Banff, Jasper, and Yoho National Parks
Credit: Robert Bohrer
Credit: Robert Bohrer
Trip Type: Small Group Adventure
Territory: North America
Region: Rocky Mountains
Trip Price: From $4,795
Single Supplement: $1,395
On-Trip Airfare: $0
Duration: 7 days/6 nights
Trip Begins/Ends: Calgary, Alberta / Calgary, Alberta
Minimum Travelers: 2 travelers
Maximum Travelers: 16 travelers
Pricing detailed for this Small Group Adventure is based upon double occupancy. Additional charges for single travelers and any on-trip airfare required for the trip apply. A booking deposit is required to reserve your space. Small Group Adventure pricing includes all lodging, meals (unless otherwise noted), activities, baggage handling, transportation, and guide service. Not included are travel costs to/from gateway cities, guide gratuities, and personal incidentals including, but not limited to, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, alcoholic beverages, and laundry service. Travel with Off the Beaten Path requires agreement to our standard Terms & Conditions.
No Sweat - 1-2 miles of walking or hiking per day, plus easy activities
Nice & Active – 3-6 miles of hiking or walking per day, plus physically active exploration
High Five! – 5-12 miles of hiking per day, plus possible peak bagging or other action-oriented fun
This trip takes place at elevations of about 5,000+ feet, with 6-8 hours each day spent outside in potentially inclement weather. Activities include a guided glacier trek and hikes ranging from 1 to 5 miles in length.
Most all of our Small Group Adventures can be made private to just your traveling troupe. Just give us a call at (800) 445-2995 and tell us that you would like to “make it private”!
Generally, there are two ways to make a small group adventure private. First, you could capture one of our published departure dates for just your group. In order to achieve this, we have to have sufficient space available to create a separate private trip. Second, we could take the details of this itinerary and fashion it for just your group on dates of your choosing. For this, too, we just need to review your interest, group size, and preferred timing in order to create the trip.
In all cases, the process begins with a phone call so give us a ring at (800) 445-2995 and after just a few minutes gathering information, we can set to the task of making your trip a reality!
Meet your guide in Calgary and head to the heart of Yoho National Park. First stop, Takakkaw Falls, Canada’s second-highest waterfall. Next up is Yoho’s Natural Bridge, where theKicking Horse River pushes its way through a natural rock formation. This afternoon we settle into our lodge on the edge of Emerald Lake.
Yoho isn’t far from Banff National Park, so we head there this morning to explore. We stop at Wapta Falls and visit the Yoho National Park Visitor Center to view its exhibits on the world-famous Burgess Shale fossil site. Enjoy a bit of down time at the lodge early this afternoon to relax, walk around the lake, or paddle a boat. Then it’s back out to one of Banff’s most famous features, Lake Louise.
We set out for Jasper this morning on the stunning Icefields Parkway, which winds through mountain peaks, glacial icefields, and broad valleys. We will stop at the magnificent Athabasca Glacier for our ice walk adventure! Our guide equips us with crampons and trekking poles and teaches us about glacial movement ice, silt, and crevasses on this two- to three-hour adventure. Tonight we stay at a small resort on Pyramid Lake, just a few minutes from the town of Jasper.
An early morning hike to Edith Cavell Meadows leads through a gorgeous subalpine meadow with striking views of Angel Glacier, an impressive hanging glacier on the face of Mount Edith Cavell. Options for the afternoon include a hike in Maligne Canyon, with turquoise waters and waterfalls, or a ride on the Jasper Aerial Tram, for views over Jasper National Park and towards the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies.
Today we head back down the Icefields Parkway. Our guide will choose some good hikes for the day, based on conditions and the group’s interest. This afternoon puts us at our hotel on Tunnel Mountain, perched above the town of Banff.
Hikes this morning might include a walk through Johnston Canyon to Johnston Falls, or a wildlife watching hike along the Lake Minnewanks shoreline to Steward Canyon. Enjoy a free afternoon to stroll along Banff Avenue or the Bow River Trail. Tonight’s celebratory farewell dinner is at the eminent Banff Springs Hotel, a castle-like beauty built by the Canadian Pacific Railroad in 1888.
After breakfast, we'll return to Calgary for flights home, with a head full of memories and a camera full of stunning photos
The exquisite Emerald Lake Lodge sits on the shores of Emerald Lake in the heart of Yoho National Park. Built of hand-hewn timber and featuring massive stone fireplaces, the lodge includes an elegant dining room and quiet reading and sitting rooms. After a good day of hiking, you can take advantage of the dry sauna and outdoor hot tub.
After a full day of adventuring, enjoy a glass of wine and take in the beautiful views of Pyramid Mountain and Lake. About 3.5 miles outside of Jasper, this alpine-style resort provides great access for exploring Jasper National Park.
Located on Tunnel Mountain, Buffalo Mountain Lodge is a peaceful mountain retreat just 15 minutes from downtown Banff. Surrounded by fir, pine and spruce trees the lodge is a tranquil get away yet just steps from shopping, restaurants, galleries and the endless array of outdoor recreation in Banff National Park. Beautifully decorated each room features wood-burning fireplaces cozy duvets and many feature private balconies or patios where guests can sit and enjoy the nature that surrounds them.
As an in-house writer for Off the Beaten Path, a good chunk of my day is spent researching travel destinations – reading magazine articles, perusing traveler reviews, gaining insight from travelers’ blogs, and speaking with locals. And whether I’m writing about Sedona, Steamboat, San Francisco, or Silver City (New Mexico, in case you didn’t know), […]
The little girl gripped the edge of the folding table. “Billy is not afraid,” she told me with a steely look as her brother handed over Billy for the slug race weigh-in. I peeled the surprisingly sticky Billy from my latex-gloved hand and laid him on the digital kitchen scale. Ten grams. A small contender […]
While so far, 2020 feels like the year of inside, people are doing what they can to get outside, taking advantage of balconies, backyards, regional parks, and local trails for mental and physical health. Bike sales, gardening, and birding have surged, and popular neighborhood trails and pathways are busy. In light of that palpable desire […]
The Greater Yellowstone region is a wonderfully dynamic destination for traveling, with Yellowstone National Park as its anchor. Winding ribbons of road connect small mountain towns, world-class national parks, trail-rich national forest land, wild rivers, and relics of western history. No matter where you land in the Greater Yellowstone, setting out in any direction from […]
