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Alberta

Best of Banff: Our Mountain Heritage

Program No. 13178RJ
Delve deep into Canada’s history as you visit Chateau Lake Louise, Banff National Park and take expert walks through the Canadian Rockies to learn about artists and outdoorsmen.

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Prices displayed below are based on per person,doubleoccupancy.
DATES & starting prices
PRICES
Jun 18 - Jun 23, 2023
Starting at
2,699
Jul 9 - Jul 14, 2023
Starting at
2,699
Jul 23 - Jul 28, 2023
Starting at
2,699
Jul 30 - Aug 4, 2023
Starting at
2,699
Aug 13 - Aug 18, 2023
Starting at
2,699
Aug 20 - Aug 25, 2023
Starting at
2,699
Sep 10 - Sep 15, 2023
Starting at
2,699
Sep 24 - Sep 29, 2023
Starting at
2,699
DATES & starting prices
PRICES
Jun 18 - Jun 23, 2023
Starting at
3,479
Jul 9 - Jul 14, 2023
Starting at
3,479
Jul 23 - Jul 28, 2023
Starting at
3,479
Jul 30 - Aug 4, 2023
Starting at
3,479
Aug 13 - Aug 18, 2023
Starting at
3,479
Aug 20 - Aug 25, 2023
Starting at
3,479
Sep 10 - Sep 15, 2023
Starting at
3,479
Sep 24 - Sep 29, 2023
Starting at
3,479

At a Glance

Established in 1885, Banff National Park is Canada’s oldest national park. Join us in Banff and Lake Louise, where history echoes through its pine forests and mountain peaks. Hear about the colonists who arrived in the 19th century and learn how the Canadian Pacific railway was instrumental in transforming the pristine landscapes of Banff into a Victorian resort. Explore rocky peaks and vast forests, and experience expert-led walks to Bow Falls, Moraine Lake and Lake Louise to see how this natural paradise inspired voyagers, artists and outdoorsmen alike. Discover the incredible geological history and rich ecology at the Cave and Basin Historic Site, and leave mesmerized by the ubiquitous beauty of the land.
Activity Level
Keep the Pace
Walking up to two miles, some stairs, standing. Elevations up to 5,700 feet.
Small Group
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.

Best of all, you’ll…

  • Celebrate the environmental efforts that led to the establishment of Canada’s first national park and the unique geothermal hot springs.
  • Witness Victorian splendor at the Chateau Lake Louise, and the art of the Whyte Museum.
  • Explore the geological history of the Canadian Rockies on an indepth field trip with a well-known expert.
Featured Expert
All Experts
Profile Image
Hugh Southee
A Geotechnical Engineer with experience in coal mining, Hugh has been leading people around the Burgess Shale area for five summers. With his love of education, he is dedicated to helping others learn about the wonders Mother Nature has created in the West. Living in the Rockies for eight years, nothing makes him happier than getting outside. Hugh has traveled the world for over a decade seeking rock and ice climbing adventures, and he also enjoys skiing and canoeing.

