Jasper

Jasper needs 3 days: the Athabasca Glacier, reached by a special tracked vehicle that drives right onto the ice, on one, Maligne Canyon and Maligne Lake with its iconic Spirit Island on another, and the Jasper SkyTram, Canada's highest cable car, on the third. June-September is the best time to drive the Icefields Parkway connecting it to Banff. It's cheaper than Banff, with less crowding despite being in the same mountain park system. As a designated dark sky reserve -one of the largest in the world-, it's one of the best places in North America to watch the northern lights and the Milky Way without light pollution.