Questions about possible trip to Banff area / national parks/ driving in Alberta/BC

You could also get a flight from Spokane to Kalispell MT just west of
Glacier if you wanted to save some time. Horizon Air had flights when I
flew it. We caught a tailwind and arrived early, so the pilot made a
large U turn going over Glacier. What a sight!

Charles M. Kozierok wrote:

Hi All,

My wife and I are considering a trip for our family to the Banff area. I
just had a couple of preliminary questions.

First, we are considering doing this in July. Will all the roads and
trails and such usually be open by mid-July?

Second, how far in advance do I need to book accomodations? We don't
need the best of anything but if there are some good places I can still
get if I book them now, I'd like to try.

Third and most important: the airfares to Calgary from my area (near
Albany) are hideously expensive. However, Southwest is running a seat
sale and they fly to Spokane. Going that route would save us over $1000.

We would then need to drive from Spokane up to Banff. This seems to
involve either looping through Montana -- a very long drive -- or taking
rather twisty highways through the mountains of Idaho, BC and Alberta.

I was thinking that taking the latter direct route might be cool -- we
would approach the Banff area from a different direction, and if there
were things to do on the way, we could break up the (Mapquest-estimated)
9 hour drive. I also think we would go through the BC parks (Yoho and
Kootenay) which I wanted to see anyway.

Can anyone give me any advice on the feasibility of this drive and
whether or not it is worthwhile in its own right? Thanks very much.

peace,

-*-
charles

In article . net,
Bill Meng wrote:
} You could also get a flight from Spokane to Kalispell MT just west of
} Glacier if you wanted to save some time. Horizon Air had flights when I
} flew it. We caught a tailwind and arrived early, so the pilot made a
} large U turn going over Glacier. What a sight!

Thanks for the suggestion... I will check that out. Though I suspect it
will be easier just to drive the area.. sounds like a great place to be
stuck in a car, if one has to be.

peace,

-*-
charles