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

Profile Image of Hugh Southee
Hugh Southee View biography
A Geotechnical Engineer with experience in coal mining, Hugh has been leading people around the Burgess Shale area for five summers. With his love of education, he is dedicated to helping others learn about the wonders Mother Nature has created in the West. Living in the Rockies for eight years, nothing makes him happier than getting outside. Hugh has traveled the world for over a decade seeking rock and ice climbing adventures, and he also enjoys skiing and canoeing.
Profile Image of Kristi Beetch
Kristi Beetch View biography
Kristi Beetch was raised in a Scandinavian-German family in Minnesota. Early in her adulthood, she followed her passion for skiing in Vail, Colorado where she met her Canadian husband. Ultimately, they settled down in the Canadian Rockies. Kristi has been leading for over 20 years through Banff, Jasper and multiple other National Parks in the area. She is a course instructor for the Interpretive Guides Association. Kristi often shares her knowledge on the Canadian Rockies on television, including appearances on National Geographic Channel and CNN.
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
This Wild Spirit: Women in the Rocky Mountains of Canada
by Colleen Skidmore
In 1912, Mary Vaux, a botanist, glaciologist, painter, and photographer, wrote about her mountain adventures: “A day on the trail, or a scramble over the glacier, or even with a quiet day in camp to get things in order for the morrow's conquests? Some how when once this wild spirit enters the blood…I can hardly wait to be off again." Vaux's compulsion was shared by many women whose intellects, imaginations, and spirits rose to the challenge of the mountains between the late-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. This Wild Spirit explores a sampling of women's creative responses—in fiction and travel writing, photographs and paintings, embroidery and beadwork, letters and diaries, poetry and posters—to their experiences in the Rocky Mountains of Canada.
Switchbacks, True Stories from the Canadian Rockies
by Sid Marty
A native Albertan and park warden in the Canadian Rockies, Marty relates colorful anecdotes from friends, colleagues and his own youth in this collection of tales, which includes A Horse Named Candy.
Field Guide to Banff National Park
by James Kavanagh
This fold-up, laminated card features 133 color drawings and short descriptions of commonly encountered wildlife and a map.
Spectacular Canada
by Gerald Bryan Hall
Featuring 177 color photographs showcasing the diversity and grandeur of our neighbor to the north.
Rocky Mountain Nature Guide
by Andy Bezener
This guide includes information on mammals, fish, birds, trees, shrubs, wildflowers, insects and reptiles from the entire span of the Rockies - Alaska to New Mexico. Featuring over 300 exact full-color illustrations.
The Great Rocky Mountain Nature Factbook
by Susan Ewing
Ewing's family-friendly guide, with black-and-white drawings throughout, answers the curiosity of engaged visitors about the plants, animals and natural features of the Rockies.
Mountain Home, Tales of Seeking a Family Life in Harmony with Nature
by Adolf Hungry Wolf
PAPER, 168 PAGES, $14.95 Getting back to the land isn’t easy, as Mr. Hungry Wolf will testify, after 25 years of raising his family in the wilderness of the Canadian Rockies. He shares tales of natural foods, wild animals, home schooling his four children, and living without running water, phone, TV or electricity. (Item no. CND31)
After the Ice Age: The Return of Life to Glaciated North America
by E.C. Pielou
Eighteen thousand years ago, an immense sheet of ice covered all of present day Canada and northernmost U.S. This story tells of how a harsh terrain was transformed into the environment we know today.
Rocky Mountain Natural History, Grand Teton to Jasper, A Trailside Reference
by Daniel Mathews
A comprehensive field guide and handbook covering the plants, animals, insects, geology and history of the region. With 480 color photographs and 11 line drawings.
National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America
by Jon Dunn
This guide is the veteran's choice for birding anywhere in the United States. Practical to use in the field, it has maps, illustrations and descriptions of the birds on facing pages.
The Amazing Death of Calf Shirt and Other Blackfoot Stories, Three Hundred Years of Blackfoot History
by Hugh A. Dempsey
A wonderful collection of stories, illuminating the history of the Blackfoot people of the prairies of southern Alberta and northern Montana.
Scats and Tracks of the Rocky Mountains
by James Halfpenny, Todd Telander (Illustrator)
An essential pocket guide to tracks, scats and signs of not just the mammals of the region, but also of the reptiles, amphibians and birds. Each of 70 species gets a double-page spread, with line drawings of the animal, scat and track, range map and description.
Northern Rocky Mountain Wildflowers, Including Glacier, Waterton Lakes, Banff, Jasper, Kootenay, Mount Revelstoke, and Yoho
by Wayne Phillips
Compiled by a former forest service ecologist and botany teacher at Yellowstone Institute, this handy guide features 300 species, expertly photographed, explained and organized by color and family for quick identification.
Raven's End
by Ben Gadd
A young raven, with no memory of his past, arrives to the beautiful and dangerous landscape of Yamnuska, Banff. A book that looks at the complex world of ravens.
Lonely Planet Banff, Jasper & Glacier National Parks
by Lonely Planet Publications
This informative, compact guidebook in the excellent Lonely Planet series includes details on the history, geology and wildlife of the region.
Selected Stories
by Alice Munro
This collection of 28 short stories represents some of Munro's finest work. A powerful range of emotional, evocative tales set throughout the cities and rural towns of her native country.
Handbook of the Canadian Rockies
by Ben Gadd
Geology, plants, animals, history and recreation from Waterton/Glacier to the Yukon.





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