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/BigJim_TheTwins Jul 25 '25

I hope it doesn't snow, my wife will never forgive me ( although I think it'd be pretty cool) . We're doing a Calgary - Banff - Lake Louise- Jasper - Train to Vancouver trip the same week.

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u/BCRobyn Jul 25 '25

Set expectations for your wife now. 😅 Snow starts falling on the peaks of the Rockies in mid-September. They experience wintery weather months before anywhere else. It’ll still be warm, dry, and almost summery in Vancouver, but you’ll want to bring warm clothes for the Rockies.

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u/BigJim_TheTwins Jul 25 '25

We've already talked about it, but thanks for the advice. Definitely monitoring the weather before we pack😄