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Hiking in the Canadian Rockies

A North American classic. Explore the great Canadian outdoors on some of the best wilderness trails in the Rocky Mountains

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Trip Ref #10603

Hiking in the Canadian Rockies

A North American classic. Explore the great Canadian outdoors on some of the best wilderness trails in the Rocky Mountains

DURATION

9 nights

LOCATION

Canada

ANNUAL LEAVE

6 days off work

SEASON

Jun-Sep

GROUP SIZE

Up to 12 people

MEETING POINT

Calgary Airport

ACCOMMODATION

Classic

Hotel · Campsite

OVERALL RATING

4.5

Based on 4 reviews
DIFFICULTY

Moderate

With eight consecutive days of hiking and some large elevation gains, a good level of fitness is recommended

Tackle the Sentinel Pass and Bow Lake trails in Banff National Park, summit Mount Fairview (2744m) and camp near Lake Louise

Trek by the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park and summit the Bald Hills (2345m) for epic views of Maligne Lake

Hit the paths less trodden in Yoho and Glacier National Parks, hiking by stunning Emerald Lake and taking on the Balu Pass

Swim in pristine alpine lakes, journey along the epic Icefields Parkway and keep your eyes peeled for bears and elk

Day 1

Touchdown in Calgary

Arrive at Calgary Airport and jump on the complimentary shuttle to your hotel. Check in and enjoy the evening at leisure, relax and perhaps have a dip in the swimming pool. The adventure starts tomorrow morning!

Day 2

Sentinel Pass and Lake Louise

Hiking

4-6 hrs · 10.9km · 792m up · 792m down

Meet your guide in the hotel lobby at 08:00 and get ready to hit the road. Drive from Calgary to Moraine Lake, which sits within the impressive Valley of the Ten Peaks, where your first hiking trail begins in Banff National Park. The path climbs up through forest with occasional viewpoints over the turquoise waters of the lake below and the jagged mountain peaks that surround the valley. After emerging at a beautiful meadow with three alpine lakes, the trail then steepens for the ascent to Sentinel Pass. Enjoy spectacular views down to Paradise Valley before beginning your descent. Head to the campground at nearby Lake Louise for a quick crash course in how to set up camp, then settle in for the evening.

Day 3

Mount Fairview Summit Trail

Hiking

4-6 hrs · 9.3km · 955m up · 955m down

Starting from Lake Louise, today's off-the-beaten-track hike takes you up Fairview Mountain (2744m), climbing almost 1000m to find an astounding viewpoint at the summit. Be wowed by the views down on Lake Louise and out across the Banff National Park. The final 1-2 km of the ascent involves a steep incline to reach the top. Stop off for a well-earned drink in Lake Louise, take a dip in the lake if you're feeling brave, or head straight back to the campground.

Day 4

Katherine Lake Trail

Hiking

5-7 hrs · 14.3km · 1075m up · 1075m down

Explore another area of Banff National Park today. After a short drive north along the Icefields Parkway, one of the world's most scenic roads, you'll hit the trail at Bow Lake and climb up to Lake Helen through alpine wildflower meadows. Take in the stunning vistas of Crowfoot Glacier, Bow Lake and Cirque Peak along the route, as you continue on the trail to arrive at Lake Katherine. Cool off with a swim in Bow Lake after your hike if you like, then back to camp to rest before an evening out in Lake Louise.

Day 5

Wilcox Pass Trail and the Icefields Parkway

Hiking

3-4 hrs · 9.8km · 409m up · 409m down

Continue the drive along the Icefield Parkway. You'll stop off at some classic viewpoints along the way, including Peyto Lake and the Athabasca Glacier. Stop at the trailhead for today's hike – the Wilcox Pass trail, a moderate hike to alpine meadows which reveals incredible views of the peaks and glaciers on the edge of the Columbia Icefield (if the trail is closed due to snow, you'll instead hike the Parker Ridge Trail or similar). Set up camp at Whistlers Campground, your base in Jasper National Park for the next three nights.

Day 6

Valley of the Five Lakes

Hiking

2-3 hrs · 9.6km · 296m up · 296m down

Enjoy an easier hike this morning in the scenic Valley of Five Lakes, with its beautiful cluster of emerald-coloured lakes. Later on, embark on a short hiking exploration of Maligne Canyon, Maligne Lake and the surrounding area. Head back to camp or to a local alpine lake for a dip, before dinner around the campfire.

