I have been to the Canadian Rockies twice in the past two years—once in spring and once in winter. I’ll spoil it all upfront—the vibe is magical, and I’d love to cross summer and fall off my bucket list. My current status is “Trying to convince my extended family that our summer 2025 vacation needs to be in Banff.”
Pursuit is a leisure company that offers resorts and activities worldwide. I’ve had an opportunity to explore and experience what they have to offer in the Canadian Rockies, and I’m here to tell you that Pursuit should be an integral part of your trip planning. And yes, you really do need to plan a trip. Both winter and spring were breathtaking, and I think this is a trip you could repeat over and over again and not tire of.
While the parks – Banff National Park and Jasper National Park – are not part of Pursuit’s Banff Jasper Collection, their amenities in and around both parks should be a big part of your trip planning. Pursuit’s presence in the Canadian Rockies includes Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise, Canmore, Golden, and the Columbia Icefield. Golden is located in British Columbia, although it is less than a two-hour drive, each way, from Banff.
Considering a holiday in Banff? Read more here:
- When is the Best Time to Visit Banff? Any Time of the Year!
- 16 Things to do in Banff National Park: Rejuvenate Your Mind & Body
Getting to Banff and Jasper and Getting Around
Both Banff and Jasper are in the province of Alberta. If you’re flying, getting to Banff from Calgary Airport is easy. If you want to rent a car and drive, the 80-mile drive will take about 90 minutes. If you’re going to take a shuttle, the Brewster Express takes around two hours. The shuttle has comfortable seats and WiFi; sitting back and letting someone else handle the driving is easy.
Brewster Express also runs from Calgary to Jasper and from Banff to Jasper, so you can use the shuttle for whatever destinations you want and align it with however you’re breaking up your trip.
I took the Brewster Express from Calgary to Banff and rented a car in Banff to drive to Jasper as a day trip. It was easy to rent a car in downtown Banff, and I’m glad I was on my own timetable to drive to Jasper since there are a lot of beautiful places to stop. I spent most of my time in Banff and found the town very walkable, although it is very cold and icy in the winter. Had I not wanted to drive to Jasper, I’d have been fine without a car.
My hotel charged a per-night rate for parking, plus I had to pay $11 Canadian per day for a park pass, which I had to display in my car whenever I was in the park. The park pass I got in Banff was also good for all Mountain National Parks: Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Kootenay, Waterton, Elk Island, Mount Revelstoke, and Glacier. The park pass does not include parking at Lake Louise, which was $36 Canadian for the day. There are cheaper ways to explore Lake Louise, including a bus service from Banff and a shuttle service from Lake Louise Village to Lake Louise. I was short on time and wanted to see the lake, so I opted to pay the hefty parking fee, but there are more economical ways to go about it.
Hotels in the Pursuit Collection
Pursuit has 11 properties in the Canadian Rockies: Two in Banff, nine in Jasper, and one in Waterton. Deals are available on their website, and of course, the longer you stay, the bigger the discount. I stayed at Banff’s Mount Royal Hotel (read my review here) and had dinner at Banff’s Elk + Avenue Hotel. I’ve stayed at Mount Royal twice and love its convenient location in downtown Banff – everything is easy to get to on foot, the Brewster Express takes you right to the door, and local tours will pick you up right at the hotel. Summer room rates for a king or double queen room run between $550 and $650 Canadian. Pricing is dynamic, depending on the day of the week and the season. Elk + Avenue’s nightly rates are slightly less expensive.
Jasper has wider hotel choices and a larger fluctuation in hotel rates. I found summer rates to be as low as $369, and visitors staying for longer stays can likely get a less expensive per-night rate whether you’re choosing Banff, Jasper, or both; book early, especially during the popular summer season.
Many of Pursuit’s hotels have restaurants attached to them. I’ve eaten at Brazen, inside Mount Royal, and Farm & Fire inside Elk + Avenue, and I recommend both places. Both menus heavily feature shareable plates, and while there’s no shortage of proteins, both menus are very vegetable-forward. Elk + Avenue has an open kitchen and a tempting array of creatively topped flatbread pizzas. Shoutout to Brazen for the most unique Crème Brulee I’ve ever been served. Designed to look like an ashtray with white chocolate “cigarettes” and a gray sugary crumble that mimics ash, this concoction is so delicious that it is easy to get past the slightly gross element of being served an ashtray.
