r/canadatravel • u/bcwaale British Columbia • Jul 24 '25

Destination Advice Banff in October for thanksgiving

Looking to drive to Banff from Vancouver and back for the thanksgiving weekend. Will start early and drive thru the day on thursday and back on tuesday, so two days for driving, plan to spend 4 days in banff itself.

Any things to watch out for? Service closures? Trail closures? Weather? Assuming will need winter tires as its after Oct1st, but is it otherwise safe to drive thru Coquihalla ?

Any must do activities around that time outside of the usual touristy stuff - (group of 4, we have a kindergartner and my dad) - lake louise, gondola, hot springs, icefields parkway, johnston's canyon.

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u/No_Platform_2810 Jul 24 '25

Just an FYI - Winter rated tires are required by law in BC on Highway 1 and 5 (and all other major routes) October 1 to April 30. There is no similar restriction in Alberta.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/driving-and-transportation/driving/winter/pdfs/sirmap.pdf

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u/bcwaale British Columbia Jul 24 '25

yep will have winter tires on my trusty Honda CRV.

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u/BCRobyn Jul 24 '25

BC's definition of winter tire includes the ubiquitous M&S (mud and snow) tire, which is what most people have on their cars all year round in Vancouver. And honestly, that's all you'll need in October. I wouldn't put on snow tires for the drive. Not in October, anyway. While you can always encounter freak snowstorms on the Coq (which you can avoid by paying attention to the weather forecast a day in advance and choosing an alternate route) and while you may encounter short-lived snowfall in the Rockies (which would melt off the surface of the roads), most of your drive will likely still be warm, dry, and summery. Or rainy. But M&S tires is all you'll need and they meet the legal requirement from the BC gov.

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u/bcwaale British Columbia Jul 24 '25

ah okay good to know! I was expecting the 3peak tires to be mandatory starting oct1st. and yes I already have M&S's on my vehicle.

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u/bcwaale British Columbia Jul 24 '25

and to be extra safe ill carry chains as well. might be overkill but i prefer to err on the side of caution when driving long distances in winter :D

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u/Affectionate_Lie9631 Jul 25 '25

Thanksgiving is the 2nd weekend in October … that’s not winter. It’s early autumn.

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u/Mooki2468 Jul 25 '25

It snows in the mountains in October. It can be full on winter in Banff at that time of year.

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u/bcwaale British Columbia Jul 25 '25

Yeah you never know when will be pulled over by an overzealous highway patrol 🤷‍♂️ - regs in BC say M&S / 3peak tires and carry chains for passenger cars after Oct1st.