A Canadian Rockies road trip is a dream come true for any outdoor adventurer. This trip is packed full of breathtaking alpine scenery, majestic waterfalls, and hiking trails that will have you awestruck at every turn. Among the highlights of the journey is a day tour of Banff National Park, which offers an unforgettable experience amidst some of the park’s most stunning landscapes. This is a long road trip and requires some advance planning to make sure that your trip will go smoothly, but it will be worth it in the end.
We’ve created a Canadian Rockies road trip itinerary with a 14 day duration, but it can easily be adjusted to fit your desired length of time. This itinerary starts and finishes in Calgary, which is the easiest place to access the mountains from any major city in North America. This itinerary takes you through Banff National Park, along the Icefields Parkway and up to Jasper National Park. It also includes a stop in Yoho National Park to see the famous Takakkaw Falls.
There is a lot to do in the Canadian Rockies, so we recommend staying for at least two weeks on this road trip. This will allow you to explore both Jasper and Banff, as well as a few of the lesser-known parks in the area.
It is important to book your accommodations and campsites as early as possible for the summer months in Canada’s Rockies, especially in peak season. Accommodations can fill up quickly and finding a good campsite isn’t always easy. We’ve also included some tips for booking your accommodations and camping spots, as well as some recommendations on where to stay.
The first day of your Canadian Rockies road trip will be all about settling into your accommodation and getting oriented to the area. Take some time to stroll around the town of Banff and check out the famous landmarks, including the Chateau Lake Louise, before heading out for a hike in the afternoon. If you’re feeling energetic, you can try the hike to Upper Larch Valley and Sentinel Pass. This is a difficult hike with a lot of elevation gain, but the views from the top are stunning!
You’ll spend the morning of your second day in Lake Louise exploring the area, and after a quick lunch you can drive to Moraine Lake for some more incredible scenery. The trail at Moraine Lake is less crowded than the one at Lake Louise, but you can still get some incredible photos of the lake and glacier-fed turquoise water. You can also choose to do the hike to Medicine Lake and Spirit Island, a little island in the middle of the lake that you’ve probably seen on Instagram before.
On the third day of your trip, you can either drive back to Banff or continue on to Jasper. I’d recommend stopping in Yoho National Park on the way to visit Takakkaw Falls, which are the second highest waterfalls in the world! The hike to the falls is only about 30 minutes and you can actually walk underneath them.
The final day of your Canadian Rockies road trip is the drive back to Calgary. It will be hard to leave the beautiful mountain landscape behind, but you’ll have a smile on your face and memories to last a lifetime!