Here is the secret most visitors on Canadian Rockies tours never understand. You don't have to go on a trek or sleep in a tent to experience the solitude of this awesome country away from the crowds. On this glorious Classic Journey, you enter into the heart of this remarkable landscape without ever giving up the creature comforts. Certainly, you'll see the essential sights like calendar-perfect Lake Louise. But we'll take you into whisper-quiet groves of lodgepole pines…arrange a guided walk onto the azure ice of an awesome glacier…offer the option of charging down Kicking Horse River on a raft…and put you in view of moose, elk or bighorn sheep (minus the camera-toting motorcoach groups). When we walk, we gravitate to gentle or moderate trails. For your comfort, we've arranged accommodations in gracious historic lodges and feasts on local specialties. The Cree used the word "Yoho"—an expression of awe—to describe this land. When you see it our way, we know you'll agree.

DAYS 1-3 - BANFF / LAKE LOUISE
We meet in Banff and launch our Canadian Rockies adventure with a walk in a spectacular limestone canyon lined with seven waterfalls. Then it's on to Lake Louise (3 nights) and our historic log lodge. A morning walk along the lake's shores captures the stunning views. We'll also discover sapphire-blue Moraine Lake, tucked into the Valley of the Ten Peaks.

Crossing the Continental Divide, we pause for a walk to Takkakaw Falls, Canada's second highest waterfall. Later, at Emerald Lake, we settle in and prepare for options including rafting on the Kicking Horse River or a lakeside walk that includes a guide-led talk about the fossil-rich Burgess Shale.

DAYS 4-6 - JASPER NATIONAL PARK / BANFF
Icefields Parkway is one of the world's most scenic roads. En route to Jasper National Park (2 nights), we'll stop to explore Athabasca Glacier with our local glacier guide. From our historic lodge on the shores of Lac Beauvert, we'll have the chance to walk in wildlife-rich wilderness…or have time on your own to enjoy canoeing, fishing or horseback riding. We save time as well for a boat ride to Spirit Island in Maligne Lake and a visit to a lake with the unlikely sight of small icebergs calved from Angel Glacier. Taking the scenic route back to Banff, we stop amid meadows of alpine flowers.