Canadian Rockies Walking Tour
Rock Isle Lake at Sunshine Meadows
The classic hiking trip in the Canadian Rockies
7 Days/6 Nights
The Canadian Rockies surrounding Canmore and Banff contain a lifetime of walking. Eight National and Provincial Mountain Parks are within easy walking and driving distance. The scenery is classically magnificent, steely grey limestone peaks are clothed in forests, waterfalls, craggy cliffs and, not far west of Canmore, glaciers. Frequent lakes and beaver meadows break the forest cover of the valley floors. Towards treeline the forest thins, alpine larches appear as forest gives way to alpine meadows. From late May to mid August the forest and especially the meadows are lit gloriously with wildflower shades of red, blue, yellow and white. By late August wildflower colour is replaced by the reds and golds of senescent Fall. September is in some ways the most spectacular month as the alpine larches turn treeline into a blazing line of gold and incandescent aspens speckle the valley floors.
During this tour you will spend two nights in each of Canmore, Banff and Lake Louise. It is ideal for first time visitors wanting to see as much as possible.
2008 Dates
June 1 - 6, Jun 15 - 20, June 29 - July 4, July 13 -19, August 10 - 15, September 14 - 19. Private departures also available.
Cost
Meeting Place and Time
We will meet you at 7.00pm in the lobby of your hotel in Canmore on the evening of Day 1.
Program Itinerary
Day 1: Every one arrives in Canmore and we meet that evening for a welcome session where we spend some time getting to know each other. We’ll go over plans and options for the following days, look at maps of the area and check to see that you are properly outfitted.
Day 2: Your guide will meet you at the hotel for breakfast, following which we’ll head out on our first hike - one of the many parks covering Kananaskis country. Perhaps Yamnuska Meadows or Indefatigable Ridge. We like to keep plans flexible and we like to choose a hike that's not too hard to let you acclimatize to our higher elevation and dry air.
Day 3: After breakfast we drive north towards Lake Louise Crossing stopping to hike in Kootenay National Park (50 km from Canmore) on the way. Paget Lookout and Stanley Glacier are two choices. After hiking we complete our drive north another 25km to Lake Louise with its gem of a lake surrounded by enormous peaks with their hanging glaciers.
Day 4: There is a bit of driving today, but it is one of the most scenic drives in the world ... the 'Icefields Parkway'! We follow it up valleys overhung by glaciers, past lakes and Icefields then over alpine passes and meadows to reach the world-famous Columbia Icefields. With the Columbia Icefields and stunning Mt. Athabasca our backdrop we hike on Wilcox Meadows. Return to Lake Louise for the night.
Day 5: Head a little west over "Kicking Horse Pass' into Yoho National Park (10 km). Hike either to Yoho Lake or, if feeling fit, the Iceline Trail. Return to Banff (80 km) for the last two nights.
Day 6: A final day of hiking in Banff National Park, perhaps to Healy Meadows, Sunshine or Larch Valley. Enjoy a final night on the town in Banff to celebrate our adventures walking in the Canadian Rockies.
Day 7: Complimentary breakfast at the hotel
How difficult is it? How fit and experienced need
you be?
This tour involves hiking for up to 6 hours per day, distances up to 14km, elevation gains of up to 600m (c. 2000 ft.) Participants will be carrying a daypack containing spare clothing, your camera, lunch and something to drink each day.
Hikes will be chosen to best suit the group. This program is designed for fit walkers. Any training you can do before you arrive will enhance your experience. No previous mountain hiking experience required.
Guides and Group Size
Your guides are experienced professional hiking guides with certification from the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides and from the Mountain Parks Heritage Interpretation Association. They are chosen for their enthusiasm and interest in sharing their knowledge of these mountains.
The minimum group size will be 4, maximum 10.
Accommodation and Meals
Accommodation is double occupancy hotel or lodge. No single supplement applies unless you wish to guarantee a single for yourself. We can arrange rooms for you to stay in Banff, Canmore or Lake Louise before and after the tour.