Day 7

Bald Hills Trail

Hiking

4-6 hrs · 13.4km · 697m up · 697m down

A wonderful hike within Jasper National Park, the Bald Hills trail starts in dense forest and ascends past the tree line to emerge at barren alpine peaks that give this mountain range its name. The views down to Maligne Lake, and indeed in every direction, are sublime. Explore the mountains with your guide, before making your way back down to Whistlers Campground.

Day 8

Hamilton Lake Trail

Hiking

5-6 hrs · 11.9km · 832m up · 832m down

Driving

3 hrs

Drive to Yoho National Park for a trek that's a true hidden gem. Hike the steep trail from Emerald Lake up through the forest, admiring several waterfalls along the route where water has cut holes through the limestone rock. Climb to a secluded valley and arrive at Hamilton Lake, before descending and setting up camp at Golden Riverfront, near the small town of Golden – your base for the next two nights (if the trail is closed due to snow, you'll instead hike the Iceline Trail or similar).

Day 9

Balu Pass Trail

Hiking

4-5 hrs · 12.8km · 780m up · 780m down

Experience another national park today for your last hike in the Canadian Rockies, as you take on the wonderful Balu Pass hike in Glacier National Park. This lesser-known trail takes you through grizzly bear country on another beautifully scenic and diverse trek, with an element of challenge involved as you tackle the steep elevation to reach the high pass at the end. Head out in Golden this evening to celebrate an unforgettable adventure in the Rockies!

Day 10

Goodbye Rocky Mountains

Driving

3.5 hrs

Say goodbye to the Rockies as you drive back to Calgary Airport. Should timings permit, you may make a stop in the town of Banff on the way.

Included

Guides

Expert, local, English-speaking guides

Accommodation

8 nights camping, 1 night in a hotel

Meals

All breakfasts, 8 lunches, 5 dinners

Transfers

All transfers throughout the trip

Permits

All National Park permits

Equipment

Tents and sleeping mats

Not Included

Flights to and from the meeting point

Travel insurance

Personal expenses

Tips for your guides

Some meals as described

Visas where required

Day 1

Hotel · Twin share

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 2 – Day 3

Campsite · Twin tent

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 4

Campsite · Twin tent

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 5 – Day 6

Campsite · Twin tent

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 7

Campsite · Twin tent

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 8

Campsite · Twin tent

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 9

Campsite · Twin tent

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 10

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

What is the food like?

Whilst camping, your guide will rustle up nutritious and varied meals. As it is participatory camping, your help washing up afterwards will be appreciated by the guide! Breakfasts are served buffet style each day with varying items, allowing for a quick start before getting out on the trails, and typically include hot drinks, fruit juice, bread, croissants, cereal, granola, yoghurt and fruit. Lunches will be cold picnics, prepared earlier so that you can carry them with you and stop somewhere during the hikes. These usually involve wraps, sandwiches, salads, cereal bars and fruit. For dinners, the guide will plan a starter, main and dessert. The main dish is typically meat or fish with sides of rice or potatoes and vegetables. Some nights they may make a pasta or curry dish.

Vegetarian diets can be catered for – please request this in advance on your passenger info form. However, catering for vegan and other dietary requirements cannot be guaranteed and would require a surcharge for sourcing extra ingredients – therefore, any specific dietary requests should be checked prior to booking.

What is the accommodation like?

Calgary

On the first night of the trip you'll have a comfortable overnight stay at the Sandman Signature Airport Hotel, Calgary. Take advantage of the 24-hour airport shuttle from the terminal to the hotel.

The Rockies

You'll stay in organised, permanent, 'front-country' campgrounds, each with shared facilities for washing: Lake Louise Campground, Whistlers Campground and Golden Riverfront Campground. This is participatory camping, so you'll be expected to pitch in and get your own tent set up, although your guide will be on hand to help out! Tents are allocated on a twin-share basis, although you have the option to upgrade to a sole occupancy tent should you wish – see the Optional Extras section. You'll use the campsites as basecamps from which to go off and do day hikes in nearby locations.

Upgrades

For solo travellers looking for their own space, an optional private room and tent can be booked for an extra charge, see Optional Extras for the price. Please request this at the time of booking (this is subject to availability).

