Jasper to Banff Alberta Canada

[Craig Wagoner]

Any info on lodging or getting bikes to Jasper woudl help

[geegee]

I rode from Edmonton to Vancouver last summer and passed through the Icefields Parkway. Lots of campgrounds along the way, most of them rustic (no showers or flush toilets) except the ones that are close to towns (Jasper, Lake Louise, Banff which have complete services). There are a few basic hostels along the Parkway at 2, 6, 32, 85, 111, 142, and 206 kms from Jasper. There are motels and restaurants at the following points from Jasper: 54 kms at Sunwapta Falls, 103 kms at the Icefields Centre, 153 kms at Saskatchewan River Crossing, and 196 kms at Bow Lake.

[Turk]

I rode this route in about 1980. The hostels are nice but though they are only a couple of miles off the main road it is a steep climb after a day's ride. The hostels were fun. I met British Army people, hitch-hiking Brit couples, geologists, and other interesting people. The downside of the trip was lack of facilities along the way such as restaurants, etc. If you break down you might be in trouble. There was a good amount of traffic as well. There was snow at high elevations even in August. Some of the Canadians were hostile towards Americans at that time. Overall I recommend it.

[valygrl]

You might get more helpful responses if you describe your plans and ask some specific questions.   For lodging, camping, hostels, hotels are all available at reasonable distances, hotels are expensive, and reservations for all but camping are highly recommended.


That said:

map:
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/resources/?o=RrzKj&resource_id=1103&v=E&term=icefields%20parkway&context=all

journals:
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/search/?term=icefields+parkway&expand=auto

[sid]

I did this ride a few years ago, but went from Banff to Jasper.  The Adventure Cycling maps have all the campgrounds and hostels listed.  The trip is very doable with just staying in hostels and not camping.  The hostel in Jasper is outside of town about 5 miles on a road that is a bit of a climb, so the Whistler campground is closer and easier to get to.   If I remember right, most of the hostels take reservations. The hostels (except Jasper, Lake Louise, and Banff) are rustic. You will have to plan food purchases....there is not much except great scenery between Lake Louise and Jasper.

Riding conditions were great....good roads and shoulders. Traffic is not bad, except lots of tour buses. (Traffic is brutal on the road from the town of Lake Louise to the lake--this is off the route.  I would not suggest biking this--the lake is pretty, but not worth fighting the traffic on a narrow road.)

[tsteven4]

We took the Brewster Calgary to Jasper Airporter (a bus).  In 2007 it was C$113 per person one way.  It is a long day as the bus stops many times to let people off and pick people up.  When we bought the tickets they assured us the bikes would be able to travel with us.  When we got to the Calgary airport they told us the bikes would be able to go, but maybe not the same day.  They said bikes were low priority luggage and it depended on how many other passengers they had and how much luggage they had.  In the end there was plenty of space and the bikes went with us.  We just left them in the boxes from the flight.  There is a recycling center in Jasper were you can recycle your bike box.

There are lots of bed and breakfasts in Jasper that you can book online.  You will get to Jasper late.  The driver was kind enough to stop the bus in front of our B&B to let us off saving us lugging the bike boxes around town.

We camped on the parkway.  Some of the water in the national park campgrounds required purification, you may want to bring a filter.

Enjoy, the scenery is incredible.

[rvklassen]

First off, you're doing it the right way.  The highest pass involves lots of braking if you go south to north, less if you go north to south.

We did it on a rented tandem (south to north), but I was out there in the '78 with my single.  There is also the option of taking the train, and there should be no problem getting a bike on the train.  More pricey, but it is a scenic ride.

Specific locations with lodging have already been mentioned.  Finding enough food at frequent enough intervals was challenging but you just have to eat whenever you find something.

If you are camping, be aware that this is bear country, so you need to be prepared to hang your food pack - meaning keep your food in a separate bag/pannier and have the necessary rope along.

It's lovely.  It seems to rain for a few minutes every day, but then it dries out fast - and so do you, if you're out in it.  And the double rainbows are worth it.

[tandem]

We did an eight day tour from Lake Louise to Jasper on the tandem and returned by same route. The scenery was beautiful and there wasn't much traffic the first week in Sept 2008. We had no problem getting lodging at Num Ti Jah Lodge, Saskatchewan Crossing and Sunwapta Falls Resort and they also had restaurants. Food was available at Columbia Icefields.  We had snow on Sunwapta Pass going north and Bow Summit on the return trip coming south. Take warm clothing.

Tandem