The Rockies' summertime tendency to feel like a gigantic tour bus parking lot can undermine anyone's ability to commune with Canada's greatest outdoor wonderland. But there are ways to bypass the masses – if you know where to go.

"There's something special about Horseshoe Lake in Jasper," says Banff travel writer and Rockies' expert Andrew Hempstead (thecanadianrockies.com). "You'll be sharing it with local swimmers and cliff divers but there's room for everyone – and it's easy to find picnic spots with sweeping lake views."

It's not his only recommendation: "Waterton Lakes National Park doesn't get as much attention as Banff and Jasper, but it's laced with trails and has all the activities and amenities of its northern neighbours."

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You can also eschew the queues with lesser-known things-to-do. Hempstead suggests guided hikes to the Burgess Shale fossil beds in Yoho National Park or renting canoes or stand-up paddleboards from the Banff Canoe Club.

Or you could take some lesser-jammed driving routes. "Escape the crowded Icefields Parkways by detouring east along Highway 11 at Saskatchewan River Crossing. It skirts turquoise Abraham Lake and passes through prime wildlife viewing in the Kootenay Plains. The almost-a-ghost-town of Nordegg is a good turnaround point."

Other routes abound.

"The short, yet scenic, Yoho Valley Road branches off the Trans-Canada Highway in Yoho National Park. Climbing to the turbulent confluence of the Yoho and Kicking Horse rivers, it has rare roadside marmot-viewing areas and ends at the spectacular Takakkaw Falls."

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Since there's more than marmots to Rockies' wildlife-watching, though, local photographer Christopher Martin (christophermartinphotography.com) also has the inside track on critter-ogling hot spots.

"Kananaskis Country draws fewer visitors but its Highwood Pass along Highway 40 has great wildlife-viewing – including elk, deer and bighorn sheep. Coyotes and even wolves can be encountered here plus black bears and grizzlies," he says, adding that the Spray Lakes corridor near Canmore – a great mountain town alternative to Banff or Jasper – also rewards wildlife-watchers.

But what about perfect landscape photos without selfie-sticking tourists ruining every frame? "Wedge Pond [in Kananaskis] is a beautiful pot lake that reflects the sunrise and can paint the face of Mount Kidd with swirling mist. Upper Kananaskis Lake in the Peter Lougheed Provincial Park also has beautiful elements to work with from rivers to gnarled trees and massive peaks."

Solitude can also be hard for hikers to find here during summer's peak, says Brian Patton, co-author of the bestselling Canadian Rockies Trail Guide. "You wouldn't believe the places I've encountered columns of weary tour bus passengers in the backcountry."

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Some spots are less afflicted, though. "Try Waterton Lakes National Park during the week for some of the Rockies' best full-day hikes and some excellent shorter trails. Look for the incredible wildflowers that move into the high country as the summer progresses – including some not found anywhere else in the region."

Accommodation-wise, I love Rockies' retreats such as Emerald Lake Lodge, but Patton's campground faves draw you even closer to nature's dew-glistened embrace. "It can be busy but I love Robson Meadows Campground," he says, adding Kootenay National Park's McLeod Meadows and Marble Canyon plus the north end of Banff National Park for Waterfowl Lakes and Rampart Creek to his camping recommendations.

Wherever you go in the Rockies, though, timing can make all the difference in sidestepping the madding crowds. For Martin, 5:30 a.m. can produce amazing, people-free photos – "even in busy locations like Moraine Lake or Lake Louise, I usually find only a handful of people at that time," he says.

Hempstead agrees. "It's worth rising early to enjoy the Rockies crowd-free. The first flush of sunlight on Victoria Glacier above Lake Louise, watching feeding wildlife without tourists around and being the first to reach the Cavell Meadows' wildflowers are memorable experiences not possible later in the day."

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