Starting on the fringe of the Great Plains and climbing through the incomparable mountain scenery of Banff and Jasper National Parks, this magnificent drive—one of the crown jewels of western Canada—combines exhilarating vistas of forest, crag, and glacier.
Overview
The route begins near Calgary, heads west 84 miles (135 kilometers) to the border of Banff, then goes 36 miles (58 kilometers) to the northwest through the heart of Banff to Lake Louise. For 144 miles (232 kilometers), the route follows the Icefields Parkway, one of the world's most stunning roadways, farther north to Jasper. Along the way, look for elk, bears, and other wild creatures; stop to take guided hikes, tour historic buildings, and attend a campfire chat.
Begin in Cochrane
From Calgary, follow Highway 1A northwest to Cochrane, an old ranching town at the foot of the Rockies and now a Calgary bedroom community. Little of the cowboy era remains at Cochrane Ranche Historic Site (Junction of Highways 22 and 1A; tel. +1 403 932 4705), headquarters for Alberta's first large-scale ranch—a 109,000-acre (44,111-hectare) flop, founded in 1881. Other ranches thrived, of course, and an interpretive mural and bronze statue on-site celebrate both failures and triumphs.
Enter Banff National Park
To the west, Highway 1A weaves through prairie foothills and climbs along the Bow River to Trans-Canada 1 and on into the forest and grand interior mountain valleys of Canada's first national park, Banff National Park (tel. +1 403 762 1550; $9.80), established in 1885. Stretching roughly 300 miles (480 kilometers) along the jagged crest of the Canadian Rockies, Banff and the adjoining Jasper National Park take in a vast tangle of great strapping peaks, mauled by glaciers and capped by the largest ice fields south of Alaska. Meltwaters thunder from the heights, pool in gemlike alpine lakes, and rush down the forested walls of broad U-shaped valleys into powerful rivers. It's a staggering, heart-swelling landscape, rich in wildlife, laced with hiking trails, and traversed by the most spectacular system of roads in the Rockies.
