Canadian Rockies Cultural Walking Adventure

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 canoeing 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 drive up the Maligne Valley. At the top, there’s impressive Maligne Canyon, carved deep into the stone, but so narrow that in some spots you can touch both walls. Footbridges span the 180-foot-deep canyon. The trails are well maintained and the views will have you reaching for your camera again and again.  Taking the scenic route back to Banff, we stop amid meadows of alpine flowers.

Travel + Leisure has awarded Classic Journeys the #1 World’s Best Tour Operator multiple times and says, "Classic Journeys provides unbeatable access to experiences around the globe." Here’s what that access means for you.

• Experience the world on foot and at eye level. Each day, join your guide on the most cinematic footpaths in the region.
• Exceptional full-time local guides who become your well-connected friend. Our amazing guides are with you throughout each day of the tour, share their lifelong connections as well as engaging anecdotes about the history and culture of the region.
• Small groups that provide you unrivaled access. An average of fewer than 10 guests per departure means we can offer you special access to sites like Stonehenge so you experience the stone circle when it’s closed to the general public, a guided visit to Zion Narrows that other companies cannot arrange because of larger group sizes, and vineyard walks with a count and countess in Tuscany.
• Award-winning hotels are waiting for you at the end of every day. Luxuriate in the finest and most distinctive accommodations in the region you’re exploring, including rainforest lodges, 16th century villas, and award-winning properties that show up on World’s Best and Gold lists.
• Eat like (and with) the locals. Food is a foolproof way into the hearts, homes and history of the places you visit with us. From gourmet picnics to coveted local restaurants, our meals offer you opportunities to explore native food traditions and fine dining.
• Handcrafted itineraries with all activities included. With our long-term friendships, we know our walking tour regions more personally than anyone else. So you get thoughtfully curated itineraries that combine explorations of the villages, organic farms, archeological sites and the people who know them best.
• Sustainable travel that supports the places you’re visiting. We put our local currency into the pockets of the people who live where we travel. It’s your guarantee that you’ll have authentic, up-close experiences on your trip. Best of all, our person-to-person approach helps sustain their ways of life.