"The Canadian Rockies " a Banff National Park Travel Page by Camping_Girl

I am so fortunate to live within a 2 hour drive of the town of Banff. The country here is so beautiful.

I would like to direct your attention to a really great website which has been set up by an acquaintance of mine, Judy. Judy has sample driving itineraries for Calgary to Vancouver and points in between. The itineraries vary from a 1 day walking tour of downtown Calgary to a 3 week driving tour of Calgary, the Rockies and Vancouver. If you are planning a trip to any of these areas, I think that Judy's website is the best place to start. Her webpage is located at

%*JudysTips

You will find a wealth of really valuable information on her website - check it out!

Lake Louise and Field are close enough to Banff that you can easily visit all three places from one base, there's no need to pack up and move from hotel to hotel. Its about a 45 minute drive from Banff to Lake Louise, and Field is about another 20 minutes or so past LL.

Jasper is a different story. It is about a 3 hour drive from LL to Jasper, with the Columbia Icefields about midway between the two. You should plan on a full day to travel the Icefields Parkway, there are so many things to see along the way. I would strongly urge anyone planning on visiting Jasper to spend a few nights in Jasper as well. The travelling distance is great enough that you could never do justice to Jasper on a day trip from Banff.

My suggestion would be to allow a minimum of 3 days in Banff area, 1 day to travel from Banff to Jasper, and 2 days in Jasper, if your schedule permits this.

Now that I have established the closeness of LL and Field to Banff, you will understand why all my tips for all 3 areas are being headed up under Banff. It makes it a lot simpler for everyone to see what you can easily see in a day trip from Banff or LL.