I'm trying to plan a 12-14 day trip from Glacier NP (US) and up through the Canadian Rockies in mid-July. Right now I'm thinking we would fly in/out of Calgary.

Parameters:

• Family of five with kids ages 15, 13, 10.
• Looking for hiking and outdoor activities primarily.
• Don't think we'll do any camping as it would be a pain in the ass to bring all the gear up there for that many people but would be interested in remote cabins and such.
• I know we wont be able to see it all but would like to hop from place to place every 2 nights or so.
• Prefer AirBnb over hotel but not against hotel stays.
• Also looking for towns that would have decent evening dining options.

Looking forward to any suggestions y'all may have!

Edit to change the parameters of our trip.

Banff and Jasper are the bigger names, but don't sleep on Yoho. In fact, if you're into hiking and your group is able to secure a spot, I would wager that a day doing Lake O'Hara would be the highlight of your trip.

Otherwise I would definitely get out on one or more lakes in canoes. Emerald and Moraine are both great ones.

All these are between Banff and Field (Hwy 1) and work well for your description

Storm Mountain lodge
Baker Creek Mountain resort
Emerald Lake Lodge
Cathedral Mountain Lodge

Lake O'hara would be great but is usually fully booked a year in advance. Tons and tons of great hiking trails, canoeing, etc at each location. Baker Creek is probably the best place to hang out for a few days with 2 families. Close to Lake Louise, Moraine Lake and a 45 min drive to Banff.

Banff springs hotel or the fairmont…

Bumping this as our parameters changed.

I'm thinking we will:

Day 1: Fly into Calgary --> drive part of the way to Many Glacier Lodge (flight comes in early evening in Calgary)
Day 2 & 3: Many Glacier Lodge
Day 4 & 5: Many Glacier --> Lake McDonald
Day 6-8: Lake McDonald --> somewhere near Lake O'hara (would love to stay at the Lodge but it is probably booked. I will find out on Monday when their office reopens.)
Day 8-9: Somewhere near Jasper
Day 10-12: Somewhere near Lake Louise
Day 13-14: Back to Calgary

Questions:

Is there anything interesting to see/do in the giant valley that 95 runs north through Columbia Lake, Invermere, Fairmont Hot Springs etc? I mean, I am sure there are some good things but worth a sacrifice in another location? Anything west of there?

Is Lake Louise really worth it? It sounds super crowded in the summer. It obviously looks fantastic but so do many other places in the region.

Thanks for the tips already listed above. Looking forward to this!