Okanagan Wine Country and the Canadian Rockies: Vancouver to Banff

1. Day 1: Arrive in Vancouver

   Vancouver International Airport to your hotel in downtown Vancouver

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Vancouver
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and a driver meets you in the arrivals hall for the drive into the city, about 14 km and half an hour, to your central hotel. The group meets in the early evening, so landing by mid-afternoon leaves time to settle in. If you arrive early, walk the seawall around Coal Harbour, where floatplanes take off and land below the North Shore mountains, or wander the brick streets of Gastown, the oldest part of the city; if you want a full day in Vancouver, we can book an extra night before the trip. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide gathers the group for a short briefing on the eight days ahead: how the drives are paced, how the winery days work, what to pack for hot Okanagan afternoons and cold mountain mornings, and how the easy and active options work. Then we walk to a restaurant nearby for a welcome dinner together.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner

   Optional experiences

   • Extra night in Vancouver before the trip

   Free time: Free until the early-evening briefing

   Activity: Plan to land by about 3 pm; the exact meeting time comes with your final itinerary.

2. Day 2: Over the Coquihalla to the Okanagan

   Vancouver to Hope and the Coquihalla Highway, then the Okanagan Connector to West Kelowna and Kelowna

   • Drive about 4 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Kelowna
   Day 2 details

   We leave at 8 am and drive east up the Fraser Valley, past farmland and the first big mountains, to Hope for a coffee stop where the Fraser River turns north through its canyon. From Hope the Coquihalla Highway climbs steadily to its summit at about 1,240 metres, and we stop for a stretch among the granite peaks before the Okanagan Connector carries us over the plateau and down to the lake. It is about 380 km and four hours of driving, the longest of the trip, broken into stretches of under two hours; with the stops, the day runs about six hours door to door. We arrive in West Kelowna at about 2 pm for a late sit-down lunch at a winery estate on the Westside Wine Trail, with the vines running down towards Okanagan Lake, followed by a guided tasting there and at a second estate nearby. Then we cross the lake bridge into Kelowna, about 15 minutes away, and check in for two nights near the waterfront. The evening is free.

   Included

   • Stops in Hope and at the Coquihalla summit
   • Sit-down lunch at a winery estate on the Westside Wine Trail
   • Tastings at two West Kelowna wineries

   Free time: Evening free in Kelowna

   Activity: About 4 hours of driving, with stops at Hope and the summit; no stretch longer than about 2 hours. Tastings are small pours, and soft drinks are there for non-drinkers.

3. Day 3: A morning on Okanagan Lake and the Lakeshore Wine Route

   Kelowna waterfront by boat on Okanagan Lake, then the Lakeshore Road wineries south of the city

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Kelowna
   Day 3 details

   The morning belongs to the lake. We walk down to the Kelowna waterfront and board a chartered boat with a local skipper for about two hours on Okanagan Lake, a long, deep lake filling a valley between dry hills of pine and sagebrush. The morning light is soft, the water is calm before the afternoon wind, and the skipper points out the benchland vineyards, the old orchards and the bays where, legend says, the lake creature Ogopogo lives. In summer there is often time to swim from the boat. Back on shore, we drive about 15 minutes south to the Lakeshore Wine Route in the Mission district, where estates sit on the slopes above the water. Lunch is a sit-down meal at one of them, with a guided tasting there and at a second estate. We are back in town by about 3:30 pm; the rest of the day is yours for the beach in City Park, the waterfront boardwalk or a nap before dinner on your own.

   Included

   • Skippered morning on Okanagan Lake, about 2 hours
   • Sit-down lunch at a winery estate on the Lakeshore Wine Route
   • Tastings at two Lakeshore Road wineries

   Optional experiences

   • Paddleboard or kayak hire on the lake
   • Wine shipping home from the estates

   Easier option: Stay aboard for the whole boat trip and skip the swim; at the estates, sit out a tasting on the terrace.

   More active option: Before breakfast, walk up Knox Mountain with your guide for the view over the lake and the city, about 4 km return and 250 m of climbing.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Kelowna

   Activity: Bring a hat, sunscreen and swimwear; the lake is warmest from mid-July to late August.

