Calgary, Banff and Jasper in 10 days

Arrival day, kept light: nothing before dinner needs a booking, so a late flight costs you a stop or two, not a reservation. Calgary to Banff is about 130 km, 90 minutes on the Trans-Canada, with Canmore on the way. Sleep in Banff (nights 1 to 3). The full plan works from June 1 to October 11, 2026, when the Moraine Lake shuttle and the Spirit Island cruise both run (checked 2 October 2026); outside those dates Moraine Lake and the cruise drop out, and 2027 seasons are not published yet.

1. 12:00 1

   Calgary International Airport

   Custom spot

   Collect the car. One Parks Canada Discovery Pass covers all ten days and every park on this route: $83.50 an adult or $167.50 for up to seven people in one vehicle in 2026 (checked 2 October 2026).

   122 km · 1h 20m drive to next

2. 14:30 2

   Rocky Mountain Bagel Co.

   Food & drink

   A late lunch on Canmore’s Main Street, 25 minutes short of Banff.

   22.5 km · 25m drive to next

3. 16:15 3

   Bow Falls Viewpoint

   Park & nature

   Check in, then walk the Bow River trail to the falls: easy, about 1 km from downtown.

   1.7 km · 20m walk to next

4. 18:00 4

   The Bison

   Food & drink

   Dinner upstairs on Bear Street. Book it for the first night.

   2.4 km · 10m drive to next

5. 20:30 5

   Vermilion Lakes

   Park & nature

   Sunset over Mount Rundle, five minutes from town. In June and July the sun sets after 21:00.

   

Banff from the top down: the gondola, the springs where the national parks began, and the hot pool. Under an hour at the wheel, all of it in short hops. Sleep in Banff.

1. 09:00 1

   Banff Gondola

   Activity

   Book a time ahead; advance tickets are highly recommended. To earn the view instead, the Sulphur Mountain trail climbs 5.5 km and 655 m from the Upper Hot Springs lot, and a ride down is half price.

   4.1 km · 10m drive to next

2. 12:00 2

   Park Distillery

   Food & drink

   Campfire cooking on Banff Avenue.

   2.1 km · 10m drive to next

3. 14:00 3

   Cave and Basin National Historic Site

   Sight

   The warm springs where Canada’s national parks began in 1885, open daily 09:30 to 17:00 from May 15 to October 15, 2026. The Discovery Pass covers it.

   3.6 km · 15m drive to next

4. 16:00 4

   Banff Upper Hot Springs

   Activity

   The hot pool on the side of Sulphur Mountain. First come, first served: there are no reservations or online tickets.

   3.7 km · 10m drive to next

5. 19:00 5

   The Grizzly House

   Food & drink

   Fondue in a log room on Banff Avenue: cheese to start, hot rocks after. Book.

The canyon and the big lake, about two hours at the wheel in short legs. In 2026 the eastern 17 km of the Bow Valley Parkway closed to cars for cycling from April 30 to June 25 and from September 1 to October 6; on those days reach Johnston Canyon by the Trans-Canada and Castle Junction. Sleep in Banff.

1. 08:00 1

   Johnston Canyon

   Activity

   Catwalks to the Lower Falls, 1.2 km, and the Upper Falls, 2.5 km one way. Parks Canada closed the trail for safety work on May 2, 2026 and listed it in good condition on September 29; no reopening notice was found, so check the Banff bulletins the night before.

   26.1 km · 30m drive to next

2. 11:15 2

   Wild Flour Bakery

   Food & drink

   Soup and a sandwich on Bear Street.

   12.1 km · 20m drive to next

3. 13:00 3

   Lake Minnewanka

   Activity

   The Classic Cruise takes about an hour, from $58 (2026 season: May 8 to October 12). Book a time.

   2.7 km · 10m drive to next

4. 15:00 4

   Two Jack Lake

   Park & nature

   Picnic tables on the water with Mount Rundle across it.