The Area

map

Logistics

Starts

Sandman Signature Hotel, Calgary Airport

Any time on Day 1

Ends

Calgary Airport

Around midday on Day 10

Transfers

Arrive at Calgary Airport any time on Day 1. Upon arrival at the airport, you can utilise the complimentary shuttle to the Sandman Signature Hotel – where you'll be staying the night – which runs 24 hours per day.

For international travellers, the shuttle pick-up is on the International Level, Door 16, Pillar 37. The shuttle is on demand, so you should call 403-219-2475 and Press 0 to arrange a pick-up. For domestic travellers, the shuttle pick-up is on the Arrivals Level, Door 4, Pillar 17. The hotel is located approx five minutes from the airport terminal and serves as a great meeting point prior to heading off into the mountains. Your guide will meet you the following morning in the lobby of the hotel at 08:00 – be ready to hit the road!

When your trip ends on Day 10, there is a road transfer of approx 3.5 hrs to drive, from the Golden Riverfront Campground to Calgary Airport. We recommended that you don't book any flights departing before late afternoon/early evening on this day.

Travel options

There are direct daily flights to Calgary from London, as well as from most other major European and North American airports.

Enjoy 12.5% Off Outdoor Gear

In need of a few more items? All bookings receive a 12.5% discount to use at Cotswold Outdoor, Snow + Rock and Runner's Need.

What's included?

  • Camping gear: tent, self-inflating mattress, cooking equipment

What's available to hire?

  • Sleeping bags (please request upon booking - CAD50 payment taken locally, in cash)

What do I need to bring?

BAGS

  • Soft overnight duffel bag or rucksack (main luggage)
  • Daypack for trekking with (20-30 litres)
  • Waterproof liner for kitbag/rucksack or drybags

CLOTHES

  • Down jacket
  • Waterproof jacket
  • Waterproof trousers
  • Breathable wicking layers
  • Fleece jacket or similar
  • Thermals (merino best)
  • Warm hat
  • Gloves
  • Buff or neckscarf
  • Lightweight trousers/shorts/skirts
  • T-shirts
  • Underwear and socks
  • Swimwear
  • Sunglasses
  • Sunhat
  • Something to sleep in
  • Hiking boots (worn-in)
  • Sandals

SLEEPING

  • Cotton or silk sleeping bag liner
  • Sleeping bag (3 season, 0ºC to –7ºC)
  • Travel pillow or pillowcase

OTHER

  • Universal travel plug adapter
  • Power bank or solar charger
  • Passports (and visas)
  • Travel insurance documents
  • Ear plugs
  • Insect repellent
  • Suncream
  • Personal first-aid kit (inc. blister treatment)
  • Personal items (biodegradable toiletries, sanitary wear etc)
  • Toilet kit (toilet paper, biodegradable bags to carry paper out to dispose of)
  • Quick-dry towel
  • Alcohol hand-gel
  • Headtorch or torch
  • Reusable water bottle x2 litre
  • Energy bars and snacks - read our article on Best Hiking Snacks

Single/Double/Twin Room at Calgary Airport Hotel

Payable Before Departure

Single/Double/Twin Room at Calgary Airport Hotel

Per Night

Private Room and Tent Upgrade

Payable Before Departure

Private Room and Tent Upgrade

Per Person

- Eric(August 2023)

This trip was a fantastic way to explore the Canadian Rockies. The guides, Frederic and Juliette, were excellent; I've never had better food camping! Every meal was delicious, and each meal was unique. They were also very accommodating to dietary restrictions.

The hikes had excellent views, and you get to hike in 4 national parks. We were able to see a variety of wildlife, including elk, black bear, and moose.

The group was filled with incredible people. The time spent with them was just as fun as the hikes. You couldn't ask for much more!

- Jenny(August 2023)

This was an amazing trip with a fantastic group of people! Our local guides Fred and Juliette went above and beyond to make sure we were catered for and looked after the group extremely well. Some of the hikes had quite steep inclines but we were rewarded with some of the most breathtaking views I have ever seen. This was the best introduction to the Canadian Rockies!

- Callum(August 2023)

Amazing treks, my favourite was the Balu Pass at the end. Views were unreal, the guides Frederic and Juliette couldn’t have been any better. Plenty of opportunities to go for a swim. All the food was beautiful, the guides really were fantastic! I’ll be back to Much Better Adventures for sure!

- Justin(August 2023)

Some great views.

