Recently, we took a family vacation to the Canadian Rockies to explore Banff, Jasper and YOHO National Parks.
Below you will find our 8 day itinerary, including: logistics when traveling with kids, lodging, restaurants, hikes and scenic drive recommendations.
Something my husband and I LOVED doing prior to having children was traveling, experiencing new places, planning trips together and spending evenings learning about where we were headed so that when we were there, we could fully embrace the place and its history.
Once we had children, we didn’t want this sense of exploration and adventure to end. So, we kept it going. We realized that when traveling with children the most important traits are flexibility and adaptability. Some say traveling with kids is a trip and not a vacation – we disagree entirely. Sure, there are moments made more challenging or stressful with little ones in tow. Yet, the opposite is also true. This is still a vacation.
Every bit of the experience is filled with more wonder and joy through a child’s eyes.
This was made extremely clear when we had a 3 hour flight delay to kick off our trip with United Airlines out of our home airport in Columbus, Ohio. This caused us to miss our connecting flight in Chicago O’Hare, resulting in a 10 hour layover until they could get us on the next flight to Calgary. A stressful, logistical nightmare for sure. But the kids? To them, it was all an adventure. We found a dinosaur model my son loved, made new friends at the kids zone (with multiple families, since they all came and went during the 4 hours we spent in that same place, hah!), trialed local favorites (hellooo Garrett’s popcorn) and walked the terminals with the kids aboard our suitcases. See this reel for inspo – they truly had a blast. My daughter told me at the end of the day that she LOVED flying and could do so all day. Well, we traveled for 20 hours that day – so we nearly did!
When we finally arrived, we elected to get a hotel within 20 minutes of the airport so that we could all get some sleep after being awake nearly 24 hours. This of course messed up our initial plans for the day, in which we had planned to make the drive West to Jasper with stops along the Icefields Parkway. So, if you arrive around Noon as we had intended to (and not after Midnight!), then you could make the Calgary to Jasper drive that first day. You’ll see we pushed that back given our travel delay.
Below, I’m going to break down our daily travel itinerary for our 8 days of exploring Banff, Jasper and YOHO National Parks.
It’s important to understand who was on this trip before we dive deeper! My husband and I traveled with our two children – a daughter of four years and son of 22 months. We were also joined by my mother and father-in-law, who were extremely helpful with airport bags, grabbing the rental car while we awaited our checked baggage, watching the kids while we did a solo hike, and hanging back with the kids post dinner so we could have a mini date night one evening. I’ll give some tips at the end specific to traveling with kids, particularly if you don’t have these helping hands!
Day 1 / Travel Day:
- Travel to Calgary, Canada
- Note: when traveling by air, all members of the family need passports, including the children
- Pickup Rental Van
- Calgary Hotel*
- Note: we had to cancel our Jasper accommodations this evening due to arriving after Midnight. If there at appropriate time, consider making the drive up to Jasper and staying there as we had planned, stopping along the way on Icefields Parkway (see plans we moved to Day 2)
DAY 2 / Icefields Parkway to Jasper
- Drive from Calgary to Jasper along the Icefields Parkway (4 ½ hrs driving, plus stops)
- Recommend downloading GuideAlong Gypsy App – listen as you drive for interesting stories and historical facts about the area. We bundled our purchase to include all of the Canadian Rockies guides. The Guide will point out many scenic stops along the way, some of which we pulled off at, others we simply looked from our window as we drove. Outlined below are the main stops we did make and highly recommend!
- Stop 1: Bow Lake at the base of Bow Summit. You’ll get a glacier-fed lake, a glacier, and snow-covered mountains all in one vista. This is a quick pull-off.
- Stop 2: Peyto Lake‘s overlook is a quick yet fairly steep uphill hike to see the most unbelievable turquoise blue water (caused by glacial rock flour). This was a favorite of mine! We brought the kids snacks to enjoy at the overlook, blistery wind and wall!
