Banff & Jasper itinerary check and advice

Waterton absolutely deserves more time, at least two nights. You could easily steal a night or two from Canmore/Banff.

Driving between Canmore & Lake Louise isn't bad at all. It's a twinned highway and generally flows well.

Whether it's worth spending a full day in Calgary is debatable. Depends on your interests. It's a great city to live, but limited on the touristy side. You could always spend part of that day driving out to see the badlands around Drumheller for something completely different from the rest of your trip.

Thanks a lot. Maybe I could add a night in Waterton stealing one from Calgary.... or as you suggested, simply shift Canmore ahead one day.
So, generally speaking, would you say Waterton is worth the effort, or better to stick with Banff Jasper?

Thanks, have a good day

I generally prefer Waterton over Banff/Jasper. Fewer crowds, very compact, more wildlife, and still very scenic with many great hikes. I'd even further suggest stealing another day from Canmore/Banff, and using that to drive down to Glacier National Park & doing the Going to the Sun Road as a day trip from Waterton.

As you currently have 7 nights in Banff/Canmore and 2 in Lake Louise, you can certainly afford to take away 2 of those nights so that you can spend more time around Waterton and give a better overall balance.

Hi, thanks, I need to check regarding the possibility to travel to US with my car rented in Canada.
Today I spent some time on planning and ended with this:

2 nights (1 full day) Calgary
2 nights Waterton
4 nights Canmore
2 nights Lake Louise
3 nights Jasper
1 night (last one) in Banff on the way back to Calgary.

I could still steal one night from Canmore, need to check with the rental company. Where would you suggest sleeping close to Waterton, if I also do the US part?
Thank you

That itinerary looks good. When you drive from Waterton to Canmore, be sure to take off on Hwy 40 at Longview. Takes a bit longer, but way more scenic.

Waterton townsite is the nicest spot to stay. Failing that, then Pincher Creek. Could also do Cardston, but it's not a nice town.

I took a rental vehicle over that border crossing just last week. I've done it a number of times over the years with cars from Avis, as I know they have no problem with it.

Hi, thanks again for your reply, I didn't see the notification email until now.
So, I confirm the best option as of today is at Pincher Creek

Regarding cross border, my rental company is Budget and they charge 15 USD per rental day, regardless of the fact that I would be crossing the border once!
If I decide to move forward and cross border anyway, would the two nights in Pincher Creek suffice?

With just two nights, stay in Canada and focus on Waterton.

+1 to tch7

In regards to Waterton, you may want to keep an eye on smoke forecasts for the area. I drove back up through that area on Wednesday and there was smoke/smoke smell on the east edge of Glacier NP up to the border. Smoke or at least very red sunsets in Missoula and up in Banff area. With the continuing and new fires around, some areas could see smoke which might be an issue for your photography.

Hi ,thank you for the head up regarding the smoke, I will check the situation.
Regards