We love traveling. This comes as no surprise to literally anyone. We’ve also been to some AMAZING places (ie: Havasupai). But, road-tripping through the Canadian Rockies is definitely a top 3 trip for us.

One of my favorite things about traveling is researching all of the amazing places we want to see while we are away. It’s like a little teaser to the trip. Instagram, and social media in general, has really changed the travel industry. It is entirely too easy to find some of these breathtaking places by just hopping on Instagram. Brad and I like to put in a little more work than this. Believe it or not, some of the best adventures that we’ve found for our last few trips have been found in travel guides. THAT’S RIGHT. ACTUAL BOOKS! For our Banff and Jasper National Parks trip, we used Lonely Planet Banff, Jasper and Glacier National Parks. This helped us plan the trip top to bottom.

So, my intentions in sharing our itinerary is not to dissuade you from doing your own research. It is important that you plan a trip that meets your needs, wants, and expectations. It’s to give you a starting point: to share with you how we made this trip our own in 7 days.

Tips for the trip:

• As always with international travel, call your credit card companies to let them know you will be out of the country. This will save you from your bank freezing your cards because they flag a purchase in another country as fraud.
• Call your phone company! We use Verizon and with our plans, using data in Canada and Mexico is not considered International roaming. If your phone plan does not have this option, many will have a cheap ($10 a day) international plan for you to add on for the trip. We used our phones DAILY for navigation through Alberta so it was imperative to have data allowances.
• Stock up on snacks and such in Canmore for the entire trip. Grocery stores in Banff were very expensive and almost non-existent where we stayed in Hinton (just outside of Jasper).
• If you are traveling during the summer months, like we did, book your hotels/Airbnb’s ASAP, unlike we did 🙂 . We prefer to stay in Airbnb’s but by the time we were ready to book, they were all sold out so we ended up in hotels. I would recommend booking accommodations at least 3 months ahead of time.

Day 1: Fly into Calgary, rent a car, and drive to Canmore

Calgary is the closest International airport so it makes sense to start your grand adventure here! Make reservations to rent a car in advance so you can quickly pick it up and be on your way. We decided, after much research, to stay in Canmore rather than Banff. It was significantly cheaper and a five minute drive to the entrance of the National Park from our hotel. Also, it was just down right, plain beautiful.

If time allows, head to Downtown Banff for dinner. We are big fans of breweries and stumbled upon Banff Ave Brewery while walking around the town. Good views, good beer, good food, good vibes. What more can you ask for?

Day 2: Moraine Lake and Downtown Banff

Get an early start to your day. Like 4:30am early. While researching Moraine Lake, we found that the trailhead parking lot fills up very fast. This forces everyone else to use an “Overflow lot” located back on the main highway. From the overflow lot, you have to wait on long lines for a shuttle to take you up to the parking lot and back. You also have to pay to use the shuttle. This is not something that we would want to do in this world, or the next. So, we were up and out the door before 5am! I promise it is worth it.

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From the Moraine Lake parking lot, take the trail to the left to find Rockpile Trail. This is an easy 0.5 mile hike, essentially like a stair master, to the top of a literal giant pile of rocks. From here you can see, what is in my opinion, certainly one of the best views of Moraine Lake. But, don’t stop here. Take the path past the overlook and hike down, even a few steps, to find yourself away from the crowds. From here, you can head back down to the parking lot and over to the Lodge to hike Lakeshore Trail, which is really just a nice 1.8 mile stroll.

Head into Downtown Banff for a late brunch. If you only have time to visit one restaurant for breakfast in Banff, our recommendation is to go to Tooloulou’s. We only waited about 10 minutes for a table and were blown away by the food. By the time we left, there was a line down the street of people patiently/not so patiently waiting to get into Tooloulou’s. You won’t regret it.

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If time, and mostly weather, permits, head to Lake Minnewanka for sunset.

