BudgetTravel

Where to stay: There are roughly 30 inns, including the pleasant Rocky Mountain B&B right in town (from $72, 403/762-4811, rockymtbb.com/). The Banff and Lake Louise youth hostels, made of stone and timber, have been rated in the world's top 10, and they have family rooms (doubles from $55 in Banff, from $65 in Lake Louise, hihostels.ca/, 866/762-4122).

Don't miss: The free guided hikes offered by the Friends of Banff Park (friendsofbanff.com/); the 50,000-plant Cascade Gardens, also free, at the foot of Banff Avenue; or the historic Banff Upper Hot Springs, located on Sulphur Mountain--it's a pool with a fabulous setting surrounded by pines and peaks ($5).

Fascinating fact: The Trans-Canada Highway between Banff and Lake Louise zips beneath a pair of million-dollar overpasses that were constructed so that animals could cross the highway safely.

You need to know: There are lots of additional lodgings by Banff's eastern gate in Canmore's strip of hotels and motels. What they lack in charm, they make up for in convenience. Try the Quality Resort Chateau Canmore (suites from $82, 403/678-6699, chateaucanmore.com/).

Planning: 403/762-1550; Banff/Lake Louise Tourism Bureau, 403/762-8421, banfflakelouise.com/.

Jasper National Park, Alberta

Raging rivers, crashing waterfalls, and one of the world's most accessible glaciers are just three reasons why people drive the 142-mile Icefields Parkway, which winds from Lake Louise to Jasper. Once they arrive, they bike wooded trails, raft on waters that were glacier ice hours earlier, and soak in Miette Hotsprings, the hottest mineral pool in the Rockies. What makes the park particularly appealing, though, is that it's so darn easy to stumble across wildlife.

When to go: Mid-June to Sept 1. Ski mid-December through spring.

Photo op: Fifty-mile visibility from the Jasper Tramway ($21), just across the river from town.

Wildlife: The 29-mile drive to Maligne Lake; you might just catch glimpses of bears, moose, and deer on a single outing. In town, don't be surprised to see elk peeking from between train cars.

Where to stay: The central, recently re-furbished Athabasca Hotel has enough mounted critters in the lobby to fill its own museum (from $75, 877/542-8422, athabascahotel.com/).

Don't miss: Larger than the city of Vancouver, Athabasca Glacier sends melted snow and ice to three oceans--the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific--as well as to powerful Athabasca Falls. The glacier and the falls can easily be seen by car from the dramatic Icefields Parkway.