Banff & Canmore)

Enjoy the beauty of Banff, the quaint charm of Canmore, and the wilderness of Canada with this itinerary and ideas.

A view of East End of Rundle (EEOR, pronounced Eeyore) from a lookout on Ha Ling Peak

Welcome! In Part 1 of 2 we covered the first 4 days / 3 nights in Revelstoke and Glacier National Park. Here, we’ll cover the second part of the trip: 5 days in Banff, Canmore, part of the Icefields parkway, and Lakes Louise and Moraine.

Prep notes:

• Make sure you reserve your shuttle in advance so you can travel from the Lake Louise ski lodge parking lot to Lake Louise and/or Lake Moraine. Personal vehicles aren’t allowed at Lake Moraine so the only way to get there is by shuttle. Parking at Lake Louise itself can be tight, so get there early or catch the shuttle. The shuttles were sold out when we tried to reserve in advance, so we had to wait until the ‘last minute reservations’ 48-hour window opened. You’ll want to be prepared to hit ‘Reserve’ on the site at 8AM MT sharp when they open the portal for reservations. After we completed our reservation (took ~60 seconds), when the page reloaded, all the last-minute shuttle reservations were sold out.
• Download maps of the area before you leave since cell reception is spotty or non-existent in the backcountry