Day 3: Lake Louise and Hike Lake Agnes and the Teahouse

Lake Louise is even more widely known and more easily accessible than Moraine Lake. So, you know what that means: 4:30am wake up call round two. Because these two lakes are actually in the same area, you will go through the same overflow parking and shuttle situation as you did on Day 2 if you do not make it to the parking lot in time. Plan to spend some time here at Lake Louise because your views will changed significantly as the morning sun breaks up the fog that you will find every morning hovering over the lake.

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Hike Lake Agnes and the Beehives!

This was, hands down, the best hike that we did while in Banff and if you are able, I HIGHLY recommend it. Start with the trail to Lake Agnes and the Teahouse. It is a 4.7 mile moderate trail that rewards you with amazing mountain views, Mirror Lake, a waterfall, and best of all, ends at a remote teahouse on top of the mountain. A few tips about the teahouse:

• Over the summer the teahouse opens at 8am. Lucky for us, because we reached the mountain top at 7:30am and were able to find a table with no problem.
• The teahouse takes cash only: USD and Canadian dollars. Thank the good lord we happened to have cash on us.
• Look at the menu before hand and be ready to order the second the teahouse opens. The waitresses were amazingly speedy and we were able to order, pay, and eat in under 20 minutes.

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If you are feeling up for a challenge, continue up the trail and hike Big Beehive. This will add on another 2 miles to your trip and a 500ft gain in elevation but the views at the end are some of the best we’ve ever seen. Be aware, the trail is difficult, requires scrambling at certain points, and has some seriously steep switchbacks to get you up the mountain. Enjoy the views at the top of the mountain before you head back down the trail! At the very bottom, on flat land, crowds upon crowds will be waiting for you. As you weave in and out of the mass of people milling around Lake Louise, thank your lucky stars you took our advice and woke up at 4:30am 😉

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Head back into Downtown for a late lunch at The Eddie Burger + Bar. This was our favorite restaurant we visited while traveling. First, the service was so fast. We were starving after hiking just over 7 miles that morning and to say we were hangry is putting it lightly. Second, they have vegan and gluten free options! For those of you who don’t know, I keep a weird diet (pollo-pescatarian who often dips into cooking vegan meals because I’m lactose intolerant). So, when places make it beyond easy to order, I can’t help but fall in love. Eddie has a “build-your-own” burger option so we were able to create our perfect burgers without feeling like annoying customers. Brad enjoyed a custom built Bison burger while I enjoyed a custom built Beyond burger.

Day 4: Icefields Parkway and the Columbia Icefields Discovery Center

The Icefields Parkway, named one of the most beautiful drives in the world, is a 232 km stretch of highway that allows you to drive along the Continental Divide, giant Rocky Mountains, beautiful valleys, and jaw-dropping lakes. If you are ready to take on the Icefields Parkway, be ready to turn a four hour drive into a six hour drive. You will want to stop at every single turn off so give yourselves ample time to explore. Some of the best points of interest along the Icefields Parkway are:

• Bow Lake
• Peyto Lake (overlook is a ten minute walk from the parking lot)
• Columbia Icefield
• Glacier Skywalk
• Sunwapta Falls
• Athabasca Falls

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In the interest of not overloading ourselves all in one day, we chose to stop off to see Bow Lake, Peyto Lake, and (my favorite part) the Columbia Icefield and Glacier Skywalk. Now, I feel like a broken record saying, “this was the best part of the trip!” for almost every part of the trip. I will say though, for the amount of driving we had to conquer for Day 4 in order to drive from Canmore to Hinton (just under 5 hours straight through), this was one of my favorite days. Day 4 happened to fall on my birthday so we wanted to make it extra special and do an excursion. Brad and I are not “guided tour” people because we like to find our own adventures away from the crowds. But, we decided to take a leap of faith and make an exception for Day 4 🙂

Columbia Icefield Discovery Center

Sign up online ahead of time and secure tickets for the “Columbia Icefield Adventure,” which includes an Ice Explorer Tour on the Athabasca Glacier, admission to the Skywalk, and transportation in between. As you ride on the Ice Explorer, a gigantic 6-wheeled all terrain vehicle, your tour guide will tell you some amazing fact about the glaciers that surround you. The best part, once the Ice Explorer stops, you step out onto an actual glacier that is thousands of years old. The Athabasca Glacier is the most visited and easily accessible glacier in the northwest and is one of the six principal ‘toes’ of the Columbia Icefield. It is currently receding at a rate of about 16 ft per year and has lost over half of its volume in the past 125 years. This is a natural wonder you MUST add to your Bucket List and visit before it disappears.

