Banff National Park

>>1074743
also is the water too cold to swim? or will it be too cold to wear a bikini at the lakeside? am from texas so im thinking it's gonna be cold in comparison

>>1074745
forget this question, just read the water is ice cold

>>1074743
I am /out/ for the long weekend but if the thread is still here Tues I will write you a nice reply. Camped there many times

>>1074754
Thanks, I know /out/ is a slow board. I was thinking of staying near to the banff town center by Lake Minnewanka or Spray Lakes Reservoir

>>1074750
You can still swim in it. Have a sauna/bonfire handy with some warming towels to dry yourself.

Ice swimming is a thing.

>>1074743
Heads up, Banff is usually super crowded. And this year is even worse since all Canadians got free park passes for Canada's 150th birthday. Definitely check campsite availability beforehand.

>>1074876
I wanted to reserve but they were all booked or unreservable after sept 4 so was hoping to get one of the first come first serve sites

>>1074876
except tunnel mountain village 1 campground has spaces. It has a shower and firepit so think I will camp there. I read there's a bus? I wanna go into town for the hot springs and bar one night... can I get the bus?

>>1074743
If you are scared of animals, just give them room and avoid them if you see them. Also make noise like sing or talk to someone audibly on the trail so if there is a bear, it will know where you are. The worst thing you can do to a bear is spook it. Carry Bearspray and you should be fine for most wildlife save for wolverines.

>I'm scared of something going wrong.
Find someone you trust who wont break into your house while you are gone and stress they dont tell anyone of your trip until after you come back. Tell them the dates you will be gone and returning and should you not be back that they should call the police.

In your car leave an envelope with the description of the clothes you are wearing and the date you parked/the date you will be back in your glove box. That way should there be any reason that someone sees your vehicle for a period of time, the RCMP will break in looking for information and sure enough, find that.

Expect at least one million tourists like yourself to be everywhere, also mule deer so used to humans that you can basically pet them.

Canmore is a town about 15 mins east of Banff not as touristy with some decent lil pubs. I spent a fair amount of time around the two towns. Some good mountain bike trails around and tons of hiking

>>1075359
any short hiking trails?

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>>1076988
Hiking With Barry has got you famalam

>http://hikingwithbarry.com/2010/08/07/rawson-lake-%E2%80%93-kananaskis-country-%E2%80%93-hiking-alberta

>http://hikingwithbarry.com/2013/04/16/10-great-hikes-along-kananaskis-trail-hiking-alberta

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Is OP still around? I'm >>1077043 and just booked into a backcountry campsite for this weekend ($20) in Kootenay. They've had a bunch of cancellations.

I'm heading up to check out a part of this trail:
http://www.summitpost.org/the-rockwall-trail/761989

It can be confusing as there's 4 national parks and several provincial parks all abutting each other but you can do any type of camping imaginable to from drive in and RV, to short walks to campsites, to backcountry campsites and even and alpine huts.

https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/banff/activ/camping?gccf=true

>>1077567
Those cancellations are probably due to wild fire that's still active, depend on where you are there might be pretty heavy smoke. Also, check for closures.

You don't have to worry about wildlife as long as you're not an absolute idiot and leave food everywhere.

I'd recommend Hector Lake, short hike but interesting. Have to ford a shallow (knee high) river, absolutely gorgeous, you can park at the trailhead on the highway. Tunnel Mountain etc is fucking pointless, front country camping is barely camping and there's kids fucking everywhere. Free canoes at Hector Lake too.

>>1074887
Banff has normal public transport. Buses and a few shuttles places this year. Stuff around Lake Minnewanka is closed due to bears and there's a fire ban in all the national parks around here so don't count on making a fire.

>>1074750
I swam in lake johnson during the mid week of july. I think lake superior is still colder but it was great.
check out canmore and also banff has a not bad pub food scene. I was there for a week if you have any other questions.

I'm in Jasper right now, the Icefields Parkway is an amazing drive. I hitchhiked up here and I'm bumming around town a bit while trying to figure out where to go from here, seems a lot of the trailheads are hard to access without a car because they're on side roads or weird wilderness roads. Might do some train hopping while I'm here

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>>1077567
it was a great little trip, saw one couple on the hike in, a handful of campers at helmet falls campsite, and didn't see anyone on the hike out until Pain Pots

going up again next weekend to a different spot

>>1079932
I look forward to hearing of your death

>>1080429
why?

op here. thinking of just going camping in la ronge

>>1083417
>la ronge
Saskatchewan?

>>1080466
Trainhoppers are vermin who damage private property and endanger human life

>>1083417
I currently live in La Ronge and have camped many times in Banff.

If your primary interest is fishing, come to La Ronge/area.

If your primary interest is climbing, biking, kayaking/canoeing, or hiking, then go to Banff.

Banff doesn't have many good options for fishing really - it is heavily regulated because it is a highly trafficked national park.

Banff has MANY great options for daytrip hiking/climbing, and several large and beautiful mountain lakes for kayaking/canoeing. Just look at the Banff Trail Maps to get some ideas if you are looking for daytrips. I recommend selecting a hike or two that you are interested in and choosing your campsite based on that. Unless you plan to spend a lot of your time at camp, all of the campsites are reasonable. Just be aware that some campgrounds are unserviced so in that case there is no shower.

In September, I wouldn't expect to swim in either place as it will very likely be too cold for your comfort.

>>1084154
yeah sk, i was going to drive to banff from there, but now im worried that it will be too cold at night to not have a fire (burn ban) considering it's 100f where i am

>>1084320
I wont have stuff to climb, bike or camp since i'll only have my small suitcase and a car with me. I can borrow fishing stuff and a tent though.

How is prince albert national park? It doesnt have mountains but the drive is short.

>>1084212
If you even come close to damaging a train you're really doing it wrong.