4. Day 4: Kalamalka Lake and Mount Revelstoke

   Kelowna to Vernon and Kalamalka Lake, then Sicamous and Revelstoke, then up the Meadows in the Sky Parkway

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Revelstoke
   Day 4 details

   We leave Kelowna at about 8:30 am and drive north through the orchards to Vernon, stopping at a viewpoint above Kalamalka Lake, whose water turns green and blue in summer from the minerals in it. From there the road runs up the Shuswap valley through Enderby to Sicamous, then east on the Trans-Canada Highway into the Monashee Mountains: about 200 km and two and a half hours in all. We arrive in Revelstoke, an old railway town on the Columbia River, in time for lunch on your own downtown. In the early afternoon we drive the Meadows in the Sky Parkway, 26 km of switchbacks up Mount Revelstoke to Balsam Lake, where, once the snow has gone (usually from late July), a shuttle runs the last stretch to the summit area at about 1,900 metres. In late July and August the alpine meadows there are full of wildflowers, with glaciers on the Selkirk peaks across the valley. We are back in town by about 5 pm, and the evening is free.

   Included

   • Kalamalka Lake viewpoint
   • Meadows in the Sky Parkway in Mount Revelstoke National Park, with the summit shuttle when it runs (usually from late July)
   • Mount Revelstoke National Park admission

   Optional experiences

   • Revelstoke Railway Museum

   Easier option: Stay on the short summit loops, such as the Firetower trail, about 1 km on gravel; before the summit opens, the short walks at the parkway viewpoints.

   More active option: Walk with your guide towards Eva Lake, on a rocky alpine trail; go as far as time allows, about 12 km return for the full lake.

   Free time: Evening free in Revelstoke

   Activity: The summit shuttle runs only when the summit is snow-free, usually from late July. On June and early July departures we drive as high as Parks Canada has the parkway open, to the Balsam Lake viewpoints when possible, and walk at the lower parkway stops instead. Lunch today is on your own.

5. Day 5: Rogers Pass and Emerald Lake to Lake Louise

   Revelstoke to the Giant Cedars and Rogers Pass, then Golden, Field and Emerald Lake, then Lake Louise

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Lake Louise
   Day 5 details

   We head east into the Selkirk Mountains, and the first stop, about 30 km out of town, is the Giant Cedars Boardwalk, a short loop through old western red cedars, some of them several hundred years old, in one of the few inland rainforests on earth. Then we climb to Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park, where the railway and the highway fought heavy snow and avalanches; the visitor centre tells that story, and glaciers hang on the peaks above. Clocks go forward an hour as we leave the park. Lunch is a sit-down stop in Golden, where the Kicking Horse River meets the Columbia. In the afternoon we follow the Kicking Horse up into Yoho National Park, past Chancellor Peak, to Field and the short side road to Emerald Lake, a green lake ringed by forest and the President Range. Walk the shore, or the full loop. From there it is half an hour over Kicking Horse Pass to Lake Louise: about 255 km and three and a quarter hours of driving in the day.

   Included

   • Giant Cedars Boardwalk in Mount Revelstoke National Park
   • Rogers Pass and its visitor centre in Glacier National Park
   • Sit-down lunch in Golden
   • Emerald Lake and the Natural Bridge in Yoho National Park
   • Glacier, Yoho and Banff national park admission

   Optional experiences

   • Canoe hire on Emerald Lake

   Easier option: Walk the first stretch of the Emerald Lake shore path and back, about 2 km on a flat path.

   More active option: Walk the full Emerald Lake loop with your guide, about 5 km on a mostly level trail.

   Free time: Evening free in Lake Louise

   Activity: Clocks move forward one hour east of Glacier National Park. If a boardwalk is closed for repairs, we use the next open trail on the same road.

6. Day 6: Moraine Lake at first light and Lake Louise

   Lake Louise village to Moraine Lake and Lake Louise by Parks Canada shuttle, then back to the village

   • Drive about 15 min
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Lake Louise
   Day 6 details

   An early start, and worth it. Private cars cannot drive the road to Moraine Lake, so we leave the hotel before dawn for the Lake Louise lakeshore and board a Parks Canada Alpine Start shuttle; Parks Canada releases the exact slots in spring and our team confirms yours. We reach Moraine Lake as first light reaches the Valley of the Ten Peaks, before the day crowds, and climb the short Rockpile trail for the view down the water. A packed breakfast comes with us, and a warm layer is essential: dawn at about 1,885 metres is cold even in July. The Lake Connector shuttle brings us to Lake Louise by mid-morning, below the Victoria Glacier. Now choose your pace: the flat lakeshore path, or the climb with your guide to the Lake Agnes Teahouse for tea beside a small lake below Mount Whyte. We are back at the hotel by early afternoon, and the rest of the day is free to rest after the early start.

