Canadian Rockies: Lakes, Glaciers and Teahouses

1. Day 1: Calgary to Banff, and the gondola at golden hour

   Calgary airport to Banff, about 145 km and 1.5 hours

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Dinner
   • Stay: Moose Hotel & Suites or similar
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Calgary International Airport (YYC), landing by 1 pm, and your trip leader meets you in the arrivals hall. We drive west on the Trans-Canada Highway, about 145 km and an hour and a half, as the prairie rolls into foothills and then stops at the grey wall of the Front Ranges. Past Canmore we enter Banff National Park, which grew from a small reserve set aside around the Sulphur Mountain hot springs in 1885 to become Canada's first national park. Check in at the Moose Hotel & Suites in downtown Banff, your base for two nights, and take some time to settle in. Late in the day, when the light turns warm and the crowds have thinned, we ride the Banff Gondola up Sulphur Mountain. A boardwalk along the summit ridge leads to a stone weather observatory built in 1903, with the town, the Bow River and Mount Rundle spread out below. Then the group sits down together for a welcome dinner in town.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Calgary International Airport (YYC)
   • Banff Gondola up Sulphur Mountain at golden hour
   • Welcome dinner

   

2. Day 2: Johnston Canyon and a free afternoon in Banff

   Banff to Johnston Canyon and back, about 30 minutes each way

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay: Moose Hotel & Suites or similar
   Day 2 details

   After breakfast we drive about 30 minutes west up the Bow Valley to Johnston Canyon, early enough to beat the busiest hours. A paved path and steel catwalks fixed to the limestone walls climb gently about 1.1 km up the narrow canyon, with the creek racing below, to the Lower Falls, where a short tunnel through the rock brings you right up to the spray. It is an easy walk of about an hour there and back, and anyone keen can carry on another 1.5 km or so to the taller Upper Falls. Back in Banff, a one-hour trail ride with Banff Trail Riders is included for anyone who would like to see the valley from the saddle. The afternoon is yours: soak in the Banff Upper Hot Springs, follow the Bow River path to Bow Falls, visit the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies or wander Banff Avenue. Dinner is on your own tonight, and your leader will happily suggest places.

   Included

   • Guided walk to the Lower Falls of Johnston Canyon
   • One-hour trail ride with Banff Trail Riders, if you would like to ride

   Optional experiences

   • Banff Upper Hot Springs

   Easier option: Turn back at the Lower Falls, about 2.2 km there and back on a gentle path.

   More active option: Continue to the Upper Falls, about 5 km there and back from the car park.

   Free time: Afternoon free in Banff

   

3. Day 3: Moraine Lake at first light and a canoe on Lake Louise

   Banff to Lake Louise, about 60 km and 45 minutes

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay: Lake Louise Inn or similar
   Day 3 details

   An early start, and worth it. Private cars are not allowed on the road to Moraine Lake, so we leave Banff at about 4 am, drive 45 minutes to the Lake Louise lakeshore and board the 5 am Parks Canada Alpine Start shuttle. You reach Moraine Lake as first light catches the Valley of the Ten Peaks, before the day visitors arrive, and a short climb up the Rockpile gives the famous view along the water. Breakfast comes with us, and a warm layer is essential: dawn at nearly 1,900 metres is cold even in July. The Lake Connector shuttle brings us back to Lake Louise, where we paddle out together on a guided canoe outing below the Victoria Glacier, weather permitting. Then choose your pace: hike up to the Lake Agnes Teahouse for tea and soup beside a hanging lake, or stroll the flat shoreline path. Lunch and dinner are included, and tonight we sleep at the Lake Louise Inn in the village, a short walk from the shops.

   Included

   • Parks Canada Alpine Start shuttle to Moraine Lake for sunrise
   • Lake Connector shuttle to Lake Louise
   • Guided group canoe on Lake Louise, weather permitting

   Easier option: Stroll the flat Lake Louise shoreline path, up to about 2 km each way, and stop wherever you like.

   More active option: Hike to the Lake Agnes Teahouse: about 7 km there and back with about 400 m of climbing, 2.5 to 3 hours with time for tea. Bring some cash, as card payment there is not reliable.

   Activity: Very early start: we leave Banff at about 4 am for the 5 am shuttle.

