Classic Canadian Rockies

Welcome to Calgary, eh? Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting at 6 pm, where you’ll be briefed on the upcoming activities and meet your local leader and fellow travellers. If you arrive in the city with time to spare, you might like to experience some renowned Canadian hospitality at Calgary’s budding dining scene. If you’d prefer to get out and about, you could check out Prince’s Island Park, see the skyline from the top of Calgary Tower or work up a sweat at Canada Olympic Park.

This morning you’ll head out from the city and into the mountains, your sights set on a trio of impossibly blue glacier-fed lakes. See the splendour of Moraine Lake, backed by ten snow-dusted peaks, world-famous Lake Louise and fox-shaped Peyto Lake. All three will leave you either wide-eyed, open-mouthed or some combination of the two, and there’ll be ample time to explore the lakes and their surrounding areas.

Rise early to head up the Icefields Parkway into Jasper National Park. This is one drive where the journey really is the destination. The Parkway runs between towering glacier-capped peaks and past pristine lakes and offers plenty of opportunities to break for a short hike (which you’ll do). Just before arriving in the town of Jasper, stop off at the powerful Athabasca Falls. Throughout the day, keep your eyes peeled for quintessential Rockies wildlife like elk, moose, deer, bears and bighorn sheep. In the afternoon you’ll have some time to explore the park at your own speed. To pick up the pace you might consider renting a bike from one of the shops in town and exploring some of the local trails, or slow things down with a ride on the Jasper SkyTram up Whistlers Mountain – the highest and longest aerial tramway in Canada.

Today you’ll find out for yourself why Maligne Lake is featured on so many jigsaw puzzles. Make sure your phone or camera is fully charged, ready to capture shots of the jagged mountains and bright green pine forests that surround its glacial waters. Take to the water on a panoramic cruise down the lake, sailing in a glass-enclosed and heated boat while a guide describes the area’s geology, ecology and history. The highlight will be a stop for a nature walk to views of iconic Spirit Island which is only accessible by boat, where you’ll learn about its significance to the Stoney Nakoda First Nation. This evening, join your group for an included dinner at a local restaurant.

After gazing at glaciers from a distance, today you’ll get the chance to step foot on one! On your way back down the Icefields Parkway to Banff, stop to lace up for a half-day guided walk on the Athabasca Glacier, one of the six glaciers fed by the Columbia Icefield. The trail to the toe of the Athabasca Glacier can be steep in sections but flattens out once you’re there. Atop the glacier, a certified guide will teach you about this 13,000-year-old ice formation, which is retreating about 5 metres every year, and show you its crevasses and waterfalls. Walking is a much friendlier way to experience a glacier, compared to snow coaches that can damage the glacier’s surface. After the hike – and once you’ve left the glacier – there'll be a picnic lunch to finish the outing before continuing to the town of Banff.

Buckle up for the beauty of Banff National Park. Today’s all about seeing as much of the park as you can, weaving your way through history as you see the Rockies’ valleys and mountain chains which began forming up to 75 million years ago. There’s also time to connect further with the land on an Indigenous Medicine Walk, where your guide will share traditional Cree knowledge of the area’s plants, trees and bushes. To end the day on a high, you’ll take the gondola up to the top of Sulphur Mountain. Named for the two sulphurous hot springs found on its lower slopes, the peak offers breathtaking, panoramic views of the Rockies – which you’ll be able to bask in during a farewell dinner on the mountaintop.

Today you’ll complete your grand tour of the Rockies and drive back to Calgary. There are no activities and accommodation planned for the day, and your adventure will end on arrival.