Alberta: Banff & the Canadian Rockies

Lake Minnewanka; 4–6 miles, easy

Breakfast is included at your hotel. You will have the morning to visit a few more sites in Calgary, perhaps strolling the cobbled streets of Stephen Avenue, lined with historic buildings and shops. Your guide(s) meet you at 12:00 p.m. in the lobby of your Calgary hotel. Please be dressed for walking and plan to eat lunch before meeting your group.

Once you arrive in Banff with your guide(s) enjoy a first walk at Lake Minnewanka. As you follow its pathways along the glassy-surfaced lake, marvel at your first up-close views of Banff National Park, a stunning canvas of spruce and fir trees and rugged peaks skirted by pine-green forest.

Tonight, enjoy a welcome reception followed by dinner in Banff.

Accommodation: Moose Hotel and Suites

Banff walking tour, 2-miles, easy. Lake Louise, 2.5-4 miles, easy and moderate

After a hearty breakfast, head out for an historical walking tour of Banff followed by free time to visit the Whyte Museum to learn about the cultural heritage of the Canadian Rockies or to browse the shops. Enjoy lunch on your own in Banff.

After lunch on your own in Banff, transfer to Lake Louise for a casual stroll along the lake. If time allows, ascend along the trail toward Plain of Six Glaciers. Transfer back to your hotel to relax.

Tonight, your guides will provide recommendations for dinner on your own.

Accommodation: Moose Hotel and Suites

Sunshine Meadows Monarch Viewpoint, 3 miles, easy; or Sunshine Meadows Standish & Rock Isle Viewpoints 4.5 miles, easy-moderate. Transfer to Mount Engadine Lodge, 1.5 hours

Awake to the cool mountain air and another full breakfast. Shuttle 20 minutes to Sunshine Village, a ski resort that straddles the Continental Divide and the border between Alberta and British Columbia. Here, you will ascend the summit by gondola and chairlift, admiring sweeping views. At the top, take time to marvel at Banff’s magnificent Sunshine Meadows, a vast natural garden set in an enormous valley surrounded by breathtaking peaks. Admire its riot of colorful wildflowers, rolling green slopes and glistening lakes. During your visit to the summit, learn about the vegetation and ecosystem of this fascinating world above the tree line from your guides. You will have an opportunity to hike one of the ridgeline trails, a thrilling preview of more magnificent landscapes to follow throughout your walking vacation. Enjoy a boxed lunch on top of the world, with stunning views of the pyramidal Mount Assiniboine. Nicknamed the “Matterhorn of the Rockies” for its resemblance to the Swiss peak, it is the highest mountain in the southern range of the Canadian Rockies.

Transfer to Mount Engadine Lodge (one-and-a-half-hour driving time), your home for the next three nights. Upon arrival, check-in and unwind before joining your group for dinner at the lodge.

Please note: For guests on our June departures, you will hike to Stanley Glacier instead of Sunshine Meadows as the gondola and shuttle bus service to Sunshine Meadows do not operate in June. Located in Kootenay National Park, this easy half-day outing runs from the Vermillion River to a rockbound hanging valley containing Stanley Glacier. The hike is very rewarding in the early summer when wildflowers blanket the trailside and numerous waterfalls and avalanches tumble off Stanley Peak’s northeast face.

Accommodation: Mount Engadine Lodge

Chester Lake hike, 6 miles, 1,391-ft. elevation gain, easy with some moderate sections or Karst Spring, 6 miles, 990-ft. elevation gain, easy with some moderate sections

After breakfast, you will hike the Chester Lake Trail, one of the most scenic hikes in Spray Valley Provincial Park, in Kananaskis Country. The wide and easy-to-follow trail meanders through forests and stunning alpine meadows surrounded by towering peaks.

While it’s a bit steep at points and there are a few switchbacks, the trail eventually opens into an amazing mountain valley. Enjoy a boxed lunch on the trail before returning to the lodge for afternoon tea featuring daily baked goodies, fresh fruit, local meats, refined cheeses, freshly brewed coffee from Canmore’s Mountain Blends Coffee Roasters, and your choice of Canadian tea blends from Banff Tea Co. Maybe catch a nap before rejoining your group for another relaxing dinner the lodge.

Accommodation: Mount Engadine Lodge

Rummel Lake hike 2-8 miles, 1,247-ft. elevation gain, easy to moderate

This morning, walk from the lodge to Rummel Lake. On your gentle ascent, you’ll follow a trail through larch forests, passing gurgling Rummel Creek and several waterfalls before arriving at turquoise Rummel Lake. Admire dramatic views of Mount Galatea as you pause for your savory boxed lunch before returning to the lodge for one last afternoon gathering and tea. Tonight, you will dine at the lodge. During our special farewell dinner, savor locally sourced food served family-style and wines from British Columbia.

Accommodation: Mount Engadine Lodge

Lake Minnewanka; 4–6 miles, easy

Your guide(s) meet you at 12:00 p.m. in the lobby of your designated meeting point hotel in Calgary. Your guide(s) will be wearing a Country Walkers shirt. Please be dressed for walking and plan to eat lunch before meeting your group.

