Itinerary Ideas for the Ultimate Dream Road Trip in Canada’s Rocky Mountains

Visiting the Canadian Rocky Mountains had been a dream of my mum’s ever since her mum did a solo trip there in the 1980s. In 2022, we finally made that happen and myself and my mum embarked on a ten day dream road trip from Calgary to Jasper (with a stop in Vancouver first). Planning this trip was no easy task, and the below post shares some itinerary ideas to help you plan your trip.

You’ll need to wake up early, like REALLY early. The car park can get full two hours before sunrise in the peak season. In the summer, people suggest arriving at around 4/4:30am to secure your spot. We visited in September and arrived at 6am ahead of a 7:30am sunrise. I won’t lie about this experience – it was rammed. It was worth it though and as the sun rose, it reminded me of how lucky we are to call this planet home.

After watching the sunrise, you can walk along the short trail that goes alongside one side of the lake, there’s some great viewing spots here. It’s flat and suitable for children and all fitness levels. The Fairmont Chateau Hotel is located right besides Lake Louise. There is a restaurant and a couple of coffee shops if you want to grab some food.

There is also the option to hire a canoe while at Lake Louise. This is a lovely way to explore the lake but it’s very expensive. When we were there, it cost $145 for one hour… ouch. Lake Louise isn’t big and the trail alongside it gives you plenty of opportunities to see the lake from different angles. However it’s a bucket list activity for some, but just be prepared for the cost.

If you love hiking, I’d highly suggest doing the Little Beehive via Lake Agnes Trail while you’re at Lake Louise. This hike has some gorgeous views of Lake Louise and the surrounding earlier. The hike takes you up through the tree line to a small tea house where you can get some refreshments. From here, you can continue on to Little Beehive and be rewarded with panoramic views. Most people turn around after the tea house so it definitely gets quieter the further you go. You also visit Mirror Lake on the trail which is a little gem. Here are some notes about the hike:

• Start early, it can get busy. The path is signed from Lake Louise, follow signs to Mirror Lake and Lake Agnes.
  
• The hike is around 6 miles altogether. It’s very steep most the way up.
  
• You’ll find the tea house after about 2 miles of hiking up. The tea house gets so busy and even if you arrive early, you’ll have to queue a long time even for takeaway. I was one of the first hikers on the trail and by the time I arrived, there was already a queue to get in.
  
• From the tea house to Little Beehive is only about another 20 minutes. The crowds disappear at this point but miss out on stunning views.

Another hike in the area is the Larch Valley trail. If you visit in larch season as the trees turn orange, this is a must. The 5.5 mile trail takes you takes you through a stunning valley. You can do at any time of the year but larch season is the best. The trail starts at Moraine Lake.

Day 6: The Icefields Parkway to Jasper

Today’s the day you’ve been waiting for. You’re about to embark on one of the most beautiful road trips in the world. Start your day early and make the journey towards Jasper.

This famous stretch of road is 144 miles (232 kilometres) long and winds its way through stunning valleys in both Banff and Jasper National Park.

In theory, the drive is only around 3 hours long but there is so much to see and do on this route. As we were driving back to Calgary later in the week, we split our stops on the Icefields Parkway over two days – the day we drove there and the day we drove back. If you’re not planning to drive back, you’ll need to properly plan everything you want to see and do as there is so much on this stunning route. You can easily see it all in a day but if you’d like to do some hiking, I’d suggest splitting into two like us. We were so glad we did as the day we drove to Jasper was quite miserable. Although there is something to be said for gloomy-looking mountains, seeing the route in its full glory on the drive back was unforgettable.

I’ve written a whole guide on what to do when you drive the Icefields Parkway here, but here are some of the top things to see:

• Admire the route’s multiple spectacular viewpoints including Bow Lake and the Crowfoot Glacier.
  
• Walk up to the Peyto Lake viewpoint.
  
• Explore Mistaya Canyon and its natural wonders.
  
• Walk on a Glacier at the Columbia Icefields.
  
• Do one of the area’s many hikes including the Wilcox Pass Loop and the Parker Ridge Hike for views of a glacier.
  
• Visit the magnificent Athabasca Falls.

