Vacation Ideas end of August

My wife and I are planning a road trip/car camp vacation for the end of August. Curious who has explored extensively between Seattle and Banff Lake Louise areas. we will hopefully have about 9 days in total and be traveling with our future wonder-dog, (only day hikes for her right now).

Questions:

Does anyone know if the Canadian Provincial parks allow Dogs?
Are there any camp locations that should not be passed up?
Great day hikes?
Cabins or yurts that you are fond of?
I-5 to trans can 1 or I-90 to 97 through Kelowna for best scenery?

Any help greatly appreciated!

I'm pretty sure dogs are OK everywhere outside the CDN Nat'l Parks and on leash at developed areas inside. Nine YEARS is hardly enough to begin to explore this area. The Canadian Okanagan is very congested & has relatively rounded topography. Banff is sort of a cross between Aspen & Yosemite Valley.

If I had nine days & was looking to sample the Canadian Rockies, I'd take the toll road from Hope to Kamloops for the speed & scenery, then book north to Robson & Jasper, avoiding the Trans-Canada in August as much as possible. The Icefields Parkway has got to be one of the most amazing drives anywhere, worth putting up with the crowds & you could detour E out of Banff Park halfway back down for camping. Don't miss the Alpine Club of Canada's clubhouse and restaurant in Lake Louise.

Then you'd have at least two options besides directly home: The Kananaskis to the southeast is much more camper/dog friendly than Banff & the Nat'l Parks and sets up a drive south to I-90 Or, fight the traffic W to Revelstoke, then turn south. Ask the locals or the ferryman at Arrow Lake about the fantastic hot springs a few miles S of Galena. As I recall, they're a few hundred feet above & E of the hiway near the only place where dirt roads join from both sides. There are more commercial hot springs further south and the Victorian mining town of Nelson is pretty cool.

Hard to go wrong up there, enjoy!

Vogt~

Thanks for the information. I agree that 9 years would be a stretch for full exploration. We looped up though Nelson in the fall of 05. Really nice area. we took the ferry up to Revelstoke then returned to WA via 97 through Kelowna. IT was nice but rushed, 3 days total.

I like the toll road idea, Does the Trans-Canada get nasty with summer traffic? The kananskies sound really nice also.

Thanks for the Beta!

Ja, TC-1 is no fun. Even tho mostly 2-lane freeway east of Golden, it's a bad mix of rubbernecking flatlanders and tens of thousands of big rigs. At least the Parkway is only the former. Jasper & Banff Parks are narrow enough that you should be able to find camps & dogwalks just outside on "Crown Land" (similar to our Nat'l Forests).

Or you might find space at the Jasper/AHA (403) 433-3139 or Icefields Parkway/SAHA (403) 283-5551 hostels. There are dozens of wonderful commercial backcountry lodges and historical club huts in the Parks, but I doubt dogs are welcome at most. If you're a high-roller, an exception might be the primitive camps near Mt. Assiniboine Lodge; helicopters used to fly from Shark Lake in the Kananaskis several times a week and I vaguely recall seeing dogs in their promo shots:

www.assiniboinelodge.com/

For a gravel version of the Parkway, with lots of trails and campgrounds, continue south just E of the Continental Divide to rejoin the pavement at Elkford. CDN 95 from Sandpoint to Golden is also a relatively fast, scenic entry/exit.

tophervw- good to see that great minds think alike... I have been planning to go up to Banff and that environ for the past few years but had a snag with my gf's work sched. last year so we bagged plans. I never really got fully into the research phase but am now prompted to do so. We are also planning on end of Aug for a week or so- should be awesome! Thanks for starting the thread and getting me off my ass and actually enticing me to plan something. I will keep my eyes out for you, your gf, and pooch. Enjoy your trip and don't steal my campsite!

Vogt, and others-

If anyone has suggestions for me, they would be much appreciated. I am not going with a pooch, just with a girlfriend who does not like strenous hikes, hiking over scree and talus, and bugs. Any suggestions? Suggestions on good camping areas- inbounds (car camping), and easy backpacks on well established trails? Looking at 7 days total maybe more from Seattle, will surely take the previous suggestions as well, but am looking for some awesome hikes/ backpacks to do while there.


Thanks in advance-

Chris

Chris---Call me in leisurely fashion; I know a bit of everything you seek.