Arrive To: HOTEL CHECK-IN: Available from 4:00pm. Independent arrivals in Banff.

Dinner: Enjoy casual dining at the hotel.

Evening: ORIENTATION: Meet your group leader and fellow participants during an orientation to the program and Banff.

Lodging: Irwin's Mountain Inn

Meals Included: Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at hotel

Morning: LECTURE: Get an in-depth look at Canada’s Rocky Mountain Parks with a local expert, who will provide insight to the history of the parks and touch on the majesty of the small mountain village of Banff.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Whyte Museum. Explore one of Banff's most culturally significant museums, and learn of the remarkable history of some of the locals and their cultural past. The Whyte Museum is the gateway for experiencing and enjoying the art, culture and history of the Canadian Rockies.

Dinner: Dinner at a local restaurant.

Evening: FREE EVENING: Take this evening to explore some of the sights and sounds of Banff on your own. For live musical entertainment, check out one of the local pubs or the Banff Centre (www.banffcentre.ca)

Lodging: Irwin's Mountain Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at your hotel.

Morning: PRESENTATION: Geology of Banff. Gain insight into the natural forces that formed the rugged landscape of the Rocky Mountains and the differences between the Front and Main Ranges. Learn about what geologists call, "The Ring of Fire", and how some believe that this uplift still continues today. EXCURSION: Sulphur Mountain Gondola. Journey to the top of Sulphur Mountain in a four-passenger, glass-enclosed gondola (weather permitting). This activity will reinforce what you have learned during this morning's lecture. Along the way, you will have a 360-degree view of the breathtaking beauty of the Rockies. Bring your camera along - you will be awe-struck by the panoramic view from the top!

Lunch: Lunch at Melissa's, a local favorite in a landmark building.

Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Banff National Park - Johnston Canyon. Explore Johnston Canyon - a narrow canyon cut into 350 million year old limestone. You will be awed by spectacular cascading falls, copper-colored cliffs and Black Swifts, found only in a few places in Alberta, nesting in the canyon walls. At the Bow Valley Parkway, study the biodiversity, forest ecology and outstanding geological and ecological features of this area. Your local guide will examine important aspects of the Rocky Mountain region including geology, ecological zones, fire and erosion processes.

Dinner: Dinner on your own, to explore the wide variety of local cuisine in downtown Banff.

Evening: Free evening to explore Banff on your own.

Lodging: Irwin's Mountain Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast: Breakfast at hotel

Morning: FIELD TRIP & LECTURE: Icefields Parkway & the Columbia Icefield. En route to Jasper National Park, your local guide will introduce a range of topics including glaciology of the Icefields Parkway, Burgess Shale fossils and bears of the Rockies. Gain insight into the creation, impact and maintenance of the glaciers and Iicefields in the Canadian Rockies. Hear about the discovery of unique marine fossils in the Burgess Shale and their significance to the field of palaeontology. Further along the Icefields Parkway, considered one of the most scenic highways in the world, we will visit the Columbia Icefield. Here, learn about this impressive glacial feature. The Icefields are the largest accumulation of ice and snow in the Canadian Rockies, covering an area of nearly 125 square miles and straddling the Continental Divide with an average elevation of 9,800 feet. The Icefields feed eight major glaciers, including the Athabasca, Dome and Stutfield glaciers, all of which you will see from the coach. The Icefields lie on the boundary between Banff and Jasper national parks, and its meltwaters flow to three of Canada's largest river systems and eventually to three oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic. There is only one other such watershed in the world, and that is in Siberia.

Lunch: Lunch en route

Afternoon: Arrive in the town of Jasper - located in the centre of Jasper National Park, deep in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. Jasper is known around the world for its pristine and rugged beauty. Its distance from large urban centers and its relatively intact ecology give you a real sense of the early days in the Rockies.

Dinner: Dinner at your hotel. Enjoy stunning mountain views and fantastic food at Anthony's Restaurant.

Evening: Free evening to enjoy the local townsite or rest after a long day of travelling.

Lodging: Amethyst Lodge

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Jasper National Park/Maligne Canyon/Pyramid Lake/History of Jasper National Park

Breakfast: Breakfast at your hotel

Morning: FIELD TRIP: Maligne Canyon & Pyramid Lake. Meet your local expert naturalist who will introduce you to Jasper National Park. Explore together Maligne Canyon and Pyramid Lake. Discover the Maligne Canyon trail, rich in natural history, with impressive geologic features and wildlife. Search for fossils and find out how this deep canyon formed during glacial ages. The forests of these wilderness areas are home to mountain goats, elk, moose, and bears as well as a variety of birds, including Bald Eagles. Scenic trails let you explore the spectacular vantage points, flower meadows, and sapphire blue mountain lakes.

