Help me pick a beautiful 2 night hike near Calgary (Banff, Jasper)

Jasper a lot less touristy

I did Skyline Trail a long time ago but don't remember any details

The Skyline is great, apart form the last 8KM downhill slog. However, you need to pre-book campsites which may be tough now that the season has started.

My favorite out of the group you have mentioned is trekking from Banff (Sunshine Ski Hill) to Mt. Assiniboine and to Canmore. It would be about 70KM (?) with more than half of that above treeline. Lots of grizzly.

This link describes a 'loop' which starts and ends in Canmore (55KM) but I would start at Sunshine first.

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/banff/activ/randonee-backpacking/cc.aspx

This describes the trek from Sunshine to Assiniboine (you would just trek on to Canmore once you hit the mountain).

http://besthike.com/n-america/rockies/sunshine-to-assiniboine/

Another option would be the Brazeau Loop in Jasper. I did that one last year and had a great time: http://www.trailpeak.com/trail-Brazeau-Loop-near-Rocky-Mountain-House-AB-6546

All of these (assuming you hike the Assiniboine modification above) are similar in distance and can be done in 3 days, two nights if you are pushing a bit.

There area a number of other options you may want to look at. Unfortunately one of your options listed (Skyline Trail In Jasper) is off limits due to a wildfire. In addition , it is about a five hour drive from Calgary.

The other Jasper option listed (Brazeau Loop) is also closed due to a problem bear.

In the area around Lake Louise you could also look at Skoki. Many backpackers and day hikers but with many options to do scrambles from a base camp.

If you are interested in solitude I would suggest a number of options in the provincial lands on the east boundary of Jasper and Banff National Parks. These can be accessed by Highway 93 or Highway 11. Highway 93 is the road running between Lake Louise and Jasper. Provincial Highway 11 more or less intersects Highway 93 about 50 miles north of Lake Louise coming from the east.

If you are looking for a hike with a mixture of trail and off trail travel you may want to look at the route starting from Owen Creek and exiting via the Sunset Pass trail in Banff National Park. Wild country and very few people is the draw to this area. The trail starts and ends in Banff park but the remainder is on Provincial Land. No reservations required and random camping allowed ,unlike many of the areas in the National Parks. It can easily be done in a two night trip. It is approximately 30 miles.

There is detailed information about this route in a book entitled Hiking Canada's Great Divide Trail by Dustin Lynx. It is described in Section 24 of the book.

More information about this trip at link: http://forums.clubtread.com/34-alberta/34794-gdt-owen-creek-sunset-pass.html.

The biggest issue with this route is you will finish about 15 miles from your car. A bike or second vehicle would definitely be helpful. You would start at Owen Creek trailhead , approximately 4 miles east of Highway 93 off Highway 11. You would finish on Highway 93 about 11 miles north of the intersection with Highway 11. I did this hike last weekend and was fortunate enough to be picked up (within 15 minutes) while walking Sb on Highway 93 by a kind soul who drove me back to my car.

"The other Jasper option listed (Brazeau Loop) is also closed due to a problem bear."

This is factually incorrect. The Brazeau Loop IS open but the park asks you to be aware that there is a bear in the area. The loop isn't closed.

The Sunset Pass trail is pretty boring with little in high altitude, above treeline scenery.

Dave. At the time of my post it was closed. It has changed since last night. So, at the time of posting it was not "factually incorrect". It was listed as such on the Jasper National Park Trail Report site. See the Jasper Trail Alliance Site for details.

The area in upper Owen Creek including three high Alpine passes is second to none as far as scenery. The return through Sunset Pass is nothing more than an exit point to Highway 93. I have hiked the Brazeau loop and numerous other off trail options in and around the Brazeau loop. Jonas , Nigel and Poboktan passes are outstanding , but no more so than the area surrounding Michele Lakes. IMO the middle portion of the Brazeau loop involves a lot of valley bottom walking with limited views.