Things to Do
There are tons of things to do in Banff and Jasper, including hiking and biking in the park, swimming in Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, exploring the shops in Banff and Lake Louise, eating delicious food, and more. And while some of the activities I’m touching on are summer season activities, winter opens up a whole host of other things to do, such as downhill and cross-country skiing and ice skating.
Golden Skybridge
Located just under two hours from Banff, Golden British Columbia is home to a robust outdoor adventure space, the Golden Skybridge. The star attractions are two suspension bridges that cross a canyon – one bridge is slightly higher and longer than the other, and the highest bridge is Canada’s highest suspension bridge at 426 feet.
In addition to the bridges, there’s a mountain coaster, a zipline course, a treetop challenge course, climbing, and axe throwing. Golden Skybridge also has a kid’s playground area and food concessions. The park is linear and designed for all guests to traverse both bridges. I found them daunting, but I got through both bridges twice each. I’ll add that I visited on a clear day when there wasn’t much wind and few people on the bridge, which would have caused it to move more. I had it entirely to myself on my final trek across the lower bridge, and it hardly moved. There are very kind and knowledgeable staff located at the bridges to give anyone who needs a little extra encouragement or help across the bridge.
For anyone who wants to take the adrenaline up a notch, do the Giant Canyon Swing as an add-on. Not for the faint of heart, this swing sends you freefalling from a platform hanging from the cavern before allowing you to swing in a sweeping arc as you take in the epic scenery of the canyon and the waterfalls below. If your eyes aren’t squeezed tightly shut in fear, that is.
If you love adventure or want to challenge yourself, make a day of this place. It’s worth the trek from Banff, and, as with everything else in this region, the drive is gorgeous.
Banff Gondola
The Banff Gondola is a beautiful, all-season ride up Sulphur Mountain in an enclosed gondola with viewing windows to take in the sky and scenery as you go far above the treeline. This mile-long ride takes about eight minutes, and yes, your ears will pop, probably more than once. The lower terminal is 5,194 feet above sea level, and the Upper Terminal is 7,486 feet above sea level. The experience of climbing above the trees is surreal and gives sort of a Twilight, Edward and Bella up-in-the-pines vibe.
The top has a viewing deck and an extended deck called Sulphur Mountain Boardwalk, which leads to some incredible views if you feel like a little walk after reaching the top. The entire length of the boardwalk is about a third of a mile, and just when you think you’ve reached the end, the path keeps going.
The outdoor views from the observation decks are the star of the show, although don’t skip the indoor activities. There’s an interpretive center that teaches guests about the region’s natural and cultural history, a theater, and a gift shop. There’s also a gift shop at the base of the Gondola. Hungry? There’s a café at the top that sells coffee and snacks, as well as a more elevated fine dining experience at Sky Bistro.
Exploring the Columbia Icefields
The novelty of exploring an ice field and getting a little dose of winter in late May when the weather in my hometown was creeping up toward 100 degrees is an experience that I wholeheartedly recommend. The Columbia Icefield Experience includes riding an all-terrain ice explorer vehicle onto the Athabasca Glacier. The glacier is over 10,000 years old, which is mindblowing, and almost 1,000 feet thick, which is also mind blowing. Walking on the glacier feels the same as walking on regular snowy terrain. I wore hiking shoes and layers, and I was comfortable.
The Columbia Icefield Skywalk is an add-on experience to the ice field tour. The Skywalk is a total of .62 miles, or 1 km, of interpretive experience, including educational exhibits about fossils and geology. Mountain goats frequent the area around the Skywalk – I saw one! – so keep your eyes peeled for wildlife. The fun part of the Skywalk is the suspended glass platform that allows you to see Sunwapta Valley below from a unique angle. It’s a little unnerving, although not on the same level of thrill as the Golden Skybridge.
