Highlights of the Canadian Rocki
5 day Roadigo trip with 15 stops: Calgary → Banff → Lake Louise → Icefields Parkway → Jasper → Canmore → Calgary
Calgary → Banff → Lake Louise → Icefields Parkway → Jasper → Canmore → Calgary
Arrival and the Streets of Banff
Grab your SUV (definitely get AWD) and hit the Trans-Canada Highway. It’s a straight shot west into the mountains.
Calgary International Airport (YYC)
Grab your SUV (definitely get AWD) and hit the Trans-Canada Highway. It’s a straight shot west into the mountains.
Banff Town
Park the car and walk Bear Street. Grab a bison burger at a local pub and head up the Banff Gondola for a 360-degree view of the Bow Valley. It helps you get your bearings for the week ahead.
Bow Falls
Bow Falls is a major waterfall on the Bow River, Alberta just before the junction of it and the Spray River. They are located near the Banff Springs Hotel and golf course on the left-hand side of River Road.
The Icons of the Valley
You have to take the shuttle now (personal cars aren't allowed), but seeing the Valley of the Ten Peaks reflected in that blue water is non-negotiable. Climb the Rockpile for the "twenty-dollar view."
Moraine Lake
Moraine Lake is a snow and glacially fed alpine lake in Banff National Park, 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) outside the village of Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. It is situated in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, at an elevation of approximately 1,884 metres (6,181 ft). The lake has a surface area of 50 hectares.
Lake Louise
Lake Louise is a beautiful mountain lake in the middle of Banff National Park in the Alberta Rockies region of Alberta. The lake is surrounded by snow-capped peaks, and at the far end is a large glacier. The lake is quite isolated, but provides a magnificent setting for a luxury resort, the Château Lake Louise, and a conference wing on the 'inland' side of the hotel.
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
Even if you aren't staying here, walk through the lobby to see the massive windows framing the Victoria Glacier.
The Icefields Parkway: Part I
This is the start of one of the world's most beautiful drives. Bow Lake is right off the highway and usually mirror-still in the morning.
Bow Lake
This is the start of one of the world's most beautiful drives. Bow Lake is right off the highway and usually mirror-still in the morning.
Peyto Lake
Banff National Park is in the Alberta Rockies region of Alberta. Together with six other national parks it makes up the UNESCO World Heritage site "Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks". Established in 1885, it is the world's third oldest national park, after Yellowstone National Park in the United States, and Royal National Park in Australia.
Mistaya Canyon
Mistaya Canyon in the western part of the Canadian province of Alberta is formed by the Mistaya River. Tourists visiting Banff National Park often visit the canyon because of its distinctive curvy walls and because it is easy to access, being just off the Icefields Parkway. The 0.
Glaciers and Giants
This is the high point (literally) of the drive. Walk up to the toe of the Athabasca Glacier. Be careful—it’s windy and significantly colder here than in Banff.
Columbia Icefield
The Columbia Icefield is roughly midway down the Icefields Parkway on Highway 93 in Jasper National Park within the Alberta Rockies. Jasper National Park is adjacent to the north of Banff National Park. The Columbia Icefield has several named glaciers, but the Athabasca Glacier is the main one that is accessible and most visible from the highway and visitor centre.
Sunwapta Falls
Sunwapta Falls is a pair of waterfalls of the Sunwapta River in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada.
Athabasca Falls
Athabasca Falls is a waterfall in Jasper National Park on the upper Athabasca River, approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of the townsite of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, and just west of the Icefields Parkway.
Exploring Jasper’s Deep Wilderness
Walk the bridges over this incredibly narrow and deep gorge. Look for the underground springs bursting through the canyon walls.
Maligne Canyon
Maligne Canyon is a slot canyon located in the Jasper National Park near Jasper, Alberta, Canada. Eroded out of the Palliser Formation, the canyon measures over 50 metres (160 ft) deep. Popular for sightseeing and exploration, the area contains waterfalls, underground stream outlets, birds and plant life.
Maligne Lake
Maligne Lake is a lake in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada. The lake is famed for the colour of its azure water, the surrounding peaks, the three glaciers visible from the lake, and Spirit Island, a frequently and very famously photographed islet. The lake is located 44 km (27 mi) south of Jasper town, and is accessible by motor vehicle, including shuttle buses from Jasper.
Miette Hot Springs
Miette Hot Springs are commercially developed hot springs in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada, between the towns of Hinton and Jasper. The pool is outdoors and offers visitors a view of the surrounding Fiddle River Valley.
- Buy a Parks Canada Discovery Pass online before you go to skip the gate lines.
- Fill your gas tank in Banff or Jasper; fuel on the Parkway (at Saskatchewan River Crossing) is very expensive.