Alberta/British Columbia
Western Canada by Train & Ferry: Grizzlies, Orcas & Totems
Program No. 21439RJ
Breathtaking vistas, unique wildlife, ancient cultures and traditional ways of life — discover this and more as you explore Western Canada from Alberta to the Inside Passage.
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DATES
& starting prices
PRICES
Jul 7 - Jul 19, 2024
Starting at
6,399DATES
& starting prices
PRICES
Jul 7 - Jul 19, 2024
Starting at
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13 days
12 nights
29 meals
11B 9L 9D
1
Arrival, Orientation, Welcome Dinner
Vancouver, British Columbia
2
Ferry to Vancouver Island, Qualicum Walk, North Island
Telegraph Cove, British Columbia
3
Whale Museum, Orca Whale Watching
Telegraph Cove, British Columbia
4
Grizzly Bear Viewing, Port Hardy
Port Hardy, British Columbia
5
BC Ferry to Prince Rupert, Canada's Inside Passage
Prince Rupert, British Columbia
6
Northern BC Museum, Pacific Northwest Cannery Historic Site
Prince Rupert, British Columbia
7
Skeena Train - Prince Rupert to Prince George
Prince George, British Columbia
8
Skeena Train - Prince George to Jasper
Jasper, Alberta
9
Maligne Canyon, Pyramid Lake, Jasper National Park
Jasper, Alberta
10
Icefields Parkway, Transfer to Banff
Banff, Alberta
11
Lake Louise, Grizzlies, Gondola, High Tea
Banff, Alberta
12
Banff National Park, Emerald Lake, Yoho Park
Banff, Alberta
13
Program Concludes
Banff, Alberta
At a Glance
Discover the breathtaking range of the Canadian Rockies in Alberta and the magnificent natural beauty of British Columbia. The Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks are richly adorned with mountain peaks, glaciers, waterfalls, limestone caves and fossils. In British Columbia, the Inside Passage teems with marine life, while on shore the ancient coastal rainforest provides habitat for grizzlies and many other mammals. Join naturalists for an exploration of the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Coast Mountains and the waterways of the West on this wildlife and wilderness adventure.
Activity Level
Keep the Pace
Walk up to two miles daily over varied terrain. Embarking/disembarking motorcoaches, ferries, trains and vessels. Some long days with travel times of up to 16 hours due to ferry and train schedules (subject to change), with late-night arrivals followed by early morning departures.
What You'll Learn
- Explore Banff, Yoho and Jasper National Parks with experts and learn about their rich ecology and geology.
- Experience British Columbia’s diversity of landscapes aboard Via Rail's Skeena train and on a BC Ferry ride.
- Learn about the bioregion of the grizzly bear and observe these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat.
General Notes
Select dates are designated for small groups and are limited to 24 participants or less.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Kirsten Schmitten
Kirsten Schmitten has spent over 30 years exploring, researching, writing and working in the Canadian Rockies. From her career as a park naturalist to her adventures with her warden husband, Kirsten’s love and knowledge of the natural and cultural history of Jasper makes her a captivating and sought after speaker. She is the owner of All Things Wild, a company specializing in connecting people to the natural and cultural history of Jasper National Park.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Kirsten Schmitten
View biography
Kirsten Schmitten has spent over 30 years exploring, researching, writing and working in the Canadian Rockies. From her career as a park naturalist to her adventures with her warden husband, Kirsten’s love and knowledge of the natural and cultural history of Jasper makes her a captivating and sought after speaker. She is the owner of All Things Wild, a company specializing in connecting people to the natural and cultural history of Jasper National Park.
Krista Bogen
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Krista is a teacher based in Vancouver and particularly knowledgeable in the Banff area and the natural wonders that populate Western Canada. With her passion for teaching and learning, her deep love for her home country and seeing new places, group leading has become one of Krista’s favorite things to do. She also loves meeting new people and discovering common ground among diverse groups of participants. “Let me take you on a journey to see what makes Canada such an amazing place!” says Krista.
Hugh Southee
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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.
Brent MacDonald
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Brent Macdonald has been a resident of the Canadian Rockies for almost 30 years. As a geology expert, he provides a wealth of knowledge about geography and geomorphology. Brent has had a diverse career as a freelance natural history interpreter, also working as a consultant for a geotechnical engineering company. He has shared his knowledge of geology and natural history as an interpreter and guest lecturer. Brent is also a certified mountain leader and ski instructor.
Andrea McPherson
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Originally from Ontario, Andrea has settled into Calgary. Her love of travel has taken her around Canada and around the world. Andrea loves introducing visitors to the wonders of her home country of Canada and the vast range of experiences it has to offer. She is just as happy in the heart of a downtown metropolis as she is in the middle of the wild. From whale-watching to dog-sledding, from walks in downtown metropolises to the Rockies, Andreas has done it all.
Sonya Pollock
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Sonya Pollock grew up in Calgary, Alberta and loved taking trips out to the Rocky Mountains as a child. These trips with her family solidified her love of nature and wildlife. Her passion for helping animals resulted in her pursuit of an MSc in animal behavior and welfare where she studied thermoregulation in the Indian rhinoceros. She’s currently a Ph.D. candidate in wildlife ecology at the University of Alberta where she studies grizzly bear habitat selection in Banff National Park.
Tracey Gage
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Tracy Gage feels most at home in nature. She has a bachelor’s in wildlife biology as well as a degree in geology and teaching. Tracy has been a professional excursion leader, educator and naturalist for over 20 years in the kind of jobs you only see on TV: grizzly bear and whale expert, hiking leader and mountain bike coach. Throughout the year she works as the executive director of a local not-for-profit group that trains educational excursion leaders to work in Alberta’s National Parks.
