Are you planning a trip to the Canadian Rockies and can’t decide when is the best time for your travels? This is a common issue and I had the same dilemma when planning my first trip to Canada parks two years ago. By choosing summer as the ideal season, the struggle only begins 🙂 You have three options – you can travel in June, during the time of summer holidays (July and August), or later in September. All of these three categories have certain advantages, but unfortunately couple disadvantages too. I’ve decided to travel in June and one year later in September. Interested how it all ended? Continue reading to learn what is the best time to visit the Canadian Rockies.

I visited the Rockies in June 2017 for the first time and traveled around for 16 days. My trip started in Calgary, continued to Banff and Jasper National Parks, and finished in Vancouver with a one-day stop in Kelowna on the way. I’ve put together the most important factors that might help you decide, if June is the month of your dream visit 🙂

To learn more about the beautiful places I’ve visited and highly recommend, you might want to check out my articles in travel journal. As for many useful tips and tricks for your travels, have a look inside the advice chapter.

Weather in June
Before traveling to the Canadian Rockies for the first time, I did my homework and checked the weather forecast. I already knew it is the rainiest month of the year, but I still planned to pack more summer clothes than a raincoat and Wellington boots. Well, at the end, I was happy I packed both 🙂 The first day in Calgary welcomed us with pleasant 23°C. The next day wasn’t that merciful, it was 4°C, rainy and windy all-day long.

During our stay in the national parks, we had probably two warm days when we could wear a t-shirt with shorts. Otherwise a sweatshirt or a light jacket was necessary. Even on hikes I was glad for wearing more layers. It is said that weather in the mountains is unpredictable, and so it was during our visit in June. It was probably every 10 minutes that I had to take off or take on my sweatshirt, jacket or raincoat on a hike to the Plain of Six Glaciers. If you are seeking for the advice what to pack with you, read my blog post on 8 Tips How to Survive Exploring the Canadian Rockies.

All in all, we were lucky to have more sunny days than those with rain and it was relatively warm during the whole stay (except for that one day in Calgary :)).

Nature and wildlife
Summer rains bring some positives. Everything is so green, flowers are in blossom, air is fresh and clean. Also, by the middle of June, majority of the popular lakes thaw, and water gets its famous turquoise blue or green color. During our visit, only the Lake Agnes was still covered with ice. Wildlife is already active in the Banff and Jasper National Parks. We were extremely lucky to see 8 bears altogether. However, that was it from the real wildlife. We saw some deer by the road, but no moose, no caribou, no elk or wolf. You might get luckier 😉

Daylight is one of the biggest advantages of visiting in June. You have the longest days in the year and that means you can see a lot in one day! Only to see the sunrise you have to wake up way earlier 😛

As for the hiking opportunities, most trails are open to tourists. I recommend you check the closures once you arrive, as they might be closed from various reasons – wildlife, weather conditions etc.

Tourists and prices
The main tourist season starts from end June and lasts until early September. This time is called shoulder season as the Canadian Rockies are crowded with tourists. However, don’t expected that when you come in the middle of June, you will be alone there. The major tourist attractions and places will be crowded, you can bet on it. The crowds are seemingly smaller though, you can get nice views without tourist buses in the way. The earlier or later in the day you go somewhere, the fewer people will be there. If you are planning any of the lake cruises, glacier adventure or riding gondola to the Sulphur Mountain in Banff or Whistler Mountains in Jasper, make sure to book it online in advance. These attractions get sold out as early as June.

If you want to avoid crowds and visit less touristy places, make sure you go to the Jasper National Park. Many tourists get only as far as the Banff National Park and do not continue north. Jasper NP is beautiful the same and you will enjoy the Icefields Parkway, the most scenic drive there can be 🙂

As June is considered the beginning of the main season, prices are already at their higher levels. That doesn’t mean only souvenirs and food. First of all, buy your flight tickets and accommodation in advance. We booked ours nearly half a year prior our trip. There will be high demand for rental cars, so make sure you book one couple months in advance too. You will have wider selection at least 🙂

