Hotel rooms. Check.

Rental car. Check.

A return trip to the Canadian Rockies. Yeah!

I just booked my hotel rooms for a return trip to the Canadian Rockies this summer.

12 days

The itinerary will involve A LOT of driving.  But I know what I’m getting into.

I’m flying into Calgary, spending several days in Banff with short day trips to Yoho National Park and Kooteney National Park.  Then, heading up to Jasper National Park with a sidetrip to Mt Robson Provincial Park. Then driving all the way back to Calgary again.

All along the way will be plenty of hiking, picture taking, wildlife spotting and good old fashioned relaxation.

And more driving.

Gene and Laurie make me envious of their 10-day experience in Banff and Jasper National Parks in the Canadian Rockies.  RVing seems like lots of fun and offers a unique freedom to experience the parks at a leisurely pace without the need for hotel rooms.

They write:  “The vistas are breathtaking and each day we approach ‘sensory overload’ as the roads and views seem to be more beautiful with each turn.”

Besides the vistas, they were fortunate to see lots of wildlife including deer and elk in their campground and a family of bears in the wilderness.

They took lots of photos in Banff and Jasper and said this of the experience:  “Huge mountain’s, snow capped summits, deep gorges, rushing rivers and spectacular falls are everywhere; and then you get to the glaciers !”  Now that’s an experience of a lifetime.

OK, that’s it, I want an RV.

Oh, wait, I don’t have enough money.  RVs can be as expensive as buying a home.

Alas, there is a solution.

Don’t have an RV? Rent one.

You’ll see a lot of rented RVs in Jasper National Park.

If you live in the States, it may be more cost effective to fly to Calgary and pick-up an RV there instead of driving from the States.  Another option is to pick-up the RV in Montana and drive north, or Vancouver and drive east.

Renting an RV is not particularly cheap – it can be like the cost of a hotel and a car rental combined.  The good news is that they have kitchens so you can save money eating-in instead of dining out.  Read my advice buying locally grown food in Alberta – easy to do in an RV with a kitchen.  Not only will it save money, but it will reduce your travel carbon footprint for your Jasper National Park and Canadian Rockies vacation.

The freedom and convenience makes RVs very desirable.

Places to rent RVs

For a good list of places to rent RVs in Alberta and beyond, check out the Go RVing Canada website.

Also, take a look at Cruise America. They have a Calgary, Alberta location and a Vancouver, BC location and many other locations in the US and Canada.

Still have sticker shock?

Another alternative way to experience the great outdoors is to go tent camping in Jasper National Park.  It is a fraction of the cost and can be just as much fun.

Rent a mini SUV (the modern minivan) and head for the highway!  Catherine Conners and Katie York, 2 moms from the Canada Moms Blog, are doing just that.

They’re driving a rental vehicle from eastern Canada all the way to Vancouver on the west coast – with a stop planned in Jasper National Park.  Sounds like lots of fun!

Learn more about the Canadian Moms Blog Road Trip.

My advice for driving cross-country with kids to Jasper:  Stop at the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton too!

When doing a cross-country trip with kids, on the way to (or from) Jasper National Park, you’ll probably want to stop for the night in Edmonton.  If you do, make some time for the West Edmonton Mall.  The mall has lots to do for the kids, like the waterpark, minigolf, ice skating rink and lots more.  After half a day in the mall, the kids will surely sleep for hours – a reward parents should thank me for!

Learn more about activites for kids in Jasper National Park.

Sounds intriguing?

Let’s look at what other train travelers are saying about VIA Rail. Let’s start with a few trip reports and then finish with a collection og videos showing more of the VIA Rail experience.

VIA Rail trip reports

Traveler Carolyn writes about her experience on VIA Rail’s Canadian, going from Vancouver to Toronto with a stop at Jasper National Park.  By the looks of the pictures and all of the snow on the ground, it was a winter trip.  Read article.

Traveler Susan also writes a blog post about riding on the Canadian and stopping at Jasper National Park and Banff National Parks during the day.   Read article.

Videos of VIA Rail Trains

This traveler’s video shows scenes from VIA Rail’s Skeena line from Prince Rupert, BC to Jasper National Park, AB.

This video by Vacations Canada provides a quick tour of the VIA Rail Canadian line.

VIA Rail train from above

From the ground at Jasper National Park train station

YouTube contributor bcrcndr now has 55 brief videos showing segments of a cross-country trip aboard the VIA Rail Canadian.

Proving that there is a video on YouTube for everything, this is a video of a person going from one end of the train to the other. Not particularly exciting, it does at least show what the inside looks like.

There you have it.  These resources should have provided a good honest idea about what riding on a VIA Rail train is like.  Have you rode VIA Rail before?  What’s your experience?

If you are looking for trip reports and experiences of other travelers who have visited Jasper National Park, read on.

1.

In a May 2009 trip report, Steve Parr writes here about driving from Hinton, Alberta to Jasper National Park and heading in the direction of Prince George, BC.  Along the way, he takes many great pictures of elk in Jasper and later sees a bear in BC. Having been to Banff National Park on a previous trip, he contrasts the two:

• “Up until yesterday morning, I would’ve said that Banff National Park was just about the most perfect place on the planet, and I have said as much, and I’ve said it often. But Jasper offered so much more. The vistas were every bit as perfect, and the wildlife viewing opportunities of Banff simply cannot compare with those of Jasper; it’s simply no contest.”