   9.6 km · 20m drive to next

5. 19:00 5

   Three Bears Brewery

   Food & drink

   A brewery and wood fired kitchen on Bear Street.

Moraine Lake and Lake Louise on the Parks Canada shuttle. Banff to the Lake Louise Park and Ride is about 60 km, 40 to 45 minutes; private cars cannot drive to Moraine Lake, so the shuttle does the rest. In 2026 seats opened April 15 at 08:00 MT and the rest came out 48 hours before each departure; 2027 dates are not published yet. Sleep in Lake Louise (nights 4 and 5).

1. 06:45 1

   Lake Louise Park and Ride

   Custom spot

   At the Lake Louise Ski Resort, with free parking for ticket holders. Shuttles leave every 30 minutes from 06:30: park by 06:45 for the 07:00. 2026 fares: $12.75 an adult, $6.00 a senior, $4.00 a youth, plus a $3.50 online booking fee; one ticket covers Moraine Lake, the Lake Connector, Lake Louise and the ride back.

   17.5 km · 25m transit to next

2. 07:30 2

   Moraine Lake

   Park & nature

   Climb the Rockpile for the view over the Valley of the Ten Peaks, then walk the shore while the morning is calm.

   

   14.0 km · 20m transit to next

3. 10:00 3

   Lake Louise Lakeshore

   Sight

   The Lake Connector runs between the two lakes every 30 minutes, 07:00 to 18:00. Walk the shoreline path past the canoe docks.

   2.1 km · 1h 15m walk to next

4. 12:00 4

   Lake Agnes Tea House

   Activity

   A 3.4 km climb to tea and scones at 2,135 m. The tea house opens for the summer season only, and cards are unreliable up there: bring cash.

   

   5.9 km · 1h transit to next

5. 19:00 5

   Lake Louise Railway Station Restaurant

   Food & drink

   Take the shuttle back in the afternoon (the last return to the Park and Ride is 19:30), check in, then dinner in the old log railway station.

Yoho, over the divide in British Columbia. Field is 27 km west of Lake Louise and Emerald Lake about 39 km, so nothing today is far from your bed. The road up to Takakkaw Falls is a summer road with tight switchbacks: check Parks Canada’s Yoho road report before you count on it. Sleep in Lake Louise.

1. 08:30 1

   Spiral Tunnels Viewpoint

   Sight

   Watch a freight train enter the mountain and cross over its own tail. Trains keep no timetable.

   10.4 km · 15m drive to next

2. 09:30 2

   Takakkaw Falls

   Park & nature

   Canada’s second highest waterfall at 373 metres, ten minutes from the lot. The Yoho Valley Road is seasonal, and trailers cannot make its switchbacks.

   13.5 km · 25m drive to next

3. 12:00 3

   Truffle Pigs Bistro

   Food & drink

   Lunch in Field, the two street railway village.

   6.1 km · 10m drive to next

4. 13:30 4

   Natural Bridge

   Park & nature

   The Kicking Horse River has bored through its own rock and keeps drilling.

   3.2 km · 10m drive to next

5. 14:30 5

   Emerald Lake

   Activity

   Walk the 5.2 km shoreline loop, or rent a canoe by the bridge. Yoho’s lakes are closed to private boats and fishing until March 31, 2027 to stop the spread of whirling disease; the rental canoes are exempt.

   

The Icefields Parkway, Lake Louise to Jasper: 232 km, which Parks Canada puts at three to four hours of driving and a full day with stops. The only fuel is at Saskatchewan River Crossing, open in summer only, and there is almost no cell service: fill up in Lake Louise. Sleep in Jasper (nights 6 to 9).

1. 08:00 1

   Bow Lake

   Park & nature

   Turquoise water under Crowfoot Glacier, the red roofed lodge on the shore.

