Posted by octopusprime on July 25, 2004, at 17:51:09
In reply to Travel in Canada, posted by deirdrehbrt on July 25, 2004, at 17:17:12
hi dee!
i love banff! if we are going in the summer i will bring my tent though. :)
the funny thing about these hotels now is that they're not really close to the rail lines any more. the chateau laurier in ottawa, for example, is about a 10-15 minute bus ride from the via train terminal. hotel vancouver is about 4 km from pacific central station (the rail terminal in vancouver). so it's not just a short schlep from the train with your baggage!
my parents took the rocky mountaineer rail tour one year. i believe the rail pass roughly follows the icefields parkway north from banff to lake louise and jasper. they were somewhat disappointed by the view. it's much easier to drive and stop, and you get better views from the frequent stops.
if you are planning on travelling that way to banff, you may want to plan on visiting lake louise and jasper ... jasper is only a two hour drive north along a beautiful highway. stops along the way include athabasca falls (and canyon), the athabasca glacier, scores of mountain sheep that lick the salt off pickup trucks (trapping some scared passengers) and stopping traffic on the highway, hot springs (banff, radium, and jasper), the jasper tramway which takes you a short hike from the top of mt. whistler (i believe) where on a clear day you see nothing but mountain peaks. it is a beautiful and spectacular trip that will change your life if you have never been to the mountains before.
the resort towns are overbuilt and overpriced. there are some other interesting stops in alberta - including deserts, dinosaur fossils and other geological oddities (camrose i think), excellent climbing in canmore, car-eating porcupines in a quiet mountain park south of banff (bugaboo park), etc etc etc
i remember staying in the chateau laurier when i was a kid. i don't remember being terribly impressed - maybe we were in the "cheap" rooms which reminded me of every other hotel. i guess you have to pay more to get more ambiance. the lobby is nice though. the location in ottawa is excellent - you can walk to parliament hill, the byward market, the national art gallery, etc. etc. ... i love ottawa and it is a beautiful and historic city.
anyway i have travelled in all 10 provinces in canada (at least a little bit) so if you have questions about canadian travel ask away! and i would love to visit on any west coast leg :) and i'll stop rambling now ...
poster:octopusprime
thread:370420
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040725/msgs/370434.html