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Banff Ice Fields
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Banff Ice Fields North of Lake Louise, the Icefields Parkway climbs through Banff National Park toward the Continental Divide, passing […]
Explore PortfolioAn extended road trip through Alberta and Montana, following the Canadian Rockies from Calgary and the historic fur-trade country of central Alberta through Jasper, the Icefields Parkway, Banff, Waterton Lakes, Glacier National Park, and the historic mining towns of western Montana.
Calgary provided the eastern gateway to a journey that quickly left the plains for the mountains. After exploring the sandstone architecture and historic commercial streets of Calgary, the route turned northwest toward Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site, where the North Saskatchewan River once carried Indigenous travelers, fur traders, and explorers toward the Continental Divide. From there, the road entered Jasper National Park, where several days allowed the landscape to unfold beyond the main highway: the mountain setting of Jasper Town, the lakes and wildlife of the Maligne Valley, Pyramid Lake, Miette Hot Springs, and the alpine country around Wilcox Pass.
The journey south from Jasper followed one of the great mountain roads of North America. The Icefields Parkway passes glaciers, waterfalls, braided rivers, and increasingly high alpine terrain through the Columbia Icefield, Sunwapta Falls, Athabasca Falls, and Mistaya Canyon before entering Banff National Park. Here the itinerary spread outward from the parkway to Bow and Peyto Lakes, Lake Louise and Lake Agnes, Moraine Lake, and Johnston Canyon. Several days around Banff added another dimension to the mountain landscape through the historic Cave and Basin National Historic Site, the Banff Park Museum, and the landmark Banff Springs Hotel.
Rather than ending in Banff, the route continued south through the changing landscape of the Rocky Mountain Front to Waterton Lakes National Park, where prairie meets mountain almost without transition and the Prince of Wales Hotel overlooks Upper Waterton Lake. Crossing the international border carried the same mountain system into Glacier National Park, following the Going-to-the-Sun Road past Lake McDonald and its historic Lake McDonald Lodge before reaching the dramatic northeastern side of the park along Many Glacier Road and Many Glacier Lodge. The final portion of the journey left the national parks for western Montana, where Garnet Ghost Town, Philipsburg, and the immense Berkeley Pit at Butte shifted the story from glaciers and wildlife to the mining history and historic communities that developed among these same mountains.
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Banff Lake Louise, Beehive Lake, and Lake Agnes
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Banff Lake Louise, Beehive Lake, and Lake Agnes Introduction Lake Louise is a place of contrasts: still turquoise water beneath […]
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Banff Lake Minnewanka
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Banff Lake Minnewanka Introduction Lake Minnewanka stretches deep into the mountains northeast of Banff, its long blue-green waters framed by […]
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Banff Park Museum
Museum / Gallery
Banff Park Museum Introduction Standing near the Bow River at the southern end of Banff Avenue, the Banff Park Museum […]
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Banff Peyto and Bow Lakes
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Banff Peyto and Bow Lakes Along the Icefields Parkway north of Lake Louise, Peyto Lake and Bow Lake reveal two […]
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Banff Springs Hotel
City / Urban
Banff Springs Hotel Introduction Rising above the confluence of the Bow and Spray rivers, the Banff Springs Hotel is one […]
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Banff Town
City / Urban
Banff Town Introduction Banff occupies an unusual place in the Canadian Rockies: a mountain town that grew not at the […]
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Banff Trans Canada Highway
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Banff Trans Canada Highway Introduction The Trans-Canada Highway cuts through Banff National Park along one of the great mountain corridors […]
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Banff – Canmore
City / Urban
Banff-Canmore Introduction Banff and Canmore sit among some of the most striking mountain scenery in the Canadian Rockies. Here, steep […]
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Banff – Johnston Canyon
Nature / Parks / WildlifeJohnston Canyon
Banff – Johnston Canyon Johnston Canyon cuts a narrow, shadowed gorge through the forested slopes of Banff National Park, where […]
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Butte Berkeley Pit
City / Urban
Butte Berkeley Pit The Berkeley Pit cuts into the eastern edge of Butte, Montana, as one of the most dramatic remnants of the city’s extraordinary copper-mining era. Opened by the Anaconda Company in 1955, the enormous open-pit mine represented a fundamental shift from the underground workings that had honeycombed Butte…
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Calgary
City / Urban
Calgary Introduction Calgary rises from the plains of southern Alberta at the meeting of the Bow and Elbow rivers, a […]
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Cave and Basin National Historic Site
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Cave and Basin National Historic Site At the foot of Sulphur Mountain, Cave and Basin brings together a striking natural […]
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Garnet Ghost Town
Historic / Archaeology
Garnet Ghost Town Introduction High in the forested Garnet Range of western Montana, Garnet Ghost Town preserves one of the state’s most complete surviving gold-mining communities. Gold had been discovered in the surrounding mountains by the 1860s, but Garnet itself took shape during the mining revival of the 1890s, when…
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Glacier NP – Going to the Sun Road
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Glacier NP - Going to the Sun Road Introduction Going-to-the-Sun Road is the defining journey through Glacier National Park, crossing the northern Rocky Mountains from the forests and lakes of the park’s western valleys to the open landscapes of the east side. Nearly 50 miles long, the road follows Lake…
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Glacier NP – Lake McDonald Lodge
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Glacier NP - Lake McDonald Lodge Lake McDonald Lodge stands along the eastern shore of Lake McDonald, where dense forests descend from Glacier National Park’s mountains to the largest lake in the park. Built during the winter of 1913–1914, the lodge belongs to the formative era when visitors were beginning…
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Glacier NP – Many Glacier Lodge