   

   9.5 km · 15m drive to next

2. 09:00 2

   Peyto Lake

   Sight

   The upgraded viewpoint is a 0.6 km walk from the main lot; the Bow Summit Viewpoint trail is 3 km one way, 310 m up.

   41.0 km · 40m drive to next

3. 10:45 3

   Saskatchewan River Crossing

   Food & drink

   The parkway’s only fuel, open in summer only. Fill up.

   57.6 km · 45m drive to next

4. 12:15 4

   Columbia Icefield

   Activity

   Walk the forefield trail to the toe of the Athabasca Glacier, or book the Ice Explorer and the Skywalk (2026 season: May 1 to October 12, weather permitting). Never cross the fence.

   58.2 km · 40m drive to next

5. 15:30 5

   Sunwapta Falls

   Park & nature

   The river bends around an island and drops into a gorge.

   62.6 km · 55m drive to next

6. 17:30 6

   Jasper townsite

   Food & drink

   Check in and eat on Patricia Street or Connaught Drive.

The Maligne Valley, about an hour’s drive each way. Maligne Lake Road is open, but Maligne Canyon is closed for the whole 2026 season after the 2024 wildfire, so the day skips it (checked 2 October 2026). Sleep in Jasper.

1. 09:00 1

   Medicine Lake

   Park & nature

   The lake that drains through underground channels every autumn.

   26.0 km · 25m drive to next

2. 10:00 2

   Maligne Lake

   Activity

   Book a Spirit Island cruise (2026 season: May 29 to October 11), then walk the shoreline before or after it.

   48.8 km · 1h drive to next

3. 17:30 3

   Pyramid Lake

   Park & nature

   Open for walks and day use, just above town, with Pyramid Mountain over the water at the end of the day.

The slack day, on purpose. Nothing is booked: sleep in, do the laundry, or move here whichever day the weather spoiled. Sleep in Jasper.

1. 10:30 1

   Lac Beauvert

   Park & nature

   The emerald lake on the Jasper Park Lodge grounds. Walk the loop, then a long lunch back in town.

South of town: a reopened lakes trail, a waterfall and the mountain above Jasper, about an hour and a half of driving in all. Sleep in Jasper.

1. 08:30 1

   Valley of the Five Lakes

   Activity

   Reopened in 2026 on a realigned, resurfaced trail with new rest areas, ten minutes south of town. Trail 9 at the south end of First Lake is still closed (checked 2 October 2026).

   24.1 km · 30m drive to next

2. 11:30 2

   Athabasca Falls

   Park & nature

   Not tall but powerful, pounding through a quartzite slot.

   33.5 km · 35m drive to next

3. 14:00 3

   Jasper SkyTram

   Activity

   Seven minutes up Whistlers Mountain, then a steep trail to the summit if the wind allows. The 2026 season runs April 15 to October 25, and from September 7 the hours are 10:00 to 18:00, last ride up 16:30.

   

Home day: Parks Canada puts Jasper to Calgary at 404 km, about 4.5 hours of driving. This plan goes back down the parkway and east on the Trans-Canada, with fuel at Saskatchewan River Crossing in season. Book a flight after 18:00.

1. 08:45 1

   Tangle Creek Falls

   Park & nature

   A roadside cascade over tiered limestone. Five minutes, no trail.

   68.8 km · 1h drive to next

2. 10:15 2

   Mistaya Canyon

   Park & nature

   A short walk down to a slot the river has carved into curves, just south of the Crossing.

   

   17.4 km · 15m drive to next

3. 11:00 3

   Waterfowl Lakes

   Park & nature

   Mount Chephren over the lower lake, from the shore by the campground.

   71.7 km · 45m drive to next

4. 12:15 4

   Laggan’s Mountain Bakery

   Food & drink

   Lunch and a cinnamon bun at the Samson Mall bakery in Lake Louise.

   201 km · 2h drive to next

5. 15:30 5

   Calgary International Airport

   Custom spot

   Two hours from Lake Louise. Return the car with time to spare.