- Stop 3: Columbia Icefields! You can swing into the Columbia Icefield Discovery Center for water bottle refills and a restroom stop (this is pretty much the only option to do so with full facilities along the Icefields Parkway). Across the main drive from the Discovery Center, turn onto Snowcoach Road, then Glacier Road which you will follow to the Athabasca Glacier Parking lot and the trailhead. Bundle up, as the air is extra chilly in the Icefields. Then, take the quick but gravelly uphill climb to the foot of the Athabasca Glacier. It’s stunning to see how it has receded over the years and to witness a glacier up close.
For those who want to get even closer, there are options to take a tour such as this one. We ultimately elected not to, but worth seeing if this is something your family would enjoy!
- Stop 4: Athabasca Falls is a paved, easy walk to enjoy some waterfalls. Worth a stop to stretch the legs, but you will see wayyy more stunning ones later in the trip. If these were in Ohio, they’d be the main attraction though!
- Stop 5: Sunwapta Falls (2mi, 1hr, easy) – this was such a fun one to let the kids walk most of! Lots of roots to watch out for, but otherwise super easy. You can also just view the upper falls if you don’t want to hike down to the lower ones.
- Arrive in Jasper accommodations:
- Dinner: Jasper Pizza Place w/ Rooftop Patio (first come, first serve – great views!)
- Evening: Picked up local wine & beer from the Liquor Lodge (they had a lovely selection of NA wines, perfect for this pregnant mama!) and stocked up on some fresh produce at Nester’s Market. After putting the kids to bed, we relaxed with card games and laid out the next day’s plan.
DAY 3 / Explore Jasper National Park:
- Breakfast: Pastries from Bear’s Paw Bakery – scones, muffins, tarts, oh my! Sooo delectable and tasty.
- Explore Jasper National Park area:
- Maligne Canyon Loop Trail (2.3mi, 1hr, moderate to easy) – this was STUNNING and we highly recommend doing the full loop. Opportunity to get down along the water and the canyon itself is quite breathtaking.
- Valley of the 5 Lakes hike (3mi, 1.5hrs, moderate) – the lakes just kept getting prettier! We started with lake 5 and looped to lake 1. Fellow hikers recommended this option, and we agreed. You make a lollipop loop around the lakes and then join back up to the stick to complete the hike.
- Fairmont Jasper Hotel visit – worth a stop to take in the old lodge charm. Be on the lookout for elk along the entrance, as we saw a huge pack here.
- Dinner: Jasper Brewing Co (no reservations taken)
Evening: Stargaze and Northern Lights (dark sky preserve)
Day 4 / Jasper to Banff Via the Icefields Parkway, YOHO National Park:
- Another morning fueled by Bear’s Paw Bakery, duh (plus the fresh fruit we had picked up at the local grocery store!)
- A snow-filled drive along the Icefields Parkway! It’s a good thing we jam-packed our first drive along this route due to the white-out conditions this day. If you know what your weather looks nice, you could move some of the Icefields stops to this second drive along it, as we had initially planned to.
Emerald Lake and Lodge – a hidden gem! You can grab lunch at the Cilantro Cafe right along the emerald green water. We grabbed a coffee to go and explored the grounds. On a future trip, we’d LOVE to stay here someday. So serene, and wayyy less busy than Lake Louise and Moraine Lake.
- The Natural Bridge is a stop-off point on Emerald Lake Road and is worth pulling off and walking to see. Just off the parking lot you’ll see the natural bridge cut by the Kicking Horse River.
- Takkakow Falls is an incredible sight to see. Once you wind up a mountain on switch back roads, you’ll park and take a short & easy hike to the base of the falls, walking alongside the clearest blue water along the way.
- Tunnel Mountain Resort
- Tunnel Mountain Resort – One Bedroom Plus Loft-Banff Hotel Condos – LOVED that we had access to a shuttle that ran up and down the mountain every 20 minutes. Less than a 5 minute drive into the town of Banff on this, and did not have to mess with parking in the busy downtown area. Also easy to travel to many surrounding hikes in the park.
- Dinner: Farm & Fire Reservations – farm to table menu with lovely children’s menu options. Sourced with local ingredients. Cozy atmosphere.
- Evening: Explored the cute shops along the main Banff Avenue, then tucked the children in and relaxed with card games and the local beverages we had picked up at the local Jasper grocer
DAY 5 / Lake Louise & Moraine Lake:
- Lake Louise Shuttle booked, arrived at Park and Ride lot by 7 a.m.