   Included

   • Parks Canada Alpine Start shuttle to Moraine Lake for sunrise
   • Lake Connector shuttle to Lake Louise
   • The Lake Louise lakeshore with your guide

   Optional experiences

   • Canoe hire on Lake Louise
   • Tea and food at the Lake Agnes Teahouse (paid there)

   Easier option: Walk the flat lakeshore path to the far end of Lake Louise and back, about 4 km.

   More active option: Hike to the Lake Agnes Teahouse with your guide, about 7 km return with about 400 m of climbing.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free in Lake Louise

   Activity: The only pre-dawn start of the trip. Carry cash for the teahouse.

   

7. Day 7: Takakkaw Falls, then Banff

   Lake Louise to Takakkaw Falls in Yoho on the Yoho Valley Road, then down the Bow Valley to Banff and Sulphur Mountain

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Banff
   Day 7 details

   We leave Lake Louise at 8 am, cross back into Yoho and turn up the Yoho Valley Road, with its tight switchbacks, to Takakkaw Falls, which drops about 370 metres from the Daly Glacier, one of the highest waterfalls in Canada. At this hour the car park is still quiet, and a flat path takes you to the spray at its foot. On the way down we stop at the viewpoint over the Spiral Tunnels, where the railway loops through the mountain to tame the grade; with luck a long freight train shows both ends at once. Then we drive down the Bow Valley to Banff, about 135 km and about two hours of driving in the day, arriving by about midday for lunch on your own. In the afternoon we ride the Banff Gondola up Sulphur Mountain and walk the summit boardwalk, and your entry to the Banff Upper Hot Springs is included. In the evening we sit down together for a farewell dinner.

   Included

   • Takakkaw Falls in Yoho National Park
   • Spiral Tunnels viewpoint
   • Banff Gondola up Sulphur Mountain
   • Banff Upper Hot Springs entry
   • Farewell dinner

   Optional experiences

   • Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies
   • Canoe hire on the Bow River

   Easier option: The flat path to the foot of Takakkaw Falls, about 1 km return, and the level boardwalk at the top of the gondola.

   More active option: Walk up Sulphur Mountain on the switchback trail with your guide, about 5.5 km and 650 m of climbing, and ride the gondola down.

   Free time: Late afternoon free in Banff

   Activity: If the Yoho Valley Road is not yet open (it usually opens in late June) or has closed for the season, we visit Wapta Falls or Field instead. Vehicles longer than 7 metres must reverse on its switchbacks, so the group vehicle is 7 metres or shorter.

   

8. Day 8: Grassi Lakes and out to Calgary

   Banff to Canmore and the Grassi Lakes trail, then east on the Trans-Canada Highway to Calgary International Airport

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 8 details

   After breakfast we drive about 25 minutes down the Bow Valley to Canmore and up the road above town to the Grassi Lakes trailhead. A short trail of about 4 km return climbs through the forest past a waterfall to two small spring-fed lakes, clear enough to see the stones on the bottom, below limestone cliffs where climbers often practise; on the rock nearby are old pictographs. It is an easy last walk, about an hour and a half, and from the upper lake you look east down the Bow Valley over Canmore. We stop in Canmore for coffee, then head east on the Trans-Canada Highway out through the mountain gap, where the Front Ranges end abruptly and the foothills roll down to the prairie. It is about 130 km and an hour and a half to Calgary International Airport (YYC), arriving around 1 pm, so please book a flight leaving after 3 pm. If you are staying on in Calgary, your guide can drop you in the city instead; ask when you book.

   Included

   • Guided walk to Grassi Lakes above Canmore
   • Coffee stop in Canmore
   • Drop-off at Calgary International Airport (YYC)

   Easier option: Take the wider, gentler route to the lakes, or wait in Canmore for coffee.

   More active option: The steeper upper trail past the waterfall, with steps and rock underfoot.

   Activity: Book a flight leaving Calgary after about 3 pm.

   

Wildlife and weather: The Okanagan is dry and hot in July and August, often 30°C or more, while dawn at Moraine Lake is cold even in midsummer, so pack for both. Rain showers are common in the mountains, and smoke from distant wildfires can haze the views on some days in July and August. Until about late July, snow usually keeps the Mount Revelstoke summit and its shuttle closed and the Takakkaw Falls road may not yet be open; September and early October bring harvest in the vineyards, golden larches near Lake Louise and colder mornings. Black bears, mountain goats and elk are possible from the road but never guaranteed.

• Vancouver1 night
• Kelowna2 nights
• Revelstoke1 night
• Lake Louise2 nights
• Banff1 night