Alberta
Outdoor Adventure in the Canadian Rockies With Your Family
Program No. 23439RJ
On this active adventure with your family, learn about the geology, wildlife and history of the Canadian Rockies and watch for grizzly bears, eagles, mountain goats and more!
Enroll with Confidence
We want your Road Scholar learning adventure to be something to look forward to—not worry about. Learn more
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
Horseback Riding, Ranching, Free Time
Banff, Alberta
5
Grizzly Bears, Lake Louise Gondola, Moraine Lake
Banff, Alberta
6
Whitewater Rafting, Yoho National Park, Field Centre
Banff, Alberta
7
Program Concludes
Banff, Alberta
At a Glance
Experience the beauty of the majestic mountains as you ride on horseback along the Bow River trail with your family. Search for massive grizzly bears from up above on gondolas in one of the best places on earth to see them in the wild. An exploration of the Canadian Rockies is a dive deep into the great outdoors. Experience the incredible opportunity to explore the Rockies on hikes over iron catwalks above rushing rivers and on a white water raft as you glide over rapids. Together, you and your family will discover a region so abundant in wildlife, colorful nature and geology that you’ll think you’ve stepped into another world.
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.
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.
Brent MacDonald
View biography
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
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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.
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 Family
Program Number: 23439
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!
Northern Rocky Mountain Wildflowers, Including Glacier, Waterton Lakes, Banff, Jasper, Kootenay, Mount Revelstoke, and Yoho
This field guide features more than 300 species found in the northern Rockies of Montana, Idaho, Washington, and adjacent British Columbia and Alberta, including Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks. Packed with vivid photos and informative text, this field guide will help you identify and appreciate the varied flora of these wooded mountains, deep valleys, and rugged canyons.
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.
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.