Canadian Rockies

There can be few places on Earth where so much dramatic mountain scenery is to be found as in the string of incredible National Parks - Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho - which stretch north-west from Calgary in the Canadian Rockies.

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Almost everywhere you look there will be magnificent mountains and startlingly blue lakes and rivers. The landscape is truly monumental and has a feeling of immensity and wilderness no longer found in Europe – to give you some idea of the scale the distance from Banff to Jasper is about the same as from London to Stoke on Trent (apologies for those of you not resident in the UK!) yet there are only two settlements along the whole route and only one of those is of an appreciable size. The mountains tower above us, sometimes over 2,000m directly from the roadside.

From Banff's humble beginnings as a 26 square kilometre hot springs reserve, Banff National Park now consists of 6,641 square kilometres of unparalleled mountain scenery nestled in the heart of the magnificent Canadian Rockies.  Each year, millions of visitors come to Banff to marvel at the emerald waters of Lake Louise, walk amongst the flower-filled heavens at Sunshine Meadows, and drive beneath the towering jagged peaks lining the Icefields Parkway.

Snow-capped peaks, glistening glaciers and sweeping vistas are just one part of the allure of Banff National Park. Step out into the wilderness and the home of some of North America's wildest creatures, including grizzly bears, caribou and wolves.​​

As one of seven national and provincial parks that comprise the 26,583 sq. km Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site, Kootenay National Park (1,406 sq. km) is part of a vast protected area of global significance.
Kootenay National Park also forms part of the area of the Central Rockies Ecosystem.

For thousands of years the area which is now Kootenay National Park was part of the traditional lands of the Ktunaxa (Kootenay) and Shuswap First Nations people. Archaeological evidence suggests the mountains were used primarily as seasonal hunting grounds. Groups also travelled across the mountains periodically to hunt bison on the plains east of the Rockies. Some sites have spiritual significance. ​

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The word Yoho is the Cree word expressing awe. This 1313 sq. km (507 sq. miles) national park is filled with gem coloured glacial lakes and waterfalls, snow-covered peaks and dense forests of western red cedar and western hemlock. Historic railroads, spiral tunnels within mountain sides and steep rock faces where mountain goats roam are just some of the sights to be seen. Other Yoho marvels include a natural rock bridge over the Kicking Horse River, Hoodoos, some of Canada's highest waterfalls and the Burgess Shale fossil find where over 120 marine animal species dating back as far as 530 million years were discovered. 

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Jasper National Park is the largest of Canada's Rocky Mountain parks. Jasper spans 10,878 square kilometres (4200 square miles) of broad valleys, rugged mountains, glaciers, forests, alpine meadows and wild rivers along the eastern slopes of the Rockies in western Alberta. There are more than 1200 kilometres (660 miles) of hiking trails (both overnight and day trips), and a number of spectacular mountain drives. 

Jasper joins Banff National Park to the south via the Icefields Parkway. This parkway offers unparalleled beauty as you travel alongside a chain of massive Icefields straddling the Continental Divide. The Columbia Icefield borders the parkway in the southern end of the park. Visitors are warned NOT to walk out onto the glacier. Guided tours are available. 

Large numbers of elk, bighorn sheep, mule deer and other large animals, as well as their predators make Jasper National Park one of the great protected ecosystems remaining in the Rocky Mountains. This vast wilderness is one of the few remaining places in southern Canada that is home to a full range of carnivores, including grizzly bears, mountain lions, wolves and wolverines.