Hello Canada, leaving southern Oregon this Saturday. Going east through Pendleton, Enterprise, Lewiston, Lolo, Glacier Park. Should cross the border late Monday or early Tuesday. Going towards Bamff/Lake Louise. After that not sure of route but heading west. Should I take the northern route through Donald and Revelstoke or head back south towards Kootenay Lake/ferry to Balfour/up to Nakusp/Fauquier/Vernon. Leaning towards the southern route. Roads are bent a plenty on the map and I like the lakes. Looks like I can bail out at quite a few places back into Washington and head home but looks like it may be south of Okanagan. I have a week. Looking for roads that are great to ride and scenic. Any advise here would be great. Also any don't miss recomendations?? Slick cart tracks????. Restaurants/reasonably priced hotels?? Going with a friend whose bike sports those Roundel thingy's. (resonable priced?? let him pay)
Thanks, Bob
Hey, Bob. I just got back from Banff/Jasper/Lake Louise today. Beware that the wildfire smoke is obscuring some fantastic views right now. Up until yesterday, the smoke was blowing way north into Jasper. As of this morning, it was south and east (all the way to Calgary) of Banff.
As for routes, even the slab is spectacular between Banff and Jasper (93 and Transcanada 1). The roads are forgettable, but the scenery most certainly is not. The Canadian Rockies in the region are among the most amazing sights to see in North America, IMO.
I stayed in Banff for ~200 USD per night. The restaurants are spendy, but some of them are very good. In Banff, I'd recommend the Saltlick for a spendy, but fantastic Filet Mignon and a decent malbec. The Soleil Cafe in Banff has fantastic tapas - the calamari, eggplant jelly, humus, tapenade, and tenderloin are really great, as is their wine selection. Canmore, just 18 miles east of Banff, offers a little more variety and lower prices. I'd recommend this fantastic Latin American restaurant just across the river and to the left on Main Street if I could remember the name. It was just too damn good. The Buffalo Mountain Lodge, in Banff, was pretentious and forgettable. For lunch, I'd recommend hitting the Safeway or IGA for some humus, scallions, summer sausage, cheddar, and some Chardonnay in preparation for any of myriad fantastic hikes in the area. Also beware that it is bear season, with multiple sightings near Banff and Canmore. Also, it's rutting season for mountain goats and elk. This means that cagers will be up to really damn stupid moves in their camera-equipped cars that could easily kill the unwary motorcyclist, or three.
I looked like crazy for something like slick tracks or alpine slides. No such luck. For hikes around Banff/Lake Louise, I'd recommend Lake Louise, Boom Lake, and Moraine Glacier, in no particular order. If I had another day and one more support vehicle, I damn well would have paddled as much as possible of the unbelieveably beautiful Bow River in a canoe. If I knew on day one what I know now, and I only had one day, I'd have paddled as much as possible of the unbelieveably beautiful Bow River in a canoe.
Above all, enjoy what you see - it's changing fast.