If your arrival at the Calgary hotel is scheduled for later than 12:00 p.m. or if you are delayed, you must travel at your own expense to our Banff hotel. Banff Airporter (banffairporter.com) and Brewster Banff Airport Express (brewster.ca/transportation/brewster-banff-airport-express) offer shuttles between the Calgary International Airport and Banff. Costs are approximately $65 CAD per person one-way. Please contact the Moose Hotel and Suites to advise of any travel delays or changes, and the staff will pass your message on to your Country Walkers guide(s). Please note that if you miss the Country Walkers’ transfer from Calgary, you will miss the first walk in Banff. Once you arrive in Banff, check into your room. Meet your guide(s) as soon as they return from the walk with the rest of the group (around 5:00 p.m.).

Once you arrive in Banff with your guide(s) enjoy a first walk at Lake Minnewanka. As you follow its pathways along the glassy-surfaced lake, marvel at your first up-close views of Banff National Park, a stunning canvas of spruce and fir trees and rugged peaks skirted by pine-green forest.

Tonight, enjoy a welcome reception followed by dinner in Banff.

Accommodation: Moose Hotel and Suites

Banff walking tour, 2-miles, easy. Lake Louise, 2.5-4 miles, easy and moderate

After a hearty breakfast, head out for an historical walking tour of Banff followed by free time to visit the Whyte Museum to learn about the cultural heritage of the Canadian Rockies or to browse the shops. Enjoy lunch on your own in Banff.

After lunch on your own in Banff, transfer to Lake Louise for a casual stroll along the lake. If time allows, ascend along the trail toward Plain of Six Glaciers. Transfer back to your hotel to relax.

Tonight, your guides will provide recommendations for dinner on your own.

Accommodation: Moose Hotel and Suites

Sunshine Meadows Monarch Viewpoint, 3 miles, easy; or Sunshine Meadows Standish & Rock Isle Viewpoints 4.5 miles, easy-moderate. Transfer to Mount Engadine Lodge, 1.5 hours

Awake to the cool mountain air and another full breakfast. Shuttle 20 minutes to Sunshine Village, a ski resort that straddles the Continental Divide and the border between Alberta and British Columbia. Here, you will ascend the summit by gondola and chairlift, admiring sweeping views. At the top, take time to marvel at Banff’s magnificent Sunshine Meadows, a vast natural garden set in an enormous valley surrounded by breathtaking peaks. Admire its riot of colorful wildflowers, rolling green slopes and glistening lakes. During your visit to the summit, learn about the vegetation and ecosystem of this fascinating world above the tree line from your guides. You will have an opportunity to hike one of the ridgeline trails, a thrilling preview of more magnificent landscapes to follow throughout your walking vacation. Enjoy a boxed lunch on top of the world, with stunning views of the pyramidal Mount Assiniboine. Nicknamed the “Matterhorn of the Rockies” for its resemblance to the Swiss peak, it is the highest mountain in the southern range of the Canadian Rockies.

Transfer to Mount Engadine Lodge (one-and-a-half-hour driving time), your home for the next three nights. Upon arrival, check-in and unwind before joining your group for dinner at the lodge.

Please note: For guests on our June departures, you will hike to Stanley Glacier instead of Sunshine Meadows as the gondola and shuttle bus service to Sunshine Meadows do not operate in June. Located in Kootenay National Park, this easy half-day outing runs from the Vermillion River to a rockbound hanging valley containing Stanley Glacier. The hike is very rewarding in the early summer when wildflowers blanket the trailside and numerous waterfalls and avalanches tumble off Stanley Peak’s northeast face.

Accommodation: Mount Engadine Lodge

Chester Lake hike, 6 miles, 1,391-ft. elevation gain, easy with some moderate sections or Karst Spring, 6 miles, 990-ft. elevation gain, easy with some moderate sections

After breakfast, you will hike the Chester Lake Trail, one of the most scenic hikes in Spray Valley Provincial Park, in Kananaskis Country. The wide and easy-to-follow trail meanders through forests and stunning alpine meadows surrounded by towering peaks.

While it’s a bit steep at points and there are a few switchbacks, the trail eventually opens into an amazing mountain valley. Enjoy a boxed lunch on the trail before returning to the lodge for afternoon tea featuring daily baked goodies, fresh fruit, local meats, refined cheeses, freshly brewed coffee from Canmore’s Mountain Blends Coffee Roasters, and your choice of Canadian tea blends from Banff Tea Co. Maybe catch a nap before rejoining your group for another relaxing dinner the lodge.

Accommodation: Mount Engadine Lodge

Rummel Lake hike 2-8 miles, 1,247-ft. elevation gain, easy to moderate

This morning, walk from the lodge to Rummel Lake. On your gentle ascent, you’ll follow a trail through larch forests, passing gurgling Rummel Creek and several waterfalls before arriving at turquoise Rummel Lake. Admire dramatic views of Mount Galatea as you pause for your savory boxed lunch before returning to the lodge for one last afternoon gathering and tea. Tonight, you will dine at the lodge. During our special farewell dinner, savor locally sourced food served family-style and wines from British Columbia.

Accommodation: Mount Engadine Lodge

Enjoy an early breakfast at Mount Engadine Lodge and bid farewell to your hosts. Then shuttle to the Calgary International Airport (YYC) at 7:30 a.m. (two hour, 10 minutes’ travel time); you’ll arrive by 9:45 a.m. for your return flight. We recommend a flight out of Calgary no earlier than 12:00 p.m. (noon).