Alberta
Outdoor Adventure in the Canadian Rockies With Your Grandchild
Program No. 21822RJ
On this active adventure with your grandchild, discover the Canadian Rockies by raft and on horseback and watch for grizzly bears, eagles and mountain goats in the wild!
Enroll with Confidence
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Protecting the Environment
We offset a portion of the emissions created by your travel. Learn more
7 days
6 nights
15 meals
6B 4L 5D
1
Check-In, Registration, Welcome Dinner, Orientation
Calgary, Alberta
2
Calgary Zoo, Heritage Park, Transfer to Banff
Banff, Alberta
3
Banff National Park: Johnston Canyon, Cave and Basin Site
Banff, Alberta
4
Whitewater Rafting, Yoho National Park, Field Centre
Banff, Alberta
5
Horseback Riding, Ranching, Free Time
Banff, Alberta
6
Grizzly Bears, Lake Louise Gondola, Moraine Lake
Banff, Alberta
7
Program Concludes
Banff, Alberta
At a Glance
Take a deep breath and take in a huge gulp of some of the freshest air you’ll ever breathe as you visit the Canadian Rockies with your grandchild. Together you’ll experience the beauty of the majestic mountains along the Bow River trail from the saddle of a friendly horse. Explore the glittering waters of Lake Louise, and observe grizzlies from a gondola in one of the best places on earth to see these magnificent creatures in real life. The Rockies are just waiting for your curious, enthusiastic discovery.
Activity Level
Outdoor: Spirited
Walking two miles daily, stairs, river float on Class II to III rapids. Elevations up to 5,700 feet.
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.
Best of all, you’ll…
- Float the upper waters of the Kicking Horse River on a gentle but exhilarating whitewater rafting trip as your rafting instructor reveals the secrets of the mighty river.
- Explore Yoho National Park, home to timber wolves, lynx, cougars, black bears, moose and more, and learn about Burgess Shale fossils, one of the most significant fossil sites in the world.
- Witness a true feat of engineering, the Spiral Tunnels — two vast tunnels running figure-eight loops through the snowcapped mountains — and watch a train looping over and under itself, deep into the mountains and up the valley to the Kicking Horse Pass.
General Notes
Program is for grandchildren ages 9-12. For a comparable family adventure for all generations, check out "Outdoor Adventure in the Canadian Rockies With Your Family" (#23439)!
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Sonya Pollock
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.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Brenda Blair
View biography
A summer job as a general studies student changed Brenda Blair’s life forever. She spent eight years living in Cold Lake before moving to Sydney, Australia for a few more. For the past twenty years Brenda has lived in Calgary, being involved in adult education as well as having a particular interest in vintage and historic aircraft. That had her working for a number of years at the Aero Space Museum of Calgary, bringing her passion to life for visitors.
Sonya Pollock
View biography
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.
Routes Adventures Mobile Phone
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Please call the toll free line at 1-866-745-1690 during regular business hours or for non-urgent matters (Mon - Fri 8:30 - 4:30 EST). The mobile phone #1-613-331-5777 is for after hours and weekends for emergency use only. The phone is carried by a staff member.
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.
Outdoor Adventure in the Canadian Rockies With Your Grandchild
Program Number: 21822
This Wild Spirit: Women in the Rocky Mountains of Canada
In 1912, Mary Vaux, a botanist, glaciologist, painter, and photographer, wrote about her mountain adventures: “A day on the trail, or a scramble over the glacier, or even with a quiet day in camp to get things in order for the morrow's conquests? Some how when once this wild spirit enters the blood…I can hardly wait to be off again." Vaux's compulsion was shared by many women whose intellects, imaginations, and spirits rose to the challenge of the mountains between the late-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. This Wild Spirit explores a sampling of women's creative responses—in fiction and travel writing, photographs and paintings, embroidery and beadwork, letters and diaries, poetry and posters—to their experiences in the Rocky Mountains of Canada.
Scats and Tracks of the Rocky Mountains: A Field Guide to the Signs of 70 Wildlife Species
Scats and Tracks of the Rocky Mountains will help you determine which mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians have passed your way and could still be nearby. Clearly written descriptions and illustrations of scats, tracks, and gait patterns will help you recognize seventy Rocky Mountain species
Handbook of the Canadian Rockies
Geology, plants, animals, history and recreation from Waterton/Glacier to the Yukon.
The Incredible Journey
Instinct told them that the way home lay to the west. And so the doughty young Labrador retriever, the roguish bull terrier and the indomitable Siamese set out through the Canadian wilderness. Separately, they would soon have died. But, together, the three house pets faced starvation, exposure, and wild forest animals to make their way home to the family they love. The Incredible Journey is one of the great children's stories of all time--and has been popular ever since its debut in 1961.
Learn About Canada for Kids Ages 8-12: Includes Fun Facts About Canada's History and Modern Culture
Filled with beautiful colour photographs and peppered with a few cheeky cartoons, this book informs and tells engaging stories - some funny and some more significant to Canada's history.
Whether your child is Canadian and needs to learn more about their home country, or you plan to visit Canada and want to learn more about the history and modern-day culture. This book has you covered and is one your child will truly enjoy reading. You'll enjoy it too!