Alberta and British Columbia park passes

Hello
General question
How important is it to have park passes for Alberta and British Columbia? Our group is taking a little trip out west soon and will be stopping for the odd hike here and there or dinner north of Banff
Thanks in advance
Barry

 

Not sure about Alberta. But here my closest BC Park only charges $5 per day for parking. I go there every day with the dogs. So I'm getting a season pass for $25. Not sure about other BC parks. The one near me starts charging on the 23rd of this month. Currently free.

 

Thanks for the information
I was thinking more about Banff and the surrounding area
Cheers
Barry

 

Banff national park should now be free as of June 20th. All national parks will be free. No pass required.

 

Thank you
My typical timing. I bought a pass last week

 

Good day Barry,

Just a heads up that the town of Banff and Canmore could be extremely busy and so plan accordingly. I was just there about 2 weeks ago and it was complete chaos... we promptly left (drove in and out as fast as we could), as it was simply too overwhelming and continued onwards to BC (Radium Hot Springs)... which was much more to our liking along with being much less commercialized.

Cheers,

Sam

 

Thanks Sam
We have a few drives planned out of the area so should be livable.
Looking at the weather though there should be no crowds. High of 8, up to 75mm or 3” of rain, possible snow, low of zero!
Nice weather now, nice weather after we leave.
Fingers crossed. The forecast is correct less than 50% of the time
Cheers
Barry

 

Sadly this is the case for much of the area now. I grew up in Calgary so trips to Banff/Lake Louise were done frequently, and every year it just got busier and busier to the point that we stopped going. Lots of other places to explore, Kananaskis Country etc. BC Kootenays offer alot of wonder in small towns as well.

Enjoy the drive and scenery

 

Thanks Navdeep
We are going to explore around some out of the main areas. The bad weather may help with crowd control.
Cheers
Barry

 

Good day Navdeep,

Thank you for your comments. Many people I have spoken with, commented that Banff/Canmore is really not for Albertans anymore... as both places have gotten very popular with people from all over. Clearly, this reflects our recent experience... and I am sad to say that I will probably not specifically go back to banff, etc. As you said, there are numerous other places in the same general area that are not nearly as busy, nor as commercialized... and so there are many other options. I am thankful I experienced Banff and the area when I did, as it is very beautiful place... and so explains its increased popularity.

Cheers,

Sam

 

Well gentlemen
We are in the area now. The weather has improved and everything is not crazy, for the last few days anyway.
Everything has been good. There have only been a couple of tour buses. Lots of new to Canada people, some international tourists, but very few.
All in all, very nice
Cheers
Barry