Routes Adventures Mobile Phone
View biography
Please call the toll free line at 1-866-745-1690 during regular business hours or for non-urgent matters (Mon - Fri 8:30 - 4:30 EST). The mobile phone #1-613-331-5777 is for after hours and weekends for emergency use only. The phone is carried by a staff member.
Lynne Brookes
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Lynne Brookes has taught courses in biology, ecology, and environmental studies as well as teachers’ workshops in the U.S., Latin America, and Canada. A former president of an Audubon Society chapter, she served as president of the Arrowsmith Naturalists from 2014-17. “Retired” on mid-Vancouver Island, Lynne is a volunteer teacher focusing on native plants, ecology, and wildlife-friendly gardening for the Vancouver Island University ElderCollege program. She also conducts programs and workshops at the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre in Errington, British Columbia.
Suggested Reading List
(20 books)
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.
Western Canada by Train & Ferry: Grizzlies, Orcas & Totems
Program Number: 21439
Barrow's Boys
Between 1816 and 1845, John Barrow and his hand-picked teams of elite naval officers scoured the globe’s empty spaces, which makes this book a tale of absurdly dangerous comedy as well as a harrowing personal endeavour. The book contains great details on all the British naval expeditions in search of the Northwest Passage from 1815 to 1850.
Moon Handbook British Columbia including the Canadian Rockies
This comprehensive guide stakes out the best sites throughout British Columbia, nicely balancing practical detail with a good overview of the region and its attractions.
The Great Bear Rainforest, Canada's Forgotten Coast
An environmental history of coastal British Columbia featuring handsome color photographs.
After the Ice Age: The Return of Life to Glaciated North America
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
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.
A Traveller's History of Canada
A readable and admirably concise march through Canadian history from prehistory to today, including a timeline.
Mark of the Grizzly
McMillion gives readers a thorough understanding of the behavior of these magnificent, yet deadly creatures through examples of encounters gone very wrong.
Landslide
Geologist Bob Boyd, who works in British Columbia timber country, has no memory of his past following a terrible accident, which only he survived. Hired by the powerful Matterson Corporation to survey land before they build a great new dam, he begins to uncover the shaky foundations of the Matterson family and becomes a fly in their ointment. Matters are complicated when he falls in love with Claire Trinavant, the last link to a forgotten family whose name strikes a mysteriously resonant chord.
The West Beyond the West, A History of British Columbia
A fascinating history of the Canadian province from the 18th century to the mid-1990s. The author weaves portraits of major personalities and events into a readable overview of the cultural and social influences that have shaped the region.
Field Guide to Marine Mammals of the Pacific Coast
Sophie Webb, director of Oikinos, contributes the exquisite paintings for this outstanding field guide, the 100th in the California Natural History Guides series, perfect for the Sea of Cortez.
This Wild Spirit: Women in the Rocky Mountains of Canada
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.
Raven's End
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.
Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast
Lake Woebegone goes British Columbian in this humorous slip of a novel about an unconventional Vancouver B&B, which features twin bookworm brothers, a talking parrot and a motley crew of hotel guests.
The Cure for Death by Lightning
The Cure for Death by Lightning sold more than a staggering 100,000 copies in Canada alone and became a bestseller in Great Britain, later to be published in the United States and Europe. It was nominated for the Giller Prize, the richest fiction prize in Canada, and received a Betty Trask Award in the U.K.
The Cure for Death by Lightning takes place in the poor, isolated farming community of Turtle Valley, British Columbia, in the shadow of the Second World War. The fifteenth summer of Beth Weeks’s life is full of strange happenings: a classmate is mauled to death; children go missing on the nearby reserve; an unseen predator pursues Beth. She is surrounded by unusual characters, including Nora, the sensual half-Native girl whose friendship provides refuge; Filthy Billy, the hired hand with Tourette’s Syndrome; and Nora’s mother, who has a man’s voice and an extra little finger. Then there’s the darkness within her own family: her domineering, shell-shocked father has fits of madness, and her mother frequently talks to the dead. Beth, meanwhile, must wrestle with her newfound sexuality in a harsh world where nylons, perfume and affection have no place. Then, in a violent storm, she is struck by lightning in her arm, and nothing is quite the same again. She decides to explore the dangers of the bush.
Beth is a strong, honest, and compassionate heroine, bringing hope and joy into an environment that is often cruel. The character of Beth’s haunted mother infuses the book with life by means of her scrapbook of recipes scattered throughout, with luscious descriptions of food, gardening, and remedies, both practical and bizarre. Seen through Beth’s eyes, the West Coast landscape is full of beauty and mysteries, with its forests and rivers, and its rich native culture.
National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Pacific Northwest
A compact photographic guide to the wildflowers, trees, mosses, butterflies, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals of the Pacific Northwest.
Lonely Planet Banff, Jasper & Glacier National Parks
This informative, compact guidebook in the excellent Lonely Planet series includes details on the history, geology and wildlife of the region.
Field Guide to Banff National Park
This fold-up, laminated card features 133 color drawings and short descriptions of commonly encountered wildlife and a map.
Handbook of the Canadian Rockies
Geology, plants, animals, history and recreation from Waterton/Glacier to the Yukon.
The Island Within
A beautifully written tribute to the Pacific Northwest. Drawn from the author's journals, this is an account of the natural and cultural history of an island in the waters of Haida Strait, with emphasis on the relationship between people and the land.
Switchbacks, True Stories from the Canadian Rockies
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.