Alberta
Exploring Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks
Program No. 3856RJ
Explore the Canadian Rockies with local experts, learning about grizzly bears, visiting Château Lake Louise and taking an in-depth look at UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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Protecting the Environment
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9 days
8 nights
19 meals
8B 6L 5D
1
Check-in, Registration, Welcome Dinner, Orientation
Banff, Alberta
2
Banff Geology, Cave & Basin, Bow River
Banff, Alberta
3
Yoho National Park, Emerald Lake, Moraine Lake
Lake Louise, AB
4
Grizzly Bears, Lake Louise
Lake Louise, AB
5
Icefields Parkway, Jasper
Jasper, AB
7
Jasper Yellowhead Museum, Return to Banff
Banff, Alberta
8
Whyte Museum, Free Time
Banff, Alberta
9
Airport Transfers, Program Concludes
Banff, Alberta
At a Glance
Straddling the Continental Divide for 14,300 square miles, the seven contiguous Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks are richly adorned with mountain peaks, glaciers, waterfalls, limestone caves and fossils. Explore in depth three of these UNESCO World Heritage Sites to see how they each bear distinct ecological, geological and historical characters while sharing a common rugged beauty renowned worldwide.
Activity Level
Keep the Pace
Keep the Pace: Walking up to two miles daily on varied terrain. Elevations up to 4,540 feet. Riding between 20 – 150 miles (1-4 hours) in a motorcoach each day.
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…
- Celebrate the environmental efforts that led to the establishment of Banff National Park, Canada’s first national park, and its unique geothermal hot springs.
- Explore Banff and Yoho National Parks with experts and learn about their rich geological history.
- Experience a bird’s-eye view of the Continental Divide atop the Lake Louise gondola.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Kirsten Schmitten
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.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Kirsten Schmitten
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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.
Greg Allemang
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Growing up in the military has brought Greg across Canada and given him a real taste of everything the country has to offer. Finally settled now in the Calgary area, Greg has followed his passions for his country to study travel management and become a certified hiking instructor. Greg also enjoys climbing and enjoying the beautiful wilderness that surrounds his home. His love of nature has fueled his passion for connecting people to their environment and showing off his country to visitors.
Michele LaPointe
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Michele LaPointe was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, and later moved to Banff to fulfill her dreams of being an outdoor enthusiast. She has worked in the travel industry for many years as a ski instructor and interpretive expert. Michele now splits her time between Calgary and Golden. She is a director in the Golden Rotary Club and is on the board of directors for the Kicking Horse Country Chamber of Commerce. Michele is an avid skier, mountain biker and hiker.
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.
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.
Exploring Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks
Program Number: 3856
Handbook of the Canadian Rockies
Geology, plants, animals, history and recreation from Waterton/Glacier to the Yukon.
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.
Born to the Wild
In Born to the Wild – Journals of a National Park Warden in the Canadian Rockies, former Park Warden Rob Kaye recounts his boyhood adventures growing up in Jasper National Park and his experiences as a warden patrolling the vast mountain wilderness that he called home. Kaye gives a vivid account of wardens' lives in the park. He describes backcountry encounters with wolves, bears, bighorns, and other wildlife, as well as accounts of survival and tales of adversity.
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.
The Palliser Expedition
The Palliser Expedition is one of the great works in Canadian exploration literature and the only full-scale account of the British North America Exploring Expedition. This lively narrative tells of the famous adventures of John Palliser, one of the first to explore and document vast areas of what is now western Canada.