Our first stop after leaving Europe was Canada, a country we both had never been to but was pretty high up on our bucket lists. We knew that Canada was on top of Barbora’s (Pav’s mum) bucket list, so we brought her along for the adventure too! Life is meant for sharing special moments with our loved ones after all!
Here’s our video of our Canadian road trip exploring Banff, Yoho and Jasper National Parks in our little motorhome from Cruise Canada. Canada has no doubt been the most naturally beautiful place we’ve visited on our travels to-date! 👌🏼
Our time in Canada with Pav’s mum covered the 10-day period from 27th September to 7th October, which we were told by several locals was a perfect time to visit. We had to agree. With most campgrounds closing around mid-October and the temperatures getting cooler, there were less tourists at this time compared to the usual hectic crowds seen during the Summer months. We were also blown away with the incredible Autumn hues of red, orange and yellow – it truly added more wonder to the already stunning scenery. We were even lucky enough to get a day of snow, meaning magical snow-covered hiking trails and snowball fights!
Our road trip started and ended in Calgary, which has the largest international airport near the National Parks. From Calgary, it was only an approximate 1.5 hour drive to the Banff NP Visitor Centre.
Despite several campgrounds being closed, we had no trouble finding a camping spot each night without booking in advance. With our motorhome being completely self-contained, our camping consisted mainly of free camping – parking overnight in a vacant carpark where there was no signage restriction on parking hours or sites that we found on freecampsites.net. Although we didn’t use the WikiCamps Canada app while in Canada, we have used the related NZ and USA app and would highly recommend it if you need more info on free camping spots.
With the three National Parks right next to each other, we were able to cover a lot of attractions pretty comfortably over the 10 days. A few of our favourites include:
Lake Minnewanka: one of our first rest stop spots after arriving in Banff National Park. This picturesque lake is located near a few great campgrounds, so is a good stopover or lunch stop when searching for your camp spot for the night. The backdrop of the rugged mountains against the blue-green waters of the lake really sets the scene for the incredible scenery on the roadtrip ahead.
Bow Falls: about 20 minutes drive from Lake Minnewanka, and 4 minutes from the Banff NP Visitor Centre, these thundering waterfalls flow into the incredibly-blue Bow River surrounded by snow-capped rocky mountains. This scenic spot was featured in several 1950s movies. With the walking trails running alongside the river provide for many great photo opportunities. Too many photos are a must here.
Sulphur Mountain & Banff Upper Hot Springs: keen for some hiking, we came to Sulphur Mountain hoping we could take the gondola up to the top, followed by an leisurely downhill return to the bottom. Unfortunately, they only allow a one-way ride downhill, not uphill. So we went ahead with the 5.5 km walk to the top – steadily steep and tougher than we’d expected! Although there were some scenic photo spots along the way, the switchback style track is mostly covered with trees and is quite repetitive, so we can’t say it was a favourite hike of ours. Despite this, the hard work was paid off with spectacular views at the top. There was an extensive wooden walking track and various viewpoints at the top for many photo opportunities. We rewarded ourselves with a delicious soup and burgers from the mountain-top restaurant while taking in the views from our window-side seats. Following the relaxing gondola ride back down the mountain, we stopped in at the adjacent Banff Upper Hot Springs to rest our tired legs and soak up the mineral-enriched waters overlooking the surrounding Rocky Mountains. We were surprised how reasonably priced the entry fee was, at $7.30 CAD per person. Perfect way to end the day.
Lake Louise & Lake Moraine: our two favourite lakes of the whole road trip, in close proximity to each other. If you manage to find a quiet spot away from the hoards of tourists, you would think you’re in heaven on earth. These lakes are so beautiful, you’ll question if they’re actually real.
Grizzly Bear Refuge: upon visiting the Grizzly Bear Refuge, we were yet to see a bear in the wild. We were determined to see one while in Canada, so made the trip out to the town of Golden (about a 1 hour 20 minute drive from Lake Louise) to meet Boo, the resident Grizzly Bear orphan. Although we would have preferred to see a bear roaming freely in its natural habitat, we had read that this is the largest Grizzly Bear Refuge in the world. Upon arrival, we were very impressed with Boo’s home, which despite being completely fenced, covers a huge 20-acre area of land emulating a real-life natural habitat. It was evident that Boo was content roaming, playing and foraging around his home, and was very well looked after by the staff. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the refuge as we were lucky enough to see Boo up close and listened to an interesting and entertaining talk from one of Boo’s caretakers. We not only learned about Boo’s history and Grizzly bears in general, but also the serious issues faced by the bears largely due to human activity. Public education about these issues one of the primary purposes of the refuge. This made us more aware of how our actions (no matter how small) can directly affect the natural environment – some valuable lessons that we hope other tourists could also learn from.
Wilcox Pass Trail: the day we did this hike, we were hit with a snow storm – our first and only day of snow whilst in Canada. The hiking track and surrounding trees were covered in a layer of snow, making the walk pretty magical. Although uphill, the track wasn’t too steep or long. Although we could have continued further, we stopped when we reached the iconic red chairs (commonly seen around Banff and Jasper) at the panoramic viewpoint overlooking Athabasca Glacier. The view was incredible and a great spot to have a well-deserved rest. This was one of our favourite hikes during our time in Canada.
Maligne Lake: following the snow storm of the day prior, we visited this picture-perfect lake to find that most of the water around the shoreline was completely frozen. With lots of snow still left over, we chose a walk along the snow-covered shoreline which provided for many great photo opportunities. Being the big kids that we are, we slipped and slid along the sections of frozen lake. We were lucky enough to spot some deer footprints in the snow. Unfortunately, no sign of the culprit though.
Miette Hot Springs: although a little out of the way in Jasper National Park, we were eager to thaw out after the preceding days of freezing cold temperatures. The views from these hot springs weren’t as spectacular as those at Banff Upper Hot Springs, but I enjoyed these hot springs more due to the wider range of pools to choose from. There were four pools in total, two hot pools at temperatures of 40°C and 38°C, and two cold plunge pools at 20°C and 10°C. Banff Upper Hot Springs only offered a single large pool at approx 37°C to 40°C, which to me felt like “scalding hot” after the initial warm-up dip. Again, these hot springs were very reasonably priced at $6.05 CAD per person. We even stopped in at the on-site cafe for icecreams and were served the biggest scoops we’ve probably ever seen. It was then that we remembered we were in the land of “super-size”.
