Two weeks is the version of a Canmore holiday I would choose if time allowed. It gives you room to get past arrival and start enjoying the base itself. During our longer stay, that was when the place became more than a convenient starting point for the mountains.
I would still make some bookings early. The lake transport taught us that lesson. But I would avoid committing all fourteen days to activities before arriving. This proposed itinerary leaves space between the larger outings and has alternatives for autumn. It is designed around staying in Canmore with a car, not moving hotels every few nights.
Days 1–3: Make Canmore familiar
Day 1: Arrive, settle in and buy food. Keep the evening simple. If there is time for a short walk, take it without turning it into the first item on a long list.
Day 2: Spend the morning around town and choose a gentle waterside walk appropriate to the conditions. Have a coffee, look around and get a feel for where you are staying. Blondies would be my latte stop.
Day 3: Consider a local outdoor outing. Quarry Lake or Grassi Lakes may be possibilities, subject to current access and conditions. Check the specific trail and parking requirements. If the weather is poor, stay in town and save the walk for another day. Having eleven days left makes that much easier.
Days 4–6: Banff, then a break before the lakes
Day 4: Make Banff town and Bow Falls the main plan. You could consider a further accessible stop if the day is going well. Leave enough time to eat and enjoy being there instead of treating every viewpoint as a brief photograph stop.
Day 5: Stay around Canmore. This is the day for an unhurried morning and whatever practical tasks a family trip brings. If you want a meal out, plan it here rather than after the longest drive of the week. The pub guide includes options to investigate.
Day 6: Give Lake Louise its own day. Work out the transport and food before leaving. In the operating season, authorised transport may let you combine the lakes appropriately. In later autumn, the plan changes significantly. Moraine Lake is not an ordinary private-car stop.
In 2026 the Parks Canada lake shuttle season ended on 12 October and the resort summer lift on 11 October. Check the season you are booking rather than assuming the summer plan will work. Our lake guide is a starting point, with official links for the final checks.
Days 7–9: Leave room for a different direction
Day 7: Keep it local after the lake day. A second visit to a place you liked can be more enjoyable than another new destination. We found that staying longer took away some of the pressure to keep moving.
Day 8: Choose an accessible part of Kananaskis after checking conditions. Barrier Lake and the wider area offer possibilities to research, but choose the actual stop before setting out. A destination on a map can involve a very different outing depending on the road and walking route. Check the provincial pass requirements for where you will park.
Day 9: Keep a spare day. Move an earlier outing here if the weather required it. Otherwise, use it for Canmore itself. I would not regard this as a wasted day. It is part of why two weeks can feel like a break instead of an extended checklist.
Days 10–12: One longer day, with space around it
Day 10: Consider Yoho and Emerald Lake if conditions and your family's appetite for a longer drive suit. Check road access and Parks Canada advice first. This is an option we would research for the plan, rather than a claim that we followed it on a particular day. If the journey does not appeal, return to Banff or stay closer to the base.
Day 11: Have a quiet day. By this point, you will know which local places you want to return to. Let that decide the morning. The advantage of a longer stay is being able to follow your own preferences once you have actually arrived.
Day 12: Calgary is a possible change of pace, particularly if you want an indoor city day. Check the opening times and admission for the attraction you choose. I would not combine it with a mountain outing in the opposite direction. If the city is not what you came for, keep another Canmore day instead.
Days 13–14: Finish with what worked
Day 13: Choose the outing you most want to repeat, or the one you moved earlier because of weather. Avoid saving the single most important booking for this day if a cancellation would leave no alternative. It is useful to have a flexible final full day.
Day 14: Pack and leave time for the onward journey. A final coffee is a nice extra when the schedule allows it. It should not become another obligation to complete before heading home or moving on.
Where we would spend the money
A two-week stay makes it worth comparing passes carefully. As checked on 15 October 2026, Banff family/group daily admission was C$24.50 and a family/group Discovery Pass was C$167.50. Seven paid daily admissions would cost C$171.50. Count the days you actually intend to enter national parks and check the pass coverage; Canmore days do not automatically need Banff admission.
The separate Kananaskis vehicle pass was C$15 a day or C$90 annually. Six day passes equal the annual price. It only makes sense to compare those against applicable visits, not every day you have accommodation in town. The annual pass has registration rules, so read them before buying.
For food, useful cooking facilities would matter to us over two weeks. That leaves more choice over when eating out feels worthwhile. At Lake Louise, our sandwiches and coffee at the Fairmont cost about C$60. That is an actual remembered lunch, not a required daily food budget. Accommodation prices vary too much by dates and property for me to give one honest universal total.
Day trips have limits
We stayed in Fernie for three nights in a large RV. I would treat it as a separate extension rather than squeeze it into this base itinerary. Having fourteen days does not make every distant place a sensible day trip, particularly with a child.
Johnston Canyon is also not a guaranteed activity here. Parks Canada issued a closure on 13 October 2026. Check whether it has reopened before considering it. Higher trails and seasonal attractions need their own checks as autumn progresses. Two weeks gives you flexibility; use it rather than forcing an outing because it was on the original plan.
Before leaving each day, check Parks Canada, Alberta Parks and the road conditions for your route. Then leave enough space to enjoy the day you have chosen.