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Day 5: Jasper Sky Tram and Miette Hot Springs

Day 5 is a relaxing day from sun up to sun down. Give yourself a break since you’ve been waking up before the sun (if you followed our advice 😉 ) and have a lazy morning. Head to Jasper Sky Tram to spend the afternoon on top of the mountains! From here, you will buy tickets for your “flight,” board your tram at your scheduled time at an elevation of 4127 ft (1258 meters) and get off the tram 7 minutes later at the top of Whistler Mountain at an elevation of 7424 ft (2263 meters). Take in the sun on top of the mountain or have a drink and some appetizers at Summit Restaurant. Catching the tram down is first come, first serve so no need to rush.

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A wonderful thing about summer in Canada that we didn’t know: the sun sets around 9pm every night. So, that serene hour that comes just before a sun sets truly seems to last so much longer in Canada. With that being said, keep your relaxing day going and head to Miette Hot Springs for sunset. Miette is the hottest mineral springs in the Canadian Rockies: water flows from the mountains at 129 degrees F and cools to 104 degrees F at the pool. There is a cafe on site if you get hungry, or if you would just like a bowl of soup to keep with the cozy theme of the day.

Day 6: Athabasca Falls, Sunwapta Falls, and Maligne Lake

Spend today exploring some of the most beautiful waterfalls this region has to offer: Athabasca Falls and Sunwapta Falls. Athabasca Falls can be seen after an easy 0.5 mile hike from the parking lot. From here, you can take different paved pathways to view different parts of the falls. Because this “trail” is paved and only 0.5 miles out and back, it will 100% be very crowded. You can either be patient and hope that people are polite and give everyone turn up front, or you can do what Brad and I did: go when it’s raining 🙂

It had been raining on and off all day on Day 6, but we decided to not let that get in the way of our exploring. So, we threw on jackets and hats and headed out for the falls. As soon as it started to rain at Athabasca Falls, people scattered. So, this gave us the perfect opportunity to take our time, go to the view points we wanted to see, and best of all, get photos and videos with no one in them!

Sunwapta Falls is very much so like Athabasca, in terms of difficulty, length, and popularity. None-the-less, it is a beautiful sight to see that you must include on your list. There are two main falls to see here: the Upper falls, which can be found after a short walk from the parking lot, and Lower falls, which can be found during a 1.7 mile out and back hike. We chose, mostly for time purposes, to just see the Upper Falls.

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Head to Maligne Lake for sunset. There are so many trails you can take around the lake! Pick one that jives well with your hiking abilities and enjoy!

Day 7: Drive back to Calgary to head home!

By Day 7, you’ll be exhausted. At least we were! From Hinton, there are two routes to bring you back to Calgary to catch your flight home: the Icefields Parkway (5 hours of driving), and a route that bypasses both National Parks but gets you into Calgary almost an hour sooner. We opted to take the long route 🙂 This was one last time to take in the rigid handsomeness of Jasper National Park, and the pristine beauty of Banff National Park.

This trip was a good reminder to slow down. Sometime we (and by we I really mean me…) feel the need to cram as much as possible into our itineraries, to take no relaxing days, and to take that 4 hour drive over the 5 hour drive because it’ll save time. I’m here to tell you that slowing down is okay! Pack your itineraries, but don’t feel pressured to see EVERYTHING. After waking up at 4:30am two mornings in a row, get breakfast in bed the next day and RELAX. Choose the 5 hour drive, listen to a podcast, or three, and enjoy the drive.

Yours,

Bohemian Postcards