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Glacier NP - Many Glacier Lodge Introduction Set along the shore of Swiftcurrent Lake beneath the dramatic peaks of Glacier National Park’s Many Glacier Valley, Many Glacier Hotel occupies one of the park’s most spectacular settings. The broad, Swiss-inspired building seems almost improbably placed between the water and the mountains,…
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Glacier NP – Many Glacier Road
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Glacier NP - Many Glacier Road Introduction Many Glacier Road is more than an approach to one of Glacier National Park’s most celebrated valleys—it is a gradual transition from the open country of the Blackfeet Reservation into a landscape enclosed by some of the park’s most dramatic mountains. Beginning near…
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Jasper Athabasca River
Nature / Parks / WildlifeCanadian Natioanl Park
Jasper – Athabasca River The Athabasca River flows through the heart of Jasper National Park in Alberta, forming one of […]
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Jasper Columbia Icefield
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Jasper Columbia Icefield The Columbia Icefield, straddling the Continental Divide in the Canadian Rockies, is the largest icefield in the […]
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Jasper Icefield Athabasca Falls
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Jasper Icefield Athabasca Falls The Icefields Parkway winds south from Jasper through one of the most dramatic landscapes of the […]
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Jasper Icefield Mistaya Canyon
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Jasper Icefield Mistaya Canyon Mistaya Canyon lies along the Icefields Parkway in the northern reaches of Banff National Park, where […]
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Jasper Icefield Sunwapta Falls
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Jasper Icefield Sunwapta Falls Sunwapta Falls is a powerful waterfall on the Sunwapta River in Jasper National Park, reached from […]
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Jasper Maligne Valley
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Jasper Maligne Valley The Maligne Valley extends southeast from the town of Jasper through one of the most distinctive landscapes […]
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Jasper Miette Canyon and Hot Springs
Nature / Parks / WildlifeMiette Hot Springs
Jasper – Miette Canyon and Hot Springs The Miette Hot Springs area lies in the remote northeastern reaches of Jasper […]
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Jasper Park Lodge
Nature / Parks / WildlifeJasper Park Lodge
Jasper Park Lodge – Jasper National Park, Alberta Set along the forested shore of Lac Beauvert, Jasper Park Lodge is […]
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Jasper Pyramid Lake
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Jasper Pyramid Lake Introduction Pyramid Lake lies just north of the town of Jasper in **Jasper National Park**, set beneath […]
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Jasper Town and Visitor Center
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Jasper Town and Visitor Center Introduction Jasper is the principal townsite of Jasper National Park, set in the broad Athabasca […]
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Jasper Whirlpool Valley
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Jasper Whirlpool Valley Introdcution The Whirlpool Valley extends southwest through Jasper National Park, following the glacier-fed Whirlpool River through a […]
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Jasper Wilcox Pass
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
🏞️ National Park Field Guide 📍 Overview Wilcox Pass presents Jasper National Park at the transition from sheltered conifer forest […]
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Philipsburg, MT
City / Urban
Philipsburg, MT Introduction Philipsburg, Montana, preserves one of the state’s most engaging historic commercial districts, a remarkably intact reminder of the mining economy that brought permanent settlement to this part of the Flint Creek Valley. Founded during the silver boom of the 1860s and named for mining engineer Philip Deidesheimer,…
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Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site Introduction Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site occupies a broad terrace above the North […]
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Waterton Lakes
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Waterton Lakes National Park Introduction Waterton Lakes National Park occupies a remarkable meeting place where the Rocky Mountains rise abruptly […]
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Waterton Lakes Bison
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Waterton Lakes Bison Introduction The open grasslands along the northern edge of Waterton Lakes National Park preserve a landscape very […]
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Waterton Lakes NP Visitor Center
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Waterton Lakes NP Visitor Center Introduction The Waterton Lakes National Park Visitor Centre stands in the heart of Waterton village […]
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Waterton NP – Prince of Wales Hotel
Nature / Parks / Wildlife
Waterton NP – Prince of Wales Hotel Introduction Perched dramatically on a windswept bluff above Upper Waterton Lake, the Prince […]
Explore PortfolioRoute Summary
The route began in Calgary, Alberta, before turning northwest through Rocky Mountain House and continuing west into Jasper National Park. Jasper served as the first major base, with excursions through the Maligne Valley, Pyramid Lake, Miette Hot Springs, the Athabasca River corridor, Jasper Park Lodge, and the surrounding mountain valleys.
From Jasper, the journey turned south along the Icefields Parkway, crossing the heart of the Canadian Rockies through the Columbia Icefield and Wilcox Pass and continuing past Sunwapta Falls, Athabasca Falls, Mistaya Canyon, Bow Lake, and Peyto Lake. The route then entered Banff National Park, with Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Johnston Canyon, Lake Minnewanka, Banff townsite, Cave and Basin, Banff Park Museum, and the Banff Springs Hotel explored from the Banff area.
Leaving Banff, the route continued south through Alberta toward Waterton Lakes National Park, exploring the park, its bison range, visitor center, Upper Waterton Lake, and the Prince of Wales Hotel. From Waterton, the journey crossed into Montana and entered Glacier National Park, following the Going-to-the-Sun Road through the park before exploring Lake McDonald and Many Glacier.
The final leg moved away from the national parks and into the historic mining country of western Montana. From Glacier, the route continued through the mountain valleys toward Garnet Ghost Town, Philipsburg, and Butte, connecting the abandoned mining settlements, preserved nineteenth-century streetscapes, and industrial landscapes of Montana with the mountain geography that had shaped the entire journey.
Route: Calgary → Rocky Mountain House → Jasper National Park → Icefields Parkway → Banff National Park → Waterton Lakes National Park → Glacier National Park → Garnet → Philipsburg → Butte