Need Sugestions on Roadtrip to Jasper National Park, Canada

sohotrightnow

Around June 20th I will be taking a road trip from Orange County, California to Jasper National Park. We will be taking the Highway 15 North most of the way. We will be passing through Las Vegas, which we have been to many times and don't plan to stop. In fact we probably won't be stopping unless it's to sleep until Glacier National Park, Montana (Since we don't know of any places until then). We will be there for 2 or 3 days, then go to Lake Louise for 2 days, after that we will keep driving up in to Jasper but were not sure what we are gonna see or where to go(Need lots of suggestions specially for Jasper). On the way back down we will be taking the Highway 5 the whole way and plan on stopping in Vancouver for a day or 2 and at Klamath Basin shortly, and we will drive all of California without stopping unless for sleep since we have seen all of California pretty much.
So I need help on where to go in Canada and on the way up, and down. If you want any other info on the trip please ask. I would really like to see the best places possible for photo ops. We LOVE hikes and would really like some beautiful ones wherever they may be. So just if you could please give me some info on what are the must sees along or near our route, I would be eternally grateful.

P.S. This will be a two and a half week road trip, and if you have some alterations from what i have so far, please tell me.

Thanks,
Hansel

P.S.S. I am buying a Sigma 10-20mm for my D70 just for this trip so some great lookouts and body's of water are great!

Also, wondering what will be more useful a ND filter or Polarizer and if a ND what stop? (Planning on buying 1 for the trip can't afford multiple.)

Ann McRae

Hello Hansel

I have several peices of advise for you. First, did you mean Glacier Montana rather than Wyoming?

Anyway, I live east of Jasper and have been many times. Most recently, I did a trip Edmonton ->Jasper ->Louise ->Waterton ->Glacier with 3 other dgrinners.

You can read and see all about The Most Excellent Adventures of Ann, Christina, Nick, and Skippy for starters.

My galleries from that whole trip are:

Preshoot

Glacier Dgrin Shootout

So, I'm certain you will find some ideas in there.
My first advice is travel north from Glacier on Hwy 22 rather than Hwy 2. Take the extra time as you will see so much more in the foothills than you will on the big highway.

It took us a full day to drive the Icefileds Parkway - we just couldn't quit stopping for photos. Don't rush, because it is really beautiful.

Don't expect to cover ground as quickly as you do on large highways or interstates. Traveling through the mountain parks needs to be savored.

Hwy 5 is the fast route, and may be a toll highway. Not many pullout photo ops, Makes driving Jasper to Vancouver in a day quite manageable. If you are doing this in the late summer you should have access to a bunch of fresh farm produce, and roadside markets on the southern part.

Okay, I'll start with that and let others chime in with their recommendations.

sohotrightnow

Yes I meant Montana, sorry.

Thanks sooo much, I guess were taking the 2! I really don't want to miss any scenery, and this will be great, as time isn't too much of an issue, and can be a bit longer than 2 and a half weeks.

By the way Ann your images are awesome! They are truly magnificent.

Ann McRae wrote:

Hello Hansel

I have several peices of advise for you. First, did you mean Glacier Montana rather than Wyoming?

Anyway, I live east of Jasper and have been many times. Most recently, I did a trip Edmonton ->Jasper ->Louise ->Waterton ->Glacier with 3 other dgrinners.

You can read and see all about The Most Excellent Adventures of Ann, Christina, Nick, and Skippy for starters.

My galleries from that whole trip are:

Preshoot

Glacier Dgrin Shootout

So, I'm certain you will find some ideas in there.
My first advice is travel north from Glacier on Hwy 22 rather than Hwy 2. Take the extra time as you will see so much more in the foothills than you will on the big highway.

It took us a full day to drive the Icefileds Parkway - we just couldn't quit stopping for photos. Don't rush, because it is really beautiful.

Don't expect to cover ground as quickly as you do on large highways or interstates. Traveling through the mountain parks needs to be savored.

Hwy 5 is the fast route, and may be a toll highway. Not many pullout photo ops, Makes driving Jasper to Vancouver in a day quite manageable. If you are doing this in the late summer you should have access to a bunch of fresh farm produce, and roadside markets on the southern part.

Okay, I'll start with that and let others chime in with their recommendations.

jdmphoto

As for Glacier National Park there are many great places to see and hike. Many Glacier, Two Medicine, and St Mary are all nice places to see. As for hiking, if you're in luck the Going to the Sun road will be open and you could take the highline or hidden lake trail. In Many Glacier the Iceberg lake and Grinnel glacier trails are beautiful. If you visit the west side of the park Avalance lake trail is very nice. If you were spending more time in Glacier there are many other places to visit and hike. Enjoy you're visit. I live about 10 miles from West Glacier, visit my website if you like.

spechtal

Hi Hansel,

If you are coming north from Waterton/Glacier you might consider driving Highway 22 (starts near Lumbreck, AB and comes out west of Calgary). It is a stunning drive through the foothills along the rockies.

