Canadian Rockies Adventure Vacation

Why Go

On a sunny road-trip through the Canadian Rockies, snowy mountains rush past and look to all the world as if they have been sketched in by an artist's hand. Dandelion blossoms trail in the brilliant blue air, and on long summer days the sun does not go down til an hour before midnight, when the reflection of a million stars surrounds.

Wake up to a bright dawn and hit the road once more, maybe you'll spot a deer or even a bear, definitely more waterfalls and mountains than you have ever seen before. Stop off for lunch in a high mountain meadow of wild flowers, then hike past rushing rivers so opalescent, green and pure that it takes you by surprise: “The Canadian Tourism Board never photoshopped these colors?”

Take a cedar-wood kayak out on a remote lake and breathe in the fresh air, traverse ice glaciers, lead a mahogany horse up a mountainside studded with ancient pines and butterflies.

This is a road trip through Alberta and the Canadian Rockies, this is about as close to nature as it gets.

The wide open sky, ranches and reserves to the East of Calgary extend all the way to the Dinosaur Provincial Park in the Badlands, whose hot mudstone hoodoos and pinnacles are stuffed full of dinosaur bones and glints of iron which turn golden in the late evening light. Come for that otherworldly amber landscape which stretches out to the horizon. Come for simple walks past old cotton trees by the Red Deer River.

Calgary may not be as showy as its more famous Canadian cousins, Toronto and Vancouver, but this city of over a million has a burgeoning underground scene. With summer festivals including Sled Island and the rootin' tootin' cowboy rodeo Stampede, this is a great city to get to know, especially by bicycle, which allows you to woosh past the city's pretty suburbs and tumbledown gardens to the downtown area, full of hip stores, diners and bars.

Getting to the Canadian Rockies with Miles, Points or Cheap Tickets

NYC, ORD, SFO, LAX, SAN and a number of other cities have nonstop flights to Calgary, and depending on when you go, a cheap revenue ticket on WestJet may be your best bet, especially if you're not looking to earn or redeem miles.

NYC: WestJet has roundtrip nonstop flights to Calgary for ~$550

Chicago: United has several nonstop flights to Calgary for ~$430, or use 25,000 United miles rt (12,500 miles one-way) for a Saver Economy Award.

San Francisco: United has several nonstop flights to Calgary for ~$400, or if you have tons of United miles, use 25,000 United miles for a rt Saver Economy Award. It's a less than 3 hour flight.

Using miles really makes sense out of someplace such as Houston to Calgary on United, which can be $875 as a roundtrip coach ticket, but is still the same 25,000 United miles for a roundtrip Saver Economy Award. You'd be getting 3.5 cents per mile, which is very good redemption value for domestic coach tickets:

The fastest way to earn United miles if you're not a frequent flyer is by leveraging category bonuses with the Ink Bold, Sapphire Preferred, or Chase Freedom, since Ultimate Rewards points transfer 1:1 to United.

Apply: Ink Bold Business Card – 50,000 points transfer 1:1 to United

Apply: Sapphire Preferred – 40,000 points transfer 1:1 to United

Insider Tips

At Calgary airport, a band of volunteers in white Stetson hats are there to welcome you to the West. They will also be happy to answer your questions and give directions.

Public transport is not particularly extensive in Calgary and around. You can hire a car from one of the many car rental companies at Calgary Airport or even better, hit the road in an RV Rental.

If no-one in your group wants to drive, you could take the luxury rail route and sup champagne while traveling through the Canadian Rockies by train with Rocky Mountaineer Railtours. It is not cheap though, two day tours costs from $1389 per person.

If you plan on cycling round Calgary, rent a reconditioned or recycled bike with the Good Life Community Bikeshop in the Kensington area, the store is on 148 10th Street NW.

There are plenty of mosquitoes in the Alberta area come summertime, and they are particularly nasty, so make sure to stock up on DEET before you hit Alberta's national parks.

Where to Stay

In Banff and Jasper's national parks there is every kind of accommodation available; a great resource to check out is Banff Info.

The Emerald Lake Lodge, in Yoho National Park, is all hand-hewn timber and huge stone fireplaces, and it is just twenty minutes drive from Lake Louise.

In Banff, the Hidden Ridge Resort is family friendly and boasts outdoor hot tubs, wooden fires and wifi. A standard room that can fit 4 adults costs from $149 per night.

You could opt for self-catering accommodation in a lodge and coach house at Homeplace Ranch in Priddis. You can get riding lessons at the ranch too(www.homeplaceranch.com).

Why not go ‘glamping' at the Dinosaur Provincial Park? You sleep on a proper bed under the canvas, and the tent is kitted out with decking, a fridge and heating. A spot with a view of the river costs $120 a night, and the tent fits up to four people, though book well in advance to ensure a spot.