In 2017, I was visiting the Canadian Rockies in June. In September, I started checking flight tickets for the next year. I knew already that we want to travel at the end of summer this time, however, I wasn’t sure about the exact days. Therefore, I kept checking the prices for flight tickets for the first half of September, second half of September and end September/beginning October. It was only in January 2018 when we bought the flight tickets. We took the best deal from 18th of September to 5th of October. I kept telling my co-travelers that the weather should be nice – warm days, colder mornings and evenings, less rain than in June. Plus, I was hoping to see the first snow in the mountains. How little I knew back then 😀

Weather in September and October
The truth was, that I was completely wrong. The weather was nothing like my expectations, nothing like I googled hundred times. We arrived to 4°C in Calgary. It turned out to be the average temperature for our whole trip. 😊 In the mountains and at the end of our trip, we experienced temperatures below 0°C. On the warmest days when the sun showed up, it was up to 12°C. I was happy I’ve packed my winter jacket and a hat.

It was cold, windy and raining most of the days of our stay in the Banff National Park. It was foggy the first two days in Banff, we couldn’t even see there are mountains all around. On our trips to Moraine Lake, Lake Louise and Lake Agnes, we were experiencing showers now and then. In the Jasper National Park, the weather was better. It was snowing during our hike on the Whistlers Mountain. Otherwise it was mostly sunny. When we returned to Calgary on the 1st of October, snow was falling 2 days in a row. That was my favorite part of the trip. 😊 40cm of beautiful fresh white snow everywhere. Maybe locals were not that happy though.

I hope the weather we had won’t put you off the idea of visiting the Rockies in September. Usually it responds with the expectations I had before the trip, even locals were surprised with the strange weather this fall. I enjoyed it to the fullest though.

Wildlife and nature
Regarding the wildlife, we were unlucky in spotting a bear this time. Not a single one, even though we went on a hike where the trail was surrounded by berries (and it was a berry season!). On the other hand, we saw a lot of elks in Jasper. In was the rutting season, plus we were accommodated in the Pine Bungalows that are famous for elks in the area. There was always traffic jam when we were leaving the chalets areal. For the first time we also spotted a moose! It was giant and amazing!

We were more satisfied with the nature around than the wildlife we didn’t see. 😊 Everything was so colorful! Lakes looked the same as at the beginning of summer, especially Moraine Lake and Lake Agnes. I can’t tell about Lake Louise, as it was foggy, and I could barely see there is a lake.

Tourists and prices
Expect tourists wandering around the Canadian Rockies at the end of September too. It is less of them compared to June, however during weekends it can get pretty crowded. For example, if you plan to visit Moraine Lake, make sure you arrive before 7am. Once the parking lot is full (and trust me it will be after 7:15am!), it will be closed for the rest of the day. At least I have never experienced that they let more cars in, and we were in the area pretty often.

If the weather is nice, plan your visit to Peyto Lake for early morning as well. Not only the parking lot will be full of buses and RVs, you will have to fight for your photo with the lake. There were fewer people at Vermilion Lakes, Banff Gondola, Emerald Lake, Takakkaw Falls, Jasper SkyTram and Pyramid Lakes than during our visit in June. Short walks/hikes around Athabasca Canyon or Sunwapta Falls were pleasant too. It wasn’t crowded, yet you were not alone there.

Comparing prices in June with those in September, I didn’t see many differences there. Flight tickets from Europe, accommodation as well as car rental were similar. The only difference was in prices of souvenirs. In many stores there were end-of-season discounts and sales. At least you can bring more gift to your family and friends 🙂

Do you have a better idea of the differences between visiting the Canadian Rockies in June vs. in September? Not sure? Let me sum it up 😉 Expect warmer weather, more rainy days, higher chances for spotting wildlife and more tourists in June. On the other hand, look forward to meeting less tourists, colder days with more chances of snow fall and better deals for souvenirs in September.

As for me, I’ve enjoyed both visits. However, there is still a visit to the Canadian Rockies during winter months (Christmas probably) on my travel wish list 🙂

Love & happy travels,
RLT

P.S.: If you have any questions, different experience or suggestion, please share it in a comment below.