Captivating Canada

Oh, Canada. Your sparkling, glacier-fed lakes are framed by jagged, ice-capped mountain peaks, alpine meadows and evergreen wilderness. These natural wonders offer us a rare sample of Mother Nature’s grandeur—a display of raw, timeless beauty.

The Canadian Rockies, North America’s northernmost portion of the expansive Rocky Mountain range, overlaps the borders of Alberta and British Columbia. Alberta’s crown gem, Banff National Park, is a favorite starting point for many road-trippers, back-country hikers, guided vacationers and railway enthusiasts embarking on a westward journey to the Pacific Coast. Are you considering a visit to the Canadian Rockies? Here are three ways to make it happen.

A few years ago, my husband Brian and I made an extended weekend driving trip from Calgary, Alberta, to Banff National Park, which is located about 90 minutes northwest of the Calgary International Airport. The upscale resort town of Banff is a classic “True North” destination and lures tourists from across the globe with its spectacular mountain backdrop, hot springs,abundance of shopping and dining, and of course, its promise of outdoor adventure.

Our travel plan was to explore local hiking trails for a couple days, then drive four hours north along the famous Columbia Icefield Parkway to Jasper National Park, known for its stunning mountain range and incredible wildlife. After a day of seeing the sights, we’d drive back to Calgary for our flight home.

As a seasoned traveler, I knew my agenda was a little overpacked. One can only do so much in four days, but my overzealous ambition got the best of me. It was mid-May, so we didn’t anticipate trudging through eight inches of fresh snow to our rental car at the Calgary Airport. Aman in the toll booth gave us our much-needed reality check: “It can snow 12 months out of the year here,” he said with a hint of pride in his voice.

Undaunted by the change in weather, we spent two days navigating backwoods and trails in rented snowshoes, plodding through wet snow and keeping a lookout for small critters like foxes and beavers and bigger animals such as elk, bighorn sheep and even bears (a rare possibility, but one needs to take precautions). On day three we made the drive to Jasper National Park, but we were curtailed by show-stopping scenery. It demanded many photo stops, and it was mid-day before we realized we were only halfway along the Columbia Icefield Parkway. We headed back to Banff, gratefully acknowledging that sometimes it’s better to cover less territory patiently than to rush through more area without taking the time to appreciate it.

AAA Minneapolis Travel Advisor Susan Sanders and her family also journeyed by car out of Calgary, but they wisely planned not only for more time but more flexibility. Traveling with two teenagers meant the need for variety, so she included a 90-minute drive east from Calgary to the town of Drumheller in the heart of the Alberta Badlands, where the landscape is shaped by canyons, hoodoos and rock formations sculpted over millennia by weather and time. The family also made sure to swing by the Royal Tyrell Museum, just 4 miles northwest of Drumheller. The site houses a research facility, a science camp and exhibits featuring over 130,000 fossils recovered from the surrounding sedimentary rock. Often referred to as “the dinosaur capital of the world,” Drumheller draws both serious paleontology buffs and curious visitors with modest expectations. “No one was more impressed than me,” Sanders says.

After the visit to Drumheller, the family traveled to Banff National Park where the stunning Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise hotel captured Sanders’ heart—she has since called it her favorite hotel ever. It wasn’t just the room (they splurged for a bi-level suite with two balconies overlooking Lake Louise) but the setting that is forever etched in her memory. From a canoe landing on the opposite end of the lake, the family shared a reflective moment together, feeling grateful for the 360-degree view of snow-capped mountains reflected in glistening turquoise waters. Over lunch at the famous Lake Agnes Tea House—which sits at an altitude of 7,005 feet—she savored the image of mountain vistas shrouded by the veil of a rare July snow squall.

Our Recommendation for your Canada Road Trip: Plan for at least five days for an independent driving trip to Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper National Park. Keep in mind that driving trips require thorough research and planning, especially to a destination with so many opportunities.

Celebrating 30 years of luxury private railway travel, award-winning Rocky Mountaineer offers guests a unique way to experience the Canadian Rockies with a glass-domed fleet, epic onboard service and over 65 vacation packages to pick from, covering four rail routes. The train travels only by daylight, which allows guests to take in the breathtaking scenery without missing a thing. While onboard, guests can inhale fresh mountain air from an outdoor viewing platform or sip a glass of wine while relaxing in their plush, reclining seats as the train weaves its way through mountain towns and past raging rivers, cascading waterfalls and a vast landscape rich with contrast.