- Elected to take Moraine Lake shuttle first to see the sunrise hit the mountains and reflect off the lake
- THIS family photo everyone remarked looked like a fake backdrop! That’s how stunning this *very real* landscape looks. To get this view, hike up the Rockpile just to the left of the parking lot.
We hung by the water a bit and took in the sights, but it was quite chilly this morning (we went in mid-September). In the warmer days or in the afternoon, this would be a beautiful spot to rent a canoe.
- Take the Connector from Lake Moraine to Lake Louise (included in shuttle pass)
- Lake Louise – grab a bite to eat at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
- Lake Agnes Tea House hike (4.6mi, 2 ½ hr, moderate)
- Bonus: continue 1 mile up switchbacks to Big Beehive for view of Bow Valley and Lake Louise.
- Note: my husband and I completed this hike ourselves, while my mother and father-in-law stayed down at the lake with the kids. Our 22 month old fell asleep in his hiking carrier with Grandpa and our 4 year old daughter had fun exploring the lake with Grandma and taking pictures!
- On our solo hike, we found a spot overlooking Lake Louise and opened the envelope containing the gender of our third baby. Such a special moment – more to come on this in another blog post!
- Optional Add-On: Larch Valley hike (larch trees turn yellow in mid-Sept)
- Starts near Moraine Lake (5mi, 3 ½ hr, Moderate)
- Note: we did not do this one due to timing
- Drive Bow Valley Parkway on way back to Banff with goal of spotting wildlife
- Our result: a bear cub grazing along the side of the road, right next to our vehicle! Such an incredible sight to see and definitely worth the slower road as opposed to the quicker trans Canada route. Recommend taking trans Canada to the lakes / Bow Valley Parkway back to Banff as we did.
- Dinner: Hello Sunshine Banff Sushi – the BEST Happy Hour (Half off Sushi and drink specials from 4-5). Super fun vibe with a fire pit in the middle of the tables! Yum.
DAY 6 / Explore Banff National Park
- Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
- Our 4 year old daughter thought this was a true castle. A very impressive ambiance that is worth checking out!
- If it’s in your budget, this would certainly be a dream place to stay.
- Banff Gondola
- Top of Sulphur Mountain
- Hike to Sanson’s Peak
- Bistro for lunch at top – had no issues being seated without reservations // also option for quick grab at coffee shop up top
- Optional: Banff Upper Hot Springs
- Note: we did not end up doing this, but it is on the same road as the Gondola and would be an easy add-on if you’d like! We headed back to our cabin for nap time with the kids.
- Tunnel Mountain Summit (2.5mi with good elevation gain) – stunning views of the valley below
- Dinner: Bluebird Banff Steakhouse
DAY 7 / Explore Banff National Park
- Johnston Canyon (3.3 mi, 2hr) (popular, go early) – beautiful, but goodness was this crowded. For this reason, this was my least favorite stop. We even went early and were fighting crowds on the trek back since this is an out and back trail.
- Bow Falls (just south of Banff town)
- Drive Lake Minnewanka Loop for beautiful scenery and views of this large lake
- Drive up Mt Norquay for this grassy meadow and views of the valley below
- Dinner: Elk & Oarsman – played the OSU vs. Notre Dame game for us with surround sound. Such a fun, outdoorsy atmosphere and perfect if you’re wanting to catch a sports game like we did
- Evening: Watched our Buckeyes win in the most last-minute of fashion; such a fun game!
DAY 8 / Travel Home
- Pack up and drive into Calgary
- Sunday morning mass in Calgary
- Prince’s Island Park to play with the kiddos while overlooking Calgary before continuing on to the airport
- Fly home!
Oof – that was A LOT to reflect back on. What an incredible trip. I hope you get the opportunity to experience God’s beauty in Banff, Jasper and YOHO National Parks in the Canadian Rockies.
If you have questions, drop them below! I love all things travel, and we can’t wait to plan our next family adventure. In the meantime, I’ll be thinking back to these memories for a long time!