Days 7-9: Jasper National Park

Ah, Jasper. One of my favourite places I’ve ever visited. Spend three full days exploring this gorgeous area.

Here are some of the top things to do, and there’s a full list of things to do in Jasper here.

• Visit Maligne Lake and take a boat trip to Spirit Island – no trip to the area would be complete without dong this.
  
• Hike in Maligne Canyon to see where the river has cut deeply into the rock forming stunning canyons.
  
• Hike the famous Sulphur Skyline Trail.
  
• Go Stargazing at the Jasper Planetarium (we went to Pyramid Lake for this and it was beautiful).
  
• Relax in the Miette Hot Springs.
  
• Ride the Jasper SkyTram for 360 panoramic views. If you’re lucky, you might see the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies – Mount Robson.
  
• Do one of the many world-class hikes in the area such as Valley of the Five Lakes and the Edith Cavell Meadows trail.
  
• Relax at one of the area’s many lakes. Pyramid Lake offers beaches to relax on and you can hire a kayak to explore.
  
• Go white water rafting (if you dare).
  
• Explore Jasper town. There are lots of food choices and shops here to explore. You can even book a food tour.

Here is a suggested three-day itinerary for Jasper. You can easily fit this into two days if you remove some of the hikes.

• Day 7: visit one of the area’s most famous attractions – Maligne Lake – and take a boat trip to Spirit Island. Walk around the Mary Schaffer loop and have lunch at the lake. As you drive back towards town, stop at the eerie Medicine Lake before heading to Maligne Canyon for an afternoon stroll. Finish your day exploring Jasper and grabbing some tasty food.

• Day 8: Hike the Sulphur Skyline Trail then relax in Miette hot springs. End your day stargazing either at Pyramid Lake or the planetarium. If you don’t want to do the long hike, you could visit the Valley of the Five Lakes instead. This is slightly shorter. Pyramid Lake is another beautiful lake to visit and has beaches to relax on and the option to hire a kayak.
  
• Day 9: start your day with a ride on the Jasper SkyTram. After fuelling up, drive to the Edith Cavell meadows. Either do the full hike (more information here) or walk the shorter Glacier Trail to see a Glacier up close.

You could easily spend longer in the Jasper area and spread out the hiking over multiple days. There is so much to see and explore here.

Day 10: Back towards Calgary Airport

It’s time to head back towards the airport *sad face*. It’s a five hour drive to the airport but I’d suggest using today to head back towards the area and flying out the day after. We spent this day visiting everything we had missed on the way up and stayed another night in Canmore.

I hope this has given you some inspiration for a trip to the Rockies. It’s easy to add or remove days depending on what you like. If you’re not one for hiking, you could probably squeeze most things into 7 days. See the below itinerary.

7 day itinerary for a Rocky Mountains Trip

Have less time? That’s okay… you can still see loads in one week. There’s a lot to fit in and you won’t be able to see everything, however I’ve done two options to give you some ideas:

Option one (with Jasper)

• Days 1-3 Banff area: see the above itinerary for this. On day 3, I’d suggest leaving mid-afternoon and driving to Lake Louise. You can watch the sunset at Morraine Lake.
  
• Day 4: Sunrise at Lake Louise and Beehive Trail Hike.
  
• Day 5: Icefields Parkway to Jasper, stop at the Columbia Icefields and walk on the Glacier.
  
• Day 6: explore Jasper.
  
• Day 7: either spend another day in Jasper or head back towards Calgary for your flight.

Option 2 (With Yoho):

• Days 1-3 Banff area: see the above ten day itinerary for this.
  
• Day 4: drive to Yoho National Park and end your day watching sunset at Moraine Lake.
  
• Day 5: Sunrise at Lake Louise and Beehive Trail Hike.
  
• Day 6: drive the Icefields Parkway. Depending on when your flight home is, either stay the night in Jasper or go back to Banff.
  
• Day 7: if you have time, do a tour on Maligne Lake in Jasper before heading back to Calgary.

Have more time? Spend time exploring the area some more

If you have more time before needing to head back to Calgary, there is lots more the area has to offer.

