National Parks: Canadian Rockies, Glacier & Yellowstone

Welcome to Canada! Transfer to your hotel this evening and get settled in; you’ll enjoy a welcome dinner with your group tomorrow.

With your Tour Director leading the way, head out on a guided sightseeing tour of Calgary. While this part of Alberta turns into a winter wonderland for large swaths of the year—Calgary hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics—it’s warm and mild in the summer.

• Drive by Calgary City Hall, the seat of the Calgary City Council. Built in 1911 in the Richardsonian Romanesque architectural style, it sits next to the newer Calgary Municipal Building—whose mirrored glass facade was dubbed “a monstrosity” by rivaling members of the Toronto City Council.
• Pass the Canada Olympic Park (many of the nation’s top athletes still train there) and the winding Bow River, a popular recreation spot for locals.
• Pass by the Confluence Historic Site & Parkland—formerly Fort Calgary—and make a photo stop at the vast Calgary Stampede grounds, home to the largest outdoor rodeo event in the world. (No wonder Calgary is known as “Cowtown”!)

Afterward, travel to Banff. Sitting inside a national park of the same name, this glamorous resort town is known for. its mix of outdoor activities, art galleries, and take-your-breath-away sights. The park itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so expect a postcard-perfect slice of the Canadian Rockies.

• Pass the roaring churn and spray of Bow Falls, the castle-like grounds of the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel, and the 13-mile-long Lake Minnewanka.
• Enter the Cave and Basin National Historic Site, the birthplace of Canada’s first national park at the foot of Sulphur Mountain. Home to hot springs and spectacular wildlife, the area was inhabited by indigenous First Nations peoples for more than 10,000 years and remains a sacred place to this day.

Get to know your Tour Director and fellow travelers during tonight’s welcome dinner, served with beer or wine.