Alberta/British Columbia
Western Canada by Train & Ferry: Grizzlies, Orcas & Totems
Program No. 21439RJ
Breathtaking vistas, unique wildlife, ancient cultures and traditional ways of life — discover this and more as you explore Western Canada from Alberta to the Inside Passage.
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13 days
12 nights
28 meals
11B 9L 8D
1
Check-in, Registration, Welcome Dinner, Orientation
Calgary, Alberta
2
Yoho National Park, Great Divide, Cave & Basin
Banff, Alberta
3
Sharing Land with the Grizzlies, Lake Louise, High Tea
Banff, Alberta
4
Icefields Parkway
Jasper, Alberta
5
Maligne Canyon, Pyramid Lake, Jasper National Park
Jasper, Alberta
6
Skeena Train: Jasper to Prince George
Prince George, British Columbia
7
Skeena Train: Prince George to Prince Rupert
Prince Rupert, British Columbia
8
Museum of Northern B.C., Pacific Northwest Cannery
Prince Rupert, British Columbia
9
Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary Full-Day Field Trip
Prince Rupert, British Columbia
10
B.C. Ferry to Port Hardy, Canada’s Inside Passage
Port Hardy, British Columbia
11
Telegraph Cove, Orca Whale Watching
Port Hardy, British Columbia
12
Motorcoach Exploration, Ferry to Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
13
Program Concludes
Vancouver, British Columbia
At a Glance
Discover the breathtaking range of the Canadian Rockies in Alberta and the magnificent natural beauty of British Columbia. The Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks are richly adorned with mountain peaks, glaciers, waterfalls, limestone caves and fossils. In British Columbia, the Inside Passage teems with marine life, while on shore the ancient coastal rainforest provides habitat for grizzlies and many other mammals. Join naturalists for an exploration of the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Coast Mountains and the waterways of the West on this wildlife and wilderness adventure.
Activity Level
Keep the Pace
Walk up to two miles daily over varied terrain. Embarking/disembarking motorcoaches, ferries, trains and vessels. Some long days with travel times of up to 16 hours due to ferry and train schedules (subject to change), with late-night arrivals followed by early morning departures.
Best of all, you’ll…
- Explore Banff and Yoho National Parks with experts and learn about their rich ecology and geology.
- Experience British Columbia’s diversity of landscapes aboard Via Rail's Skeena train and on a BC Ferry ride.
- Learn about the bioregion of the grizzly bear and observe these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat.
General Notes
Select dates are designated for small groups and are limited to 24 participants or less.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Colleen Campbell
Colleen is a Victoria, British Columbia native who has lived all over Canada and in many parts of the world. She holds three degrees in visual arts, has studied in the sciences and has worked as a wildlife field researcher, concentrating on coyotes and grizzly bears. She believes that studying wildlife means learning about all their interactions — plants and other animals — and about how and where they travel. Colleen was also full-time faculty at Mount Royal in Calgary for more than 30 years.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Kirsten Schmitten
View biography
Kirsten Schmitten has spent over 30 years exploring, researching, writing and working in the Canadian Rockies. From her career as a park naturalist to her adventures with her warden husband, Kirsten’s love and knowledge of the natural and cultural history of Jasper makes her a captivating and sought after speaker. She is the owner of All Things Wild, a company specializing in connecting people to the natural and cultural history of Jasper National Park.
Brent MacDonald
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Brent Macdonald has been a resident of the Canadian Rockies for almost 30 years. As a geology expert, he provides a wealth of knowledge about geography and geomorphology. Brent has had a diverse career as a freelance natural history interpreter, also working as a consultant for a geotechnical engineering company. He has shared his knowledge of geology and natural history as an interpreter and guest lecturer. Brent is also a certified mountain leader and ski instructor.
Colleen Campbell
View biography
Colleen is a Victoria, British Columbia native who has lived all over Canada and in many parts of the world. She holds three degrees in visual arts, has studied in the sciences and has worked as a wildlife field researcher, concentrating on coyotes and grizzly bears. She believes that studying wildlife means learning about all their interactions — plants and other animals — and about how and where they travel. Colleen was also full-time faculty at Mount Royal in Calgary for more than 30 years.
Andrea McPherson
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Originally from Ontario, Andrea has settled into Calgary. Her love of travel has taken her around Canada and around the world. Andrea loves introducing visitors to the wonders of her home country of Canada and the vast range of experiences it has to offer. She is just as happy in the heart of a downtown metropolis as she is in the middle of the wild. From whale-watching to dog-sledding, from walks in downtown metropolises to the Rockies, Andreas has done it all.
Sonya Pollock
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Sonya Pollock grew up in Calgary, Alberta and loved taking trips out to the Rocky Mountains as a child. These trips with her family solidified her love of nature and wildlife. Her passion for helping animals resulted in her pursuit of an MSc in animal behavior and welfare where she studied thermoregulation in the Indian rhinoceros. She’s currently a Ph.D. candidate in wildlife ecology at the University of Alberta where she studies grizzly bear habitat selection in Banff National Park.
Patricia Thomson
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Patricia Thomson not only loves nature, she’s made it her life’s calling. Having had a broad environmental education career including working for Parks Canada, B.C. Parks, and the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, Patricia enjoys passing her passion on to others. Since 2004, she has been the executive director of Stanley Park Ecology Society (SPES), leading a team of twelve conservation biologists and educators. Patricia is excited to take others with her and show to them the reasons she loves her home.
Lynne Brookes
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Lynne Brookes has taught courses in biology, ecology, and environmental studies as well as teachers’ workshops in the U.S., Latin America, and Canada. A former president of an Audubon Society chapter, she served as president of the Arrowsmith Naturalists from 2014-17. “Retired” on mid-Vancouver Island, Lynne is a volunteer teacher focusing on native plants, ecology, and wildlife-friendly gardening for the Vancouver Island University ElderCollege program. She also conducts programs and workshops at the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre in Errington, British Columbia.
Suggested Reading List
(5 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Western Canada by Train & Ferry: Grizzlies, Orcas & Totems
Program Number: 21439
Banff A History of the Park and Town
From the regions first Aboriginal visitors through the coming of the railway and the discovery of hot springs to modern times, Banff: A History of the Park and Town represents a synthesis of E.J. (Ted) Hart's 40-year career as a Canadian Rockies historian.
Epic Wanderer: David Thompson and the Mapping of the Canadian West
This full-length biography of David Thompson, is set in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries against a broad canvas of dramatic rivalries—between the United States and British North America, between the Hudson’s Bay Company and its Montreal-based rival, the North West Co., and between the various First Nations thrown into disarray by the advent of guns, horses and alcohol. Thompson spent nearly three decades (1784–1812) surveying and mapping over 1.2 million square miles of largely uncharted Indian territory.
Once They Were Hats: In Search of the Mighty Beaver
Examines humanity’s fifteen-thousand-year relationship with Castor canadensis, and the beaver’s even older relationship with North American landscapes and ecosystems. It’s a journey of discovery to find out what happened after we nearly wiped this essential animal off the map, and how we can learn to live with beavers now that they’re returning.
The Place of Bows
The Place of Bows is a story rich in character and often dramatic in events, and helps to shed light on how Banff National Park became such a focus of world attention. For those seeking to understand the contemporary debate over conservation versus development in Canada's first national park, many of the answers lie within this book.
Stone by Stone: Exploring Ancient Sites on the Canadian Plains
Author Liz Bryan explores archaeological sites that are accessible to today’s inquisitive travellers and provides enough detailed information, striking photographs, maps, and illustrations to satisfy any armchair archaeologist.