Here are some ideas:

• Consider spending a night in Yoho National Park. There are some beautiful cabins on Emerald Lake you can hire through Booking.com. I wish we had time to do this as it was such a magical area.
  
• Drive down to the Golden Sky Bridge. One of the areas newest attractions, the Golden Skybridge opened in 2021. It’s a 426ft high bridge with Mountain Views in all directions. It costs $36 (Sep 22). It is a little out the way so you’ll need to add at least a day into your trip to visit this. I’d personally drive there on day 4 after leaving Banff. Spend the day exploring the area and drive back up to Yoho for the night.
  
• You could spend days exploring Jasper and everything it has to offer. If you have more time and love hiking, consider spending 4/5 full days here.
  

The Ultimate Western Canada Road Trip – Vancouver to Calgary

When we were originally planning our trip, we were going to start in Vancouver and end in Calgary. In the end we opted against this as my mum didn’t want to spend too many days stuck in the car. This route is entirely possible but involves some long driving days. I’d recommend at least 14 days if not longer to do this, and even more if you want to add in Tofino.

You can easily do this itinerary in reverse if you want to start in Calgary. Here we go…

• Day 1: Drive the Sea to Sky highway to Whistler. Stop in the town of Squamish and visit Shannon Falls. Opt to ride the Sea to Sky Gondola for beautiful views of the fjords. Arrive in Whistler and spend the afternoon exploring or checking out one of the hikes in Whistler.
  You can spend some extra days in Vancouver beforehand to see what the city has to offer. If I’m honest, Vancouver isn’t my favourite city and I’m not sure it’s worth spending too much time here. In fact, unless you want to go whale watching or visit Vancouver Island, I’d focus your days on the road trip as the Rockies have so much more to offer. If you’re on a budget and Whistler is too expensive, try the town of Pemberton.
  
• Day 2: grab breakfast in Whistler and hit the road, driving to Kamloops. You could technically drive all the way to Jasper but I’d suggest breaking up the drive as it’s long (10 hours). Stay in Kamloops for the night.
  
• Day 3: drive to Wells Gray Provincial Park and spend the morning here. The park is famous for its waterfalls including Helmcken Falls and Dawson Falls. You could honestly spend a whole day exploring here so opt to either stay in the nearby town of Clearwater or drive four hours on to Jasper. There’s a fantastic guide for Wells Gray here. If you drive to Jasper, try and squeeze in a visit to Mount Robson to see the Rockie’s highest peak.
  
• Day 4 onwards: either drive on to Jasper stopping at Mount Robson or start your day in Jasper depending on where you decided to stay the night. You can follow my 10 day itinerary in reverse from here.

If you want to both start and end in Vancouver it’s entirely possibly. However it’s a long drive back.

Where to stay in the Canadian Rockies?

I’ve put the accommodation options we used below as well as a few alternatives. We were on a mid-level budget and spent about £1100 for accommodation for the ten days (for two people). We went at the end of the high season, prices were starting to fall but not quite to their lowest. I think you could do for cheaper, but you need to book early.

We normally book all of our accommodation through Booking.com. There is one exception below which is in Jasper. Everywhere we stayed had parking, a fridge a kettle and normally a microwave too.

Canmore: we stayed at Lamphouse Hotel on our first stop here. It’s a little bit more like a motel but was clean and very sufficient. It’s in a great spot for food and drink. On our way back we chose somewhere different called Blackstone Lodge. We were upgraded to a two bedroom suite. This is much more of a ski-focused hotel and has a pool and two hot tubs. It’s a little bit more out of the town.

Yoho National Park: we didn’t stay here but if you do there are some little cabins on Emerald Lake. Looking online, it’s quite pricey to book a stay here but you will be rewarded with some incredible views and the lake all to yourself once the crowds leave.