The entire experience took about three hours. The tour begins and ends at the Glacier Discovery Center, where you’ll board a bus to where the ice explorer vehicles are parked. You’ll ride out to the glacier, and after spending about 30 minutes at the glacier – which is more than enough time to check things out and snap your pictures – you’ll reboard the ice explorer and transfer back to the bus, which will take you to the Skywalk. Buses run from the Skywalk back to the Glacier Discovery Center every 20 minutes. Although most of the experience involved bus rides or waiting for a bus, it’s still a don’t skip in my book, and I’d 100 percent do it again.
Banff Open Top Touring
This 90-minute tour is a great way to explore Banff and the surrounding area, plus get a lay of the land. A custom 1930s-style vehicle driven by a guide in period costume is the backdrop for the story of how Banff came to be a popular spot for tourism and recreation. The tours are fun and educational and make an excellent first or second-day activity to help with orientation and adding to your “Hey, I wanna do that!” lists. The vehicle’s glass tops provide gorgeous views and are removed during warmer weather.
Fun story: I went on the tour in late May, and the driver had the glass tops up. It was a cold, sunny day, and the driver shared that he’d been considering taking the tops off. It started snowing halfway through our tour, so I’m happy he didn’t! There were several opportunities to get out and take pictures, and our guide entertained us with fun stories. We also saw a small herd of elk grazing just outside Banff village, so always keep your eyes peeled for the region’s abundant wildlife.
On my list for next time
I wasn’t able to fit these in on either of my recent trips to the Canadian Rockies, but these Pursuit Collection activities are on my list for my next visit:
- Ice Odyssey
- Lake Minnewanka Cruise
- Maligne Lake Cruise
- Maligne Canyon Icewalk
Save Money with a Pursuit Pass
A Pursuit Pass allows visitors to pay a single price for multiple attractions at a savings. If the activities in the section above have you saying, “Yes to all of that!” then a Pursuit Pass is what you want. There are three levels of passes. The most expensive and least restrictive Pursuit Pass Rockies allows a single entry into all seven activities listed above with no time restrictions and 10 percent off retail and dining.
The least expensive Pursuit Rockies Lite allows entry to the Banff Gondola, Columbia Icefield Tour, and Columbia Icefield Skywalk with no time restrictions, plus one additional attraction of the pass holder’s choice with no time restrictions. The Pursuit Rockies Value Pass is a mid-priced ticket that allows entrance into all seven activities but restricts all but the Banff Gondola and Golden Skybridge to entry after 3:30. The Pursuit Rockies Value Pass also gives the bearer the 10 percent retail and dining discount.
The passes are priced at $349 to $209 Canadian per adult, but here’s the catch: The Pursuit Rockies and the Pursuit Rockies Value passes are valid for the entire season, usually from late May through mid-October. The Pursuit Rockies Lite is only valid for seven days. If your trip is shorter and you’re satisfied with the offerings on the Lite pass, save money and get the cheaper pass. Otherwise, the money for the flexibility is well-spent.
And don’t let the ‘after 3:30 PM’ put you off. Summer days in the Canadian Rockies are long, and you’ll enjoy daylight until 9:00-10:00 PM, depending on the month and weather.
Enjoy the Trip, and Be Smart About Packing
It might seem obvious, but check the weather before you travel. No matter what season you travel in, the weather in the Canadian Rockies is probably different from the weather where you are coming from. I took lightweight layers and sturdy, close-toed shoes, which I needed for the Golden Skybridge and the Columbia Icefields. I took a waterreistant windbreaker and a light fleece vest. Not only was I glad I had both but there were a couple of times where I had them both together. I stuffed a knit hat, a buff, and lightweight gloves in my pockets and used all of them, which I didn’t expect to do during a late spring trip.
Banff and Jasper are casual places where you don’t need dressy clothes. Everyone I saw had on hiking gear and athleisure. There are plenty of outfitters in downtown Banff in case you forget something or aren’t prepared for the weather. While it’s nice to know that you’ll have an easy time if you need to snag a wardrobe item, I always want to pack the clothes I know I’ll need to comfortably do the activities I’ve planned.
Read more packing and fashion advice for your next Banff trip:
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