The Canadian Rocky Mountains are some of the most majestic and iconic mountains in the world with towering snow-capped peaks, brilliant blue lakes, and the world-renowned Icefields Parkway. It’s a place that has etched itself in my memory with places like Morraine Lake, Peyto Lake, and Emerald Lake instantly recognizable. In this 7-day Canadian Rocky Mountains road trip itinerary, you’ll get a taste of what makes this part of the world so special.
We did our Canadian Rocky Mountains road trip at the end of Spring/start of Summer: the end of May and the start of June, while we might be biased and haven’t been here at other times of the year, we think this just might be one of the best times of the year to do this road trip.
We did this trip with carry-on baggage only and limited to a 7kg per person carry-on weight limit, so we traveled very light.
Canadian Rockies Road Trip Day 1 – Fly to Calgary and drive to Banff
- Arrive Calgary airport
- Visit Calgary Airport Visitor Centre to get maps.
- Pick up hire car
- Hire car price comparison
- We used Avis
- Drive to Walmart to pickup some supplies for the trip:
- Walmart Deerfoot Supercentre
Deerfoot City
Calgary - 9km drive (approx 15 mins)
- Walmart Deerfoot Supercentre
- Depart Calgary by 3:00 pm, drive to Banff Visitor Centre to buy a National Park Pass if you haven’t organised one online (Open 7 days 9am – 5pm)
- 137kms drive (approx 1.5 hours without stops)
- 4:50pm – Arrive Banff Visitor Centre, check out downtown Banff
- 5:00pm – Check into accommodation at Aspen Lodge and have dinner.
- Compare prices for Banff Aspen Lodge
- Our booking ncluded breakfast
- TripAdvisor Reviews
- Other places to stay in Banff
- 5:30pm – Drive to Banff Gondola
- 5km drive (8 mins)
- Get tickets if you didn’t pre-book
- TripAdvisor Reviews
- Official website
- Buy your tickets online:
- 5:50pm – Take trip to the top of Banff Gondola (8 mins)
- 7:00pm – Do 1km boardwalk to the summit (approx 30 mins).
- 7:30pm – Arrive at summit
- 8:00pm – Return to Gondola
- 8:30pm – Take Gondola back down to carpark
- Gondola closes at 9pm so must be back before then.
Canadian Rockies Road Trip Day 2 – Drive to Jasper via Lake Louise
- 6:30am – Breakfast at Banff Aspen Lodge
- 7:30am – Depart Banff, drive to Lake Louise via Bow Valley Parkway (Route 1A)
- 58kms drive (approx 1hr 10 mins without stops)
- 9:30am – Lake Louise
- 10:30am – Depart Lake Louise for Athabasca Falls (Route 93 then Route 93A)
- 201kms drive (approx 3hrs without stops)
- 3:30pm – Athabasca Falls
- 3:50pm – Drive to Mt Edith Cavell
- 27kms south of Jasper off Route 93A (approx 1hr without stops)
- 5:20pm – Arrive at Mt Edith Cavell Trail
- 5:20pm – Do walk to Edith Cavell Pond
- 800m easy walk each way (approx 40 mins)
- 6:00pm – Depart Mt Edith Cavell and drive to Jasper
- 27kms (approx 1hr without stops)
- 7:30pm – Arrive at Jasper and check in to Alpine Village
- From Jasper townsite:
- Go 2km south on Highway 93 and turn east/left on Highway 93A N for 1/2 km, located just across from the Athabasca River.
- From Banff and Calgary:
- Go west of Banff on Highway 1, then north on Highway 93 for 226 km to just past the Whistler’s Campground/Tramway turnoff 2 km from Jasper. Turn east/right on Highway 93A N for 1/2 km.
- (Do not turn left/west on Highway 93A S before the Whistler’s Campground or you’ll be heading to Mt. Edith Cavell).
- From Jasper townsite:
Canadian Rockies Road Trip Day 3 – Jasper
- 8:30am – Check-in at Jasper SkyTram
- 9:00am – Take SkyTram
- Breakfast at top of SkyTram
- Drive to Maligne Canyon, Medicine Lake, and Maligne Lake
- Visit Jasper Lakes and Miette Hot Springs
Canadian Rockies Road Trip Day 4 – British Columbia Detour
- Cross the border to British Columbia and visit Mount Robson Provincial Park
Canadian Rockies Road Trip Day 5 – Drive to Baker Creek
- Drive to Sunwapta Falls
- Drive to Peyto Lake Viewing Point (through Bow Pass)
- Drive to Bow Lake
- Drive to Baker Creek Mountain Resort
- Bow Valley Pkwy,
Lake Louise
- Bow Valley Pkwy,
Canadian Rockies Road Trip Day 6 – Drive to Banff
- Drive to Banff via Lake Louise after crossing the border to British Columbia to visit the Natural Bridge over Kicking Horse River, Emerald Lake, Spiral Tunnel, Johnston Canyon and Lower Falls.
- Stay at Fox Hotel and Suites – Includes continental breakfast:
- 461 Banff Ave,
Banff
- 461 Banff Ave,
Canadian Rockies Road Trip Day 7 – Return to Calgary Airport
- Lake Minnewanka scenic drive
- Drive to Calgary
- Stay at Delta Calgary Airport hotel for early morning flights out the next day