All breakfasts are included as are packed lunches and trail snacks. Dinners are not included. There are many easily accessible restaurants nearby or in your hotel. Please specify any special dietary requirements you have on your application so we can incorporate them into our lunch menus.
Getting to Canmore and Transportation
Canmore is situated 100km (65miles) west of Calgary on the Trans-Canada Highway. It is well served by scheduled bus lines both from Calgary (airport and downtown), Banff (20km west) and points further west. Calgary International Airport is well connected to major cities throughout North America and Europe. Once in Canmore we will supply all transport needed for the trip. Banff Airporter and Rocky Mountain Sky Shuttle offer frequent departures from Calgary Airport. Greyhound Bus Lines (1 800 661 8747) serves Canmore from points east and west along the Trans-Canada Highway. Call 609 0300 for taxis in Canmore.
General Equipment List
Your guide will be carrying a full emergency and first-aid kit. You will need to bring your own daypack and personal clothing. Cotton clothing is NOT recommended as an insulating layer as it causes rapid heat loss when wet.
What to Bring
- HIKING BOOTS: These should be 'broken-in' and have good ankle support and tread. Your boots will make or break your holiday so some time spent getting used to them is time well spent.
- DAYPACK: Large enough to carry extra clothing (rain jacket & pants, sweater, gloves, hat), lunch and snack food, water bottle and camera plus accessories (rental available).
- SUNGLASSES
- WATER BOTTLE (1 Litre)
- SMALL BLISTER & FIRST AID KIT
- SUN BLOCK & LIP BALM
- INSECT REPELLENT
Hiking Clothing
- Wool or fleece HAT
- SUNHAT
- 3 TO 4 WARM LAYERED TOPS (1.Light weight polypro top. 2. medium or expedition weight polypropylene top. 3. fleece jacket or sweater
- T-SHIRT for warm, dry sunny days
- RAIN JACKET with HOOD (sufficient to withstand a day of rain or snow) (Rentals available)
- Light GLOVES or MITTS
- SOCKS, several changes. We suggest a wool blend for comfort.
- SHORT PANTS can be very comfortable for hiking; they should be quick drying, and preferably not cotton.
- HIKING PANTS (comfortable and quick drying, not cotton)
- RAIN PANTS (sufficient to withstand a day of rain or snow) (Rentals available)
- RUNNING SHOES OR OTHER LIGHT WEIGHT FOOTWEAR (backup in case you get blisters).
Optional Gear
- TREKKING POLES
- CAMERA AND SPARE FILM
Camping Gear (Glacier Views of the Rockies Camping Tour & Mount Assiniboine Adventure ONLY)
- SLEEPING BAG We recommend at least a '3 season' bag as temperatures can drop to below freezing at night. A bag with synthetic fill functions better in wet conditions. Make sure you bring a stuff sac that will reduce your bag to its minimum size (i.e. one with compression straps). This will provide enough space in your bag for everything else (rentals available).
- SLEEPING MAT Best is a 'Thermarest' mat; they have some great mats for this type of trip where we will be camping on quite hard surfaces (rentals available).
- PILLOW SLIP Rather then carrying a bulky pillow you can stuff this with extra clothing to make a serviceable pillow each night.
- Unbreakable PLATE, BOWL, MUG and EATING UTENSILS.
- FLASHLIGHT
Insurance in the National Parks
Please ensure that your health plan will cover you in case of illness or accident whilst here. Obtain extra travel insurance if necessary
To Book
Please book as early as practical to avoid disappointment. Up to 8 weeks before the trip, we require a $935 CDN deposit including GST, after that, full payment is required. To avoid unnecessary cancellation penalties we suggest you take our cancellation insurance for an extra non-refundable $134, this must accompany your deposit. Please click on the next line to read information on booking conditions and cancellation penalties before booking.
For detailed Booking Instructions and Conditions, click here.
For a Booking and Credit Card Authorization form, click here.
Please note that you will be required to sign our waiver before commencing the trip. Click here for waiver copy.
Please don't hesitate to contact us if you need to know anything else about this hike!