We've crunched the numbers to work out the total carbon footprint of this trip, and plant enough trees to suck 2x as much back out the atmosphere.

What's the number?
It works out on average at 152kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.

The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal for 2023 to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.

But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:

  • Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
  • A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
  • 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.

What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. For every person booked with us since 2016 we’re planting enough trees to suck at least 2x more carbon out the atmosphere than is emitted by their trips. All native trees, as part of amazing projects that are re-foresting degraded land, tackling the biodiversity crisis and supporting local communities at the same time. We go further than that too, also funding re-wilding projects worldwide to help protect important keystone species from extinction. See the reforestation and re-wilding schemes we support. See our carbon action plan.

Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.

A good general level of fitness is recommended, as you'll be spending up to six hours per day walking on mountain trails – some of which involve large elevation gains. You'll be trekking for eight consecutive days, so some fitness preparation in the weeks prior to the trip is recommended. The hikes are all non-technical, with no previous trekking experience required.

The selected trails are 'there and back' day hikes, meaning that there is often the flexibility to shorten, sit out a section, or even stay back at the campsite should you want a rest.

No. The early-season departure in mid-June will have some alterations to the hiking trails, as stated in the itinerary. This is due to lingering snow cover – the National Park authorities may not open some hiking trails until slightly later, typically at the start of July. The following two days will be different for mid-June departures:

Day 5 – Wilcox Pass will be replaced with the Parker Ridge Trail or similar (5.9km, elevation gain/loss 250m) Day 8 – Hamilton Lake Trail will be replaced with the Iceline Trail or similar (13.2km, elevation gain/loss 767m)

Yes, bring your swimsuit and a towel! The water will be cold, but throughout the trip you'll have opportunities for taking a dip in different mountain lakes: Herbert Lake, Lake Louise, Bow Lake, Pyramid Lake, Patricia Lake, Annette Lake and Cedar Lake.

Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.

Tips are not included in the trip cost. These are entirely at your discretion but there is an expectation to tip for good service. To help budget, 5 to 10 CAD per day for your driver/guide would be a recommended tip.

Drinking water is available at the campgrounds and other points during the hiking days. You will need to carry your own water supply in a daypack throughout the hikes. If you are interested in using a water filter, then you may wish to read our guide here.

The summer season for hiking in the Canadian Rockies spans from mid-June to mid-September. The peak summer months of July and August are the hottest, with temperatures typically sitting between 20-25°C during the daytime. June and September are cooler, with typical daytime temperatures in the mid-teens. Temperatures drop considerably at nighttime (to around 5°C, and lower in June and September), and of course, you should expect to encounter cooler climates when trekking to higher elevations. It is possible that during the early summer dates that there will still be snow cover on some of the trails.

No, as we don't return to the start hotel it isn't possible to leave excess luggage there, unless you have booked an additional night post-trip at the same hotel.

We recommend checking out the country specific information here and also talking to a travel nurse.

No. You'll need to have a larger bag suitable for all your belongings which will be transported for you (you'll have a dedicated vehicle and trailer throughout the trip), and then a small daypack to carry personal items during each day of hiking.

Should localised weather conditions mean that particular trails are either closed or not recommended, then the local guide will adjust the itinerary to try and offer a similar alternative, maintaining group safety as paramount and re-working the order of the itinerary if necessary. Several of the trekking trails are not guaranteed to open in June, they could be closed until July depending on snow levels in the mountains. In this case, the guide will arrange for an alternative trek within the same national parks.

Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.

Travel insurance is compulsory for all of our adventures and you are required to provide your policy information before departing.

Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure. We also strongly recommend it includes cancellation and curtailment insurance, should you be unable to join your trip for specific reasons such as illness.

We fully endorse Campbell Irvine as their insurance offers all of the above, so get in touch with them or call on 020 7938 1734 to get your insurance sorted. We suggest that you book travel insurance as soon as you book your adventure, just to cover you for any last-minute life changes. We know you’re an active lot and injuries do happen!

We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.

If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.

All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.

You're in good company. Our adventures are typically made up of a mix of solo travellers and small groups of two or three friends who simply love adventure, pushing themselves and meeting awesome like-minded people. See here for more info about our lovely bunch of Much Better Adventurers.

Want to book a private trip? Just tap ‘Private Group’ in the dates and prices tab.

Your trip is led by carefully curated local hosts and expert guides. See here for more info about the guides we work with.

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