Lake Louise: we chose Lake Louise Inn for our two night stay here. It was the cheapest option we could find when looking. It’s in a great spot for Lake Louise and Moraine Lake but does feel very aged and run down. Having said that, it was more than good enough for two nights. The most famous place to stay here is the Fairmont Chateau right on Lake Louise itself. It offers stunning views of the lake and there’s no early wake-up call to get parking for sunrise. However it’s incredibly expensive. When we went, a night was going to set us back £800!! Hence us not staying there…

Jasper: okay I’m not being dramatic when I say this but where we stayed here is not only my favourite accommodation of our road trip but literally my favourite in all my travels. We were struggling to find somewhere so left Booking and did some research online and came across Patricia Lake Bungalows. W O W. It. Was. Fantastic. The cabins are a reasonable price (we paid $800 for four nights) and in the most beautiful setting right on the lake. The cabins are gorgeous and have a fridge and mini kitchenette with a microwave and toaster. The lake itself was so peaceful and you can hire a kayak to explore. There is a little deck by the lake with zero light so we stargazed until late and saw some very faint northern lights. The cabins are a little out of town so you’ll need to drive for food, but it’s honestly worth-it. You can book directly through the accommodation here.

Extra tips for your dream road trip:

• Carry bear spray! Even if you’re not planning on doing any major hikes, bears can appear on the tourist trails or at your accommodation (it happened to us in Jasper). It’s cheapest to buy from the visitor centre in Banff, but we found several shops on the main strip selling it too. Make sure you learn how to use it.
  
• Don’t approach the wildlife… please. For some reason, people seem to think approaching wildlife such as bears or elk is a good idea. The wildlife can literally kill you. Do some research beforehand to learn how to behave if you spot one of these animals.
  
• Lake trips: if you can only do one lake boat trip, I’d suggest doing the Maligne Lake one. The scenery of Spirit Island might possibly be one of the best views I’ve seen in my life. It didn’t feel real.
  
• Buy snacks! Once you’re in most the parks it can be tricky to buy food. Options are limited and what’s there is often expensive. Load up on snacks to keep in the car, especially if you’re planning hikes.
  
• Start your day early: the popular sights can get quite busy so I’d suggest starting your day early to avoid some of the crowds.
  
• Book early: plan your road trip as early as you can, especially if travelling in the summer. Even when we went in September, many of the affordable accommodations had sold out months ahead. Make sure you’ve booked your activities too such as the Gondola rides and glacier walks.
  
• Buy a combo pass: if you’re planning to do multiple activities, you can buy a combination ticket which combines multiple attractions at a discount. Use the Banff Jasper collection website for this.
  
• There’s a debate about whether Moraine Lake or Lake Louise is better for sunrise. Some argue the award goes to Moraine Lake. I think both are beautiful and you should visit whichever makes sense in your itinerary. We chose Lake Louise as I wanted to do the Little Beehive trail. Also, parking at Moraine Lake is notoriously harder. There are less spots and parking is normally full up to 2 to 3 hours before sunrise in the high season. I love a good sunrise but not that much. As of March 2023, it looks like parking at Moraine Lake is now not allowed at all meaning you will need to use the shuttle bus. There is more information here.

Do I need to buy a National Parks Pass?

Yes. All of the parks on this trip require you to purchase a National Park pass.

You can buy day or annual passes for the National Parks. A day pass will set you back just $10.50 per adult each day (Sep 22). However if you want to see lots, it’s likely you’ll be visiting multiple parks in one day. I’d suggest buying the annual pass which is $72.25 per adult.

You can buy this when you arrive at your first park (likely Banff) and hang it from your mirror. You then don’t need to worry about queuing or paying again. Of course, work out how many parks you’re visiting to see what works financially (remember each park means a new pass – so if you go from Banff to Yoho in one day, that’s two passes). You can purchase in advance on the Canada Parks website, but if you’re travelling internationally it’s much simpler to buy when you arrive.

Once you’ve purchased the pass, you don’t need to worry about paying for parking or to use the toilets as it’s all included in your parks fee.

Are there toilets available in the National Parks?

All the parks had toilets available. Most car parks would have at least one toilet, even randomly on the side of the road. These won’t necessarily be flush toilets so be prepared for quite a stench. However they were always clean with toilet paper and hand sanitiser available.

Is the driving easy?

Yes. The roads are well maintained and generally all tarmac. There are some narrow windy roads when getting to some of the spots, but it’s generally okay. Of course if you go in the winter this could differ.