The Bobcat Nation

Hello fellow BNers... Chester here.

Chester and his tribe (Mrs Spartanpot and their two masculine offspring) will be in Edmonton the first week of July for the Brick Invitational Hockey Tournament due to the exceptional talent of Chester's younger child (10 y/o) . Since we are so close, Chester figures a few days in the Canadian Rockies needs to be added after the tournament to cleanse their souls. Plan is to drive from Edmonton to the parks, then fly home from Calgary.

Since this will likely only be a few days, Chester needs some suggestions of ideas of where to stay and must-dos/see for families. Keep in mind that in his younger days, Chester would load up his rucksack and head into Glacier NP and not re-appear for 7-10 days, no so in this case and that is killing Chester . Chester knows Glacier... but not a single clue about Jasper/Banff. Also please be budget friendly... Chester is already dumping a ton of funds for airfare, 9 days of hotel in edmonton, (tournaments in Toronto, Pittsburgh, and Chicago this spring leading up to Edmonton), etc...

Muck Fontana and Go Cats Go

TIA

I wish I could help, but unfortunately I haven't been to that area since I was about the age of your son. I won't divulge how long ago that really was, but let's just assume it wasn't recent. Anyway, what I can remember is that it was amazingly gorgeous. You won't regret taking the time to go and spend some time there for sure. Enjoy and good luck to your son and the hockey team.

Catbot has good news and bad news having been in this area half dozen times and most recently about 3 years ago.

First the good news. There isn't too much intelligence to gather. There's basically one road that connects Banff and Jasper. Think of it as going the long way around from Edmonton to Calgary.

Now the bad news. Although there are multiple awesome places to stay right in the middle of the action (Lake Louise for example), I'm not sure there will be reasonable options related to cost. I haven't looked though and I could be wrong. You may need to plan longer days and (for example) get all the way out to the outskirts of Calgary for more inexpensive options.

Definitely find a way to make it happen. This is a bucket list type experience.

Yeah, cost will be high--especially in July. There is a Fairmont hotel in both Jasper and Lake Louise--both are amazing. Even if you don't stay there, go check them out. I'd stay a night in Jasper and a night in Lake Louise if it were me. Have you looked into VRBO's?

Forget the hotels. Find the cabins. There are many options, some AAA rated. Our two favorites:

Johnston Canyon Bungalows (north of Banff): Wonderful cabins with fireplaces, and an awesome family-friendly Johnston Canyon (waterfalls) right out the back door.

Patricia Lake Bungalows: Jasper area at Patricia Lake. Beautiful lake with trout, Pyramid Mountain reflections, black bears, loons, rowboats.

It’s been awhile, but we love these places — several times at each. Patricia Lake is like 3 miles from Jasper, but so tranquil.

Check them out on the web, and take advantage of the favorably strong US dollar.