Now that’s inspiring.

2.

Dan Jurak writes about how Jasper National Park sparked his interest in photography and writes:

• “How could you not get hooked? The scenery and trails were spectacular.  Jasper is one of the most beautiful places on Earth.”

He goes on to write about his quest to take great photos of Jasper National Park.  Some of his Canadian Rockies photos are online here in a photo gallery.

3.

Bonnie Way writes about doing a girlfriend getaway to Jasper National Park, going to Jasper to getaway from school.  The 3 friends visited Pyramid Lake, Athanasca Falls, Lac Beauvert and other sites.  The resulting experience, Bonnie writes, was:

• “…all that we hoped for — relaxing and refreshing, readying us to go back to our normal lives renewed and reenergized.”

That’s what a getaway should be.

Here’s a round-up:

• Back in November, Micael takes some great photos of Athabasca Falls in Jasper National Park here before the snow covers the place.
• Dixie Gypsy writes about spending a November day in Jasper National Park here.
• Darren Bryan shares photos from a December visit to Jasper National Park here.  He visited an ice cover Maligne Canyon too here.
• Blogger Frenchlillies reports on a visit to the Columbia Icefield in Jasper as well as Lake Louise and other spots in Banff here.
• Jon B posts an cool panoramic photo of Patricia Lake here.
• Randy Santa Ana tried to drive to Jasper, but icy road conditions prevented it.  Too bad, but he was able to spend time in Banff, so the day was not ruined.  He shows an icy Banff lake here.
• Jessica Demello also had a tough time getting to Jasper because of the winter snow, but did manage to stay in Banff.  Read story here.

Related posts:

1. Make time for the Icefield Parkway during your Canadian Rockies vacation

The journal doesn’t have to be anything fancy. In fact, it can be quite ordinary. You just want it to be a convenient place to journal your way through the park.

If you have never thought to bring a travel journal along with you on vacation, here are 5 ways to make it work for you:

Make your own Jasper National Park travel journal

1. Record memories up front and personal – Travelers for centuries have recorded their impressions of the places they visited in diaries and journals. The 3000 feet ride on the Jasper Tramway to the upper terminal on Whistler’s Mountain offers an inspirational opportunity to record your first impressions of the Canadian Rockies from this perspective. If fishing is more your thing, why not record the kind of fish you caught after a day at Maligne Lake? Or maybe you want to remember the hiking trail you liked best. You don’t have to bring your travel journal where-ever you go. Just remember to jot down some notes at the end of the day.

2. Where did you go and who did you meet? - People. People. Maybe you want to remember the Jasper Tramway guide who shared tales of Whistler’s Mountain with the jam-packed visitors in the gondola or the couple you sat near on the snow coach at Athabasca Glacier. Your travel journal is the perfect place to record amusing anecdotes about the people you meet. You might also want to write down names and addresses of some people you might want to stay in touch with.

3. It is All About Food – “What was the name of that pizza place we liked so much at Jasper National Park?” What a shame you can’t remember the name of that great place! Telling those stories to your friends and family about your vacation can be much more interesting if you can tell them all about Lulu’s Pizza rather than “that place”.

4. The Bottom-line – Do you really want to know how much your vacation cost? Maybe. If you like to travel but have to budget like most of us for your trips, then tracking food, attractions, and lodging costs make sense. You can make your travel journal anything you want. It can be all about the practical or it could be about the memories you created along the way. Either way or both ways, the travel journal has a place on your trip.

5. Notes on Photos – In just one day you took 200 photos with your digital camera of wildlife in the park. You saw elk and mountain goats, coyotes and caribou. About 68 species of mammals inhabit the park. Your photos are sure to astound everyone back home but are you going to remember everything you want to tell them? Why not make some notes about the places and situations you saw these animals? Your photos become more valuable to you when you can exactly name the subject of your photo.

Your travel journal can become a treasure you pass down to your grandchildren, the food for a blog like this (or your personal “world travel” blog), or just a nice way to enhance the experience of traveling to a new place. So how about it?

Bonus Tip: Tell the world your Jasper National Park experience right here on JasperJournal.com. Use the contact form to submit your experience and we’ll do our best to share your experience in an upcoming post.

Gary and Jo are blogging about their trip across the United States and Canada with recent reports from Banff and Jasper National Park:

• Cavell and Angel Glacier with photos. >>View post
• Wildlife sightings including a bear in a tree and a mountain goat. >>View post
• The Medicine Lake and Maligne Lake area. >>View post
• Going from Banff to Jasper. >>View post
• Staying in Banff. >>View post

Kaili blogged about a trip with time in both Banff and Jasper:

• Trip report and photos of Banff National Park and Jasper National Park. >>View post

Phil and Steve are riding motorcycles across part of the states and Canada and blogging about it:

• Riding through the Canadian Rockies and Jasper. >>View post

Kris is blogging about traveling in Jasper and has some great pictures.

• Squirrels in Jasper. >>View post
• Nice pics of the Icefields Parkway. >>View post