AAA Minneapolis Tour Director and railway enthusiast Lori Martz recently returned from hosting a group on Rocky Mountaineer’s First Passage to the West journey, one of the most popular packages the travel company offers. Starting in Banff, Alberta, and concluding on the Pacific Coast in Vancouver, British Columbia, the route includes two full days on the train and plenty of sightseeing from start to finish.

“It’s the entire package—great scenery and what I call a seven-days long zen moment: no phone calls, except the evening check-in at home from the hotel; no interruptions except when offered yet another exquisite delicacy in the dining room; and no distractions, other than locals waving at the train as it passes. I just sit back and listen to the rhythms of the track, savoring the view from the dome window above me,” Martz says.

Warmth and sincerity are hallmarks of Rocky Mountaineer’s service. Guests often receive a regal send-off by the entire local team (including a bagpiper!) at embarkation. Onboard hosts cultivate a friendly atmosphere with historic storytelling and a daily morning toast, expressing their genuine appreciation for the shared experience. Overall, it’s the gourmet cuisine that receives the most attention. Menus are reimagined every season by skilled executive chefs who fuse local ingredients with traditional Canadian cuisine for an impeccable dining experience.

Rocky Mountaineer’s two classes of service, Goldleaf and Silverleaf, both include onboard hosts and gourmet cuisine, but there are a couple of differences in amenities. Goldleaf service features bi-level glass-domed cars with sprawling windows for an expansive view. Guests also eat in the lower-level dining room—an exquisite experience reminiscent of a bygone era in rail travel. Those that choose Silverleaf service enjoy a lovely view from expanded windows and meals served right to their seats.

Most motorcoach tour companies offer Canadian Rockies itineraries, with rail service excursions often provided by Via Rail, which is Canada’s main rail system, or Rocky Mountaineer.

AAA’s upscale guided vacation travel partner, Tauck, offers a motorcoach tour of the Banff National Park, Lake Louise and Jasper National Park trifecta, with scenic and cultural inclusions. Tauck’s eight-day Best of the Canadian Rockies tour features a helicopter flight over Emerald Lake and the mountain peaks surrounding Banff (weather permitting) and a naturalist-guided tour of Moraine Lake in the Valley of Ten Peaks near Lake Louise. Guests can plan for an extraordinary drive along the Icefield Parkway to Jasper National Park, including an outdoor barbecue lunch on the way there and an Ice Explorer vehicle expedition across the 10,000-year-old Athabasca Glacier on the trip back. An overnight stay in Jasper National Park provides ample time for gentle whitewater rafting, nature tours, or downtime to relax and enjoy the scenery.

This tour wraps up with a two-night stay at the legendary Fairmont Banff Springs, a grand hotel built in 1888 that is perched like a castle above Bow River. The hotel is now a national historic site of Canada and just a short drive from downtown Banff.

Vacationers looking for a longer journey that extends all the way to the Pacific Coast should consider Tauck’s 10-day Grand Canadian Rockies tour, which incorporates an overnight Via Rail journey on the Canadian train between Vancouver and Banff. The tour’s itinerary highlights a floatplane ride over the Gulf Islands surrounding Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, afternoon tea at the famous Hotel Fairmont Empress, a rafting trip on Banff’s Bow River and a whole range of other activities at a wilderness lodge in Jasper National Park.

Trafalgar, a first-class guided vacation company, offers a similar itinerary to Tauck with its Spectacular Canadian Rockies tour, but instead of traveling on Via Rail, it’s a motorcoach that travels from Vancouver to Banff National Park, with stops in Victoria, Kamloops and Jasper National Park. Kamloops is a haven for hikers, bikers, skiers and nature enthusiasts, who are drawn to the nearby British Columbia Wildlife Park. Trafalgar guests are also welcome to celebrate First Nation traditions with music and food presented by the local Shuswap Indian Band.

The Trafalgar itinerary ends with one of two options: Travelers can head back to Vancouver on a two-day Rocky Mountaineer journey (with an overnight stay in Kamloops) or stay in Calgary a little while longer for the famous Calgary Stampede, the world’s largest outdoor, tournament-style rodeo.

Railway or highway, floatplane or river raft—the limitless natural beauty of the Canadian Rockies is on display at every turn. This is a show that shouldn’t be missed, no matter how you choose to experience it.

Want to go RIGHT NOW? Check out a virtual tour for more inspiration!

Virtual Tour of Banff National Park