Lunch: Picnic lunch en route (weather permitting)

Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Jasper National Park. Discover the history of Jasper National Park - Canada's largest and most northerly Rocky Mountain park, encompassing over 4,200 square miles. Healthy wildlife populations, including grizzly bears and wolves, live among its grand peaks and emerald-green lakes. The combination of these startling blue-green mountain lakes, soaring peaks and broad, forested valleys makes this one of the world's premiere national parks.

Dinner: Dinner at your hotel

Evening: LECTURE: History of Jasper. Our expert naturalist will discuss the history and development of Jasper National Park.

Lodging: Amethyst Lodge

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at your hotel

Morning: FIELD TRIP: Mount Robson Provincial Park. Explore this incredible park with your local naturalist and learn about the landscape and ecology of Mount Robson. It is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies at 12,972 feet. The park consists of 536,484 acres of stunning mountains, valleys and waterways. Forests of spruce, fir, balsam, cedar and alder are home to an array of wildlife, including mountain goats, moose, deer, elk, marmot, squirrels, birds and chipmunks.

Lunch: Boxed lunch in the park (weather permitting).

Afternoon: PRESENTATION: Jasper & the Rockies. Enjoy an in-depth presentation on the history of Jasper comparing current community development with its former days. Learn about the Overlanders - gold seekers heading for the Cariboo in the 1860's, the first ascent of Mount Robson, and the mountain's effect on the local ecology.

Dinner: Dinner on your own to explore local fare.

Evening: Evening is free to explore Jasper on your own or relax at your hotel.

Lodging: Amethyst Lodge

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast: Breakfast at your hotel

Morning: FIELD TRIP & PRESENTATION: Depart for Banff. Travel south along the Icefields Parkway. The day will reflect the theme "Twenty Switzerlands from One Highway!" During today's presentations you will learn about the area's wildlife and mountaineering. The Icefields Parkway travels terrain that has been heavily glaciated, and the features left in the wake of many ice ages are a highlight of the trip, with well over 80 glaciers within sight of the highway.

Lunch: Picnic lunch en route (weather permitting)

Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: As we journey south, we will stop at Athabasca Falls and several mountain lakes including spectacular Lake Louise. You can drink in nature's wonder at Lake Louise - one of the Canadian Rockies' most beloved destinations, with turquoise waters sparkling underneath the towering Victoria Glacier. The 23-meter Athabasca Falls is not very high by Canadian Rockies standards, but the size of the river makes it one of the most powerful falls to be found in the mountain parks. Flowing from the glaciers of the Columbia Icefield, the Athabasca River is the largest river system in Jasper. Arrive/check into the hotel.

Dinner: Dinner at a local restaurant.

Evening: Free evening to explore Banff on your own or indulge in the Hot Springs.

Lodging: Irwin's Mountain Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at your hotel.

Morning: PRESENTATION and FIELD TRIP: Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel & Bow Falls. Discover the history of the town of Banff, located within Canada's First National Park. Banff lies in a mountain-rimmed valley carved by the Bow River. Its development has always been determined by the federal government, tourism and the railway. In 1930, the Rocky Mountain Parks Reserve was renamed Banff National Park, Canada's first nature reserve, to encompass 2,564 square miles of valleys, mountains, glaciers, forests, meadows and rivers. Beneath the famous Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel is gushing Bow Falls. The spectacular falls is fed upstream by the Bow Glacier which in turn feeds the Bow River. An easy stroll along the Bow Falls Trail gets you up close to the rapids and roaring water falls.

Lunch: Lunch on your own to explore local fare.

Afternoon: Free afternoon to explore Banff on your own.

Dinner: Dinner at El Toro

Evening: Farewell celebrations

Lodging: Irwin's Mountain Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at your hotel.

Morning: Independent departures from Banff. Approximate travel time from Banff to the Calgary International airport is 2.5 hours. When booking your departure/return flight, confirm with your airline the amount of time required for pre-flight check-in procedure. Make sure you have enough time upon arrival at airport to comfortably make your flight.

Meals Included: Breakfast