Canada's Most Stunning Summer Road Trip Has a Secret Island, Walkable Glaciers, and Dizzying Adventure

Travel + Leisure

2 days ago

Top 5 Can't Miss The drive from Calgary to Jasper passes stunning landscapes, with winter road closures making it a rare and exclusive experience during the summer months.
In Calgary, visitors can explore Canada Olympic Park, where the 1988 Winter Olympics were held, and take park in outdoor activities like mountain biking.
Banff offers incredible wildlife sightings and breathtaking mountain and lake views. E-biking is ideal for exploring the area's natural beauty; the Banff Gondola also provides sweeping vistas.
The road from Banff to Jasper is especially beautiful, especially at Bow Lake and Waterfowl Lakes.
In Jasper, the Columbia Icefield and Athabasca Glacier are must-see attractions. For even more gorgeous views, visit the Columbia Icefield Skywalk.
The road that runs from Calgary in Alberta, Canada, to Jasper a few hours to the north, is breathtaking. Some stretches are open only during the summer months, and driving the winding roads, you can't help but feel like you've been granted a coveted invitation to one of the most beautiful attractions in the world.
I knew this road trip would lead me to outdoor adventure, incredible wildlife, and postcard-perfect views, but I didn't know I'd be so kindly received at a time when Canada-U.S. relations are strained. Canadians live up their gracious, welcoming reputation, and their desire to make your visit special turns this road trip into a lifelong memory.
Start your trip in Calgary.
Flying into Calgary International Airport is a cinch. Calgary is flat—nothing like the photos you see of Banff. But that's what makes this trip so special—the ever-changing landscape that keeps you guessing at every turn. Calgary was host to the 1988 Winter Olympics, and as you make your way out of town, you'll see Canada Olympic Park, where the Jamaican bobsled team rose to fame. During the summer, you can explore the venue, go mountain biking, or play a round of miniature golf in the same spaces where the world's best athletes competed.
Drive to Banff National Park.
Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park.
Rebecca Deurlein/Travel + Leisure
Give everyone a chance to ogle the views by taking turns driving, and don't miss any opportunity to pull over for the stunning vistas of Banff National Park. The drive is all about the unexpected, from a moose munching on leaves at the side of the road to elk meandering along the tree line to bald eagles soaring overhead. The town of Banff is adorable, an old-school ski village that's less Aspen, more Breckenridge. Mount Royal Hotel, smack dab in the center of town, is a perfect example—its simple and unpretentious rooms are steps away from restaurants, bars, and hiking and biking trails.
E-biking is a must here—not just for conquering the inclines, but also for capturing the essence of slow travel. Forget about paying for parking—or finding a parking spot, for that matter—and just hop on a bike. It's a great way to get a lay of the land, and bonus, you can stop as many times as you like to snap photos. Biking to Lake Minnewanka, you'll pass beautiful blue lakes and pedal on paths that weave through dense pine forests, culminating in one of the most impressive panoramas in Banff.
Take the Banff Gondola to Sky Bistro on the summit of Sulphur Mountain.
Rebecca Deurlein/Travel + Leisure
Back in town, quench your thirst at the upstairs atrium of 3 Bears Brewery and Restaurant, then take the Banff Gondola 7,000 feet up Sulphur Mountain, with views of six mountain ranges and the Bow Valley far below. Treat yourself to dinner at Sky Bistro. You'll feel as if you're in the Swiss Alps as you dine on fresh catch among snow-capped mountains.
Drive north on Icefields Parkway to Jasper.
The Columbia Icefield Skywalk in Alberta, Canada.
Rebecca Deurlein/Travel + Leisure
This stretch of the road is frequently closed due to weather, so visiting during the summer provides a treat. And believe it or not, the views only become more striking, more majestic, as you drive north from Banff. You'll gasp as you pull up to Bow Lake, and you won't stop taking photos of Waterfowl Lakes, two bodies of emerald-hued water reflecting stark, snowy mountains against an azure sky. If you want a day or two of hiking, pitch a tent at Waterfowl Lakes Campground.
Fill up your car when you can because you've entered Jasper National Park, a somewhat remote area that surprises with unique opportunities to take in the beauty. Many who make their way this far north are in search of the road's claim to fame—the 300-foot-deep ice field that's predicted to melt away within the next 40 to 60 years. The Columbia Icefield and Athabasca Glacier are best visited on board an all-terrain Ice Explorer with naturalists who can tell you all about the ice field while you walk across it, marveling at its size and the rivulets of glacier water running through it.
If you're not afraid of heights, you can enjoy an entirely different view of the area from the Columbia Icefield Skywalk, where you'll step out onto a glass platform suspended 918 feet above the Sunwapta Valley. For Canadian Rocky Mountain views, check into the Glacier View Lodge, just across from the ice field.
Your trip to Jasper won't be complete without honoring the First Nations people who are a significant part of Canada's heritage. A Maligne Lake cruise is the one and only way to see Spirit Island, an Indigenous-only, centuries-old peninsula that stretches off the shore into brilliantly blue water. You won't be able to step onto this land, but you can snap photos from the shoreline where the Stoney Nakoda fished and made their life. Your guide will narrate the ride and give you time to walk along the water, sharing a Nakoda quote that will stick with you long after your trip: 'Wherever the light is hitting you, that is home.'