The icefields highway is one great photo oportunity after another.

In/around Jasper, there are lots of day hikes (Maligne Canyon is a great hike with lots of photo ops; the walk at Old Fort Road gives you a good look at the Athabasca River). You can also get information from the Parks Canada Jasper site, or just plug "day hikes Jasper" into a search engine. The Parks Canada folks are also very helpful to talk to, a visit to the Parks Canada building is also well worth the visit. There are lots of guidebooks as well that talk about day hikes and extended hikes.

If you like tram rides to tops of mountains (saving all that energy for photo taking), there is a nice tram right to the top of Whistler Mountain.

I hope you have a great time. Angela

sohotrightnow

Wow, thanks so much for the info so far everyone! This will deffinitely help, still looking for more info, but this will help lots, and give me a starting place with places to go.
ivar
Thanks,
Hansel

sohotrightnow

Still interested in more suggestions!

dkoyanagi

Hi

Here are my suggestions for the Jasper to Vancouver leg of your trip.

There are several different routes you can take from Jasper.

1. Highway 5 from Jasper to Vancouver - I haven't driven this road for a long time, but iirc, this isn't a very interesting drive.

2. Double back from Jasper to Lake Louise and take the TransCanada (Highway 1) west to Revelstoke. This is probably the better option. Not only do you get to see the Icefields Parkway from both directions, Highway 1 also takes you through the Selkirk Mountain Range, which are just as spectacular as the Rockies but different.

From Revelstoke there are four ways to Vancouver:

1. West on Highway 1 to Sicamous then south along 97A to Penticton, Princeton, then Hope. From Hope take Highway 1 west to Vancouver. This will take you thru the orchards and vinyards of the Okanagan Valley, then thru the Cascade Mountain Range between Princeton and Hope.

2. West on 1 to Kamloops then south along 5 to Hope. This is the fastest way to Vancouver, and there's some nice scenery along the southern half. Highway 5 is a toll road.

3. West on 1 to Cache Creek then follow Highway 1 south to Hope. This will take you thru the Fraser Canyon. This route also takes you thru some interesting climates: the northern half of the route goes thru semi-desert country, the southern half is temperate rainforest.

4. West on 1 to Cache Creek, then north along 97 to the Highway 99 Junction, then west on 99 to Lillooet, Pemberton and Whistler. This will take you thru the Coast Mountain Range to Whistler Village. South of Whistler, Highway 99 is called the Sea-To-Sky Highway. From Whistler continue south to Squamish, Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver, then over the Lions Gate Bridge, thru Stanley Park and straight into downtown Vancouver. Be warned, there's currently construction along the Sea-to-Sky in preparation for the Olympics, so you may run into delays. If you time it right, and you get to West Vancouver around sunset, you'll catch the Lions Gate Bridge, Stanley Park and the downtown towers bathed in sweet light. Note: sunset in Vancouver in June is at around 9:30 pm.

Some suggestions for photo ops:

City of Vancouver proper:

Stanley Park: the seawall and views of the inner harbor; the 9 O'clock Gun at Halleluja Point (a 19th century brass cannon, fired every night at 9pm); Vancouver Aquarium; Brockton Point Lighthouse; Prospect Point lookout; rose gardens; various trails.

Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia.

Downtown: Robson Square and Robson Street; Canada Place; Waterfront Station.

Gastown: brick streets and Victorian buildings.

Chinatown: Dr. San Yat Sen Classical Gardens, street photo

Commercial Drive between Broadway and E. Hastings: the old Italian neighborhood.

Punjabi Market: Main St. and 49th Ave. Vancouver's East Indian neighborhood.

PLACE TO AVOID: The Downtown Eastside. The Downtown Eastside is to the east of Gastown and west of Chinatown. It's the stretch of E. Hastings St. between Cambie St. and Main St. If you want to go from Gastown to Chinatown, go to Waterfront Station and take the Skytrain to Stadium Station, then walk north along Main St. to Chinatown.


Around Greater Vancouver:

City of West Vancouver: Lighthouse Park, Ambleside Beach. Cypress Bowl

City of North Vancouver: gondola to the top of Grouse Mountain; drive to the top of Mt. Seymour; village of Deep Cove

City of Burnaby: Simon Fraser University campus.

Hope this helps. Have a good trip.