   

4. Day 4: The Icefields Parkway to Jasper

   Lake Louise to Jasper on the Icefields Parkway, 233 km, about 3 hours plus stops

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay: Chateau Jasper or similar
   Day 4 details

   Today is the drive many visitors come to the Rockies for: 233 km of the Icefields Parkway, about three hours at the wheel, spread across the whole day. The road climbs past Bow Lake, where the Crowfoot Glacier hangs above the water, to Bow Summit, the highest point on the parkway. From there a short paved path leads to the viewpoint over Peyto Lake, whose glacial blue water fills a valley shaped, people say, like a wolf's head. Lunch is included along the way. At the Columbia Icefield we join the Columbia Icefield Adventure: an Ice Explorer, a giant all-terrain bus, crawls down a steep moraine onto the Athabasca Glacier, and you step out to walk on ice that has flowed down from the icefield above. Next comes the Glacier Skywalk, a glass-floored walkway curving out over the Sunwapta Valley. Our last stop is Athabasca Falls, where the river thunders through a narrow gorge, before Jasper, Chateau Jasper and dinner together.

   Included

   • Stops at Bow Lake and the Peyto Lake viewpoint
   • Columbia Icefield Adventure: Ice Explorer onto the Athabasca Glacier and the Glacier Skywalk
   • Athabasca Falls

   Activity: The drive time excludes stops; it is a full day on the road with plenty of breaks.

   

5. Day 5: Maligne Lake and Spirit Island

   Jasper to Maligne Lake and back, about 48 km and 1 hour each way

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay: Chateau Jasper or similar
   Day 5 details

   After breakfast we drive the Maligne Road into the valley east of Jasper, where elk often graze beside the road. We pause at Medicine Lake, which has no surface outlet: it drains through sinkholes in its bed into one of the largest underground river systems known in North America, and by late summer it can shrink to mudflats and winding channels. At Maligne Lake, the largest natural lake in the Canadian Rockies, we board the cruise to Spirit Island, a small tree-covered island that is a sacred place for the Stoney Nakoda and one of the most photographed views in Canada. Back on shore, the easy Mary Schäffer Loop follows the lake past signs telling how Schäffer reached it in 1908 with a map drawn for her by Samson Beaver, a Stoney Nakoda hunter. The afternoon is free in Jasper: walk the town, ride the SkyTram up Whistlers Mountain, or rest. In the evening we gather for a farewell dinner.

   Included

   • Medicine Lake viewpoint
   • Maligne Lake cruise to Spirit Island
   • Walk on the Mary Schäffer Loop at Maligne Lake

   Optional experiences

   • Jasper SkyTram up Whistlers Mountain

   Free time: Afternoon free in Jasper

   

6. Day 6: Jasper to Edmonton airport

   Jasper to Edmonton International Airport, 389 km, about 4 hours

   • Drive about 4 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 6 details

   A last breakfast in Jasper, then we head east on the Yellowhead Highway. The road follows the Athabasca River out of the mountains, past lakes and gravel flats where bighorn sheep and elk are sometimes seen near the highway, and leaves the park at its east gate. The Front Ranges fall away behind us as we pass Hinton and Edson and roll on through the forest and farmland of central Alberta. The drive is 389 km, just under four hours, with a stop to stretch and for lunch on your own. Finishing in Edmonton means we never drive the Icefields Parkway a second time, and it is about an hour shorter than the 412 km run back to Calgary. We aim to reach Edmonton International Airport (YEG) in the early afternoon, so please book a flight that leaves after 3 pm. If you would like more time in the Rockies or in Edmonton, ask us and we can help arrange extra nights before you fly home.

   Included

   • Drop-off at Edmonton International Airport (YEG)

   

Wildlife and weather: Summer days in the valleys are often 20 to 25°C, but mornings are cool and it can be near freezing at Moraine Lake at dawn and on the Athabasca Glacier, so pack layers and a rain jacket for afternoon showers. Smoke from distant wildfires can haze the views on some days in July and August. Elk are likely around Jasper; black bears, grizzly bears and bighorn sheep are possible but never guaranteed.

• 2 nights · Days 1 and 2

  Moose Hotel & Suitesor similar

  Banff · Hotel

  Downtown Banff

• 1 night · Day 3

  Lake Louise Innor similar

  Lake Louise · Hotel

  In Lake Louise village, a walk from the shops

• 2 nights · Days 4 and 5

  Chateau Jasperor similar

  Jasper · Hotel

  A walk from the centre of Jasper