If you fancy plain old camping at the park, unserviced sites cost $17, and powered sites are $20. The campground fills up by early afternoon.

After all that wild adventure, you may need a place to soothe your aching muscles in Calgary. For true luxury, opt for one of the boutique rooms at the Kensington Riverside Inn on 1126 Memorial Drive NW. Next to the Bow river, this independent hotel serves award-winning cuisine and all the Aveda products and luxury linens you could ask for.

What to Eat

Banff has its fair share of gourmet restaurants, including Evergreen in the Royal Canadian Lodge.

If you are looking for a delicious and healthy lunch try Nourish, a Vegetarian bistro in Banff town whose falafel, polenta and friendly service make this a great place to dine, especially as everything is served fresh and made to order.

All those ranch-fed cattle on Alberta's prairie land means there's many a great steak to be found. My favorite was at The Pit, ten miles southwest of the dinosaur park, where you can buy and barbeque your own steaks and burgers, including real buffalo. Hearty soups, salad, garlic bread and a jacket potato are all included at this small-town, wild west joint. The Patricia Hotel is often busiest at lunchtimes, and with steaks ranging from $10.50 to just over $20, it's well worth a visit.

After all that adventuring in Alberta's national parks, treat yourself to dinner at Calgary's Boogie's Burgers. This fashionably retro kitchen serves up the city's best burgers alongside sweet yam fries. Burger prices start at $4.75, and there are also plenty of milkshakes to try. How about the ‘Fat Elvis', flavored with peanut butter, banana and bacon? I promise it tastes better than it sounds.

If you fancy a try of that quintessential Canadian dish poutine, head to the Big Cheese on 738 17 Avenue SW, a diner-style joint where the gravy is deep and savory, the fries hot and crunchy, and just about the best thing you can eat after a night out on the town. The Big Cheese also offers vegetarian poutine, as well as intriguing fusions such as the breakfast poutine with bacon, sausage, scrambled egg and hollandaise sauce. A small box of classic poutine costs $5.99, and the portions are huge.

For more refined cuisine, head to the award-winning Rouge on Calgary's 1240 8th Avenue SE, a French-inspired restaurant which prides itself on serving fresh local produce. Expect innovative dishes such as foie gras and pear terrine with bee pollen and foie profiterole.

What to Do

Lake Louise is deservedly one of the most photographed places in the Canadian Rockies. Still, many lakes in Banff have that iridescent emerald water, and are not so wildly popular with holiday makers and kayakers in summer. If you want to opt for somewhere quieter, try Moraine Lake, just 8 miles south of Lake Louise or Peyto Lake on the Icefields Parkway.

There are over 3,059km of hiking trails in Banff national park alone, and both Banff and Jasper national parks offer free maps of surrounding mountain bike trails. The Bow Valley Parkway in Jasper offers especially great road biking, with not too many vehicles to contend with either. There are bike rentals available all over the Canadian Rockies.

Rock climbers can have a great time on sheer Mount Rundle near Banff, and on the Palisades close to Jasper. In winter, the mountains' waterfalls become stunning surfaces for ice climbers. For instruction, try Yamnuska Inc. Mountain School in Canmore.

There are white-water rafting and canoe outfitters across the Canadian Rockies, and there are trips available to suit every level, whether you opt for an hour paddling round a pretty lake, or a five day white-water rafting trip. Maligne Rafting Adventures offers trips for all levels of rafters.

If you don't manage to see a bear on your drive through Banff and Jasper, you can always visit the Grizzly Bear Refuge at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort in BC, where orphaned bear Boo lives and plays. Adult admission costs $19.95 each.

An hour and a half's drive from Calgary lies the exceptional Dinosaur Provincial Park. The Badlands Bus Tours are excellent, the interpretive guides truly taking you on a 75 million year step back in time. The tours are available from May to September, and cost $6.50. If you have the time, it is worth visiting the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology too, which is about an hour's drive from the Dinosaur Park, and houses the world's biggest selection of dinosaur skeletons.

Sled Island is a wild music, film and comedy festival. Over 200 acts play, from surf rock gods The Sadies to Canada's indie sweetheart, Feist. Held at the end of June each year, Sled Island is truly four days of fun chasing great bands round the city, though tickets don't come cheap, at around $200 for a regular package. Cover charges for each venue are around $10-$20 per night, so it might come cheaper to simply pay to see your favorite bands, act by act.

Calgary is synonymous with the cowboy festival Calgary Stampede, now in its 100th year. The rocking rodeo starts on the first Friday after Canada Day (July 1st) and lasts for ten days. At the festival, the best cowboys on Earth get together to compete in magnificent rodeos, where they fight for the world's biggest prize money. The whole city joins in with the Wild West atmosphere, and all sorts of fairs, showground rides and races take over. Everyone at Stampede likes to dress up and join in with the fun, so don't forget your cowboy hat. Yeehaw!