The Rockies start here.
Turquoise lakes, glaciers you can walk on, badlands full of dinosaurs, all a day trip from downtown. We book them, ride them, and tell you which ones are worth your time.
Seven bookings you won’t regret.
First visit or fifth, these carry a Calgary trip: the two-lake Rockies run, a morning on the glacier, the badlands with the dinosaurs, and the city tour that ties it together.
Explore Banff National Park with Our Premium Day Tour
Premium small-group Banff day trip with hotel pickup, Lake Louise and seasonal stops, expert guiding, and photo-friendly timing for one full day.
From $90 per person
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★ 5.0Safe betDiscover Banff National Park – Premium Day TripFrom $64682 reviews
★ 5.0Books out fastCalgary/Canmore: Banff National Park & Lake Louise Day TripFrom $86491 reviews
★ 5.0Crowd favouriteLake Louise Moraine Lake Emerald Lake Yoho Banff National ParkFrom $59408 reviews
★ 4.5Worth the driveCalgary City Highlights 3 Hour Walking Tour | Gratuity-BasedFrom $5378 reviews
★ 5.0Easy win2025 Winner-Lake Louise Moraine Lake Johnston Canyon Banff TownFrom $59376 reviews
★ 4.6Traveller favouriteCity Highlights Walking Tour | 3-HourFrom $5271 reviews
Two lakes, one unforgettable day.
The early coach beats the Moraine Lake shuttle to the Valley of the Ten Peaks, then it is on to Lake Louise, Johnston Canyon and Banff town before the drive home. This is the day most people picture when they picture the Rockies, and the one they book first.
Which Rockies day is yours?
Everyone wants the mountains; the right day out depends on your trip. Three honest ways to do it. Pick the one that sounds like you, and every option behind it is already reviewed and priced.
The classic run
The two lakes
8 to 10 hours (approx.) · from $59 · 650 reviews
Moraine Lake and Lake Louise in a single day, with Johnston Canyon and Banff town usually thrown in. Long on the coach, big on the views, and the surest way to see the postcard shots for yourself. Book the early departure so you reach Moraine before the shuttle queue does.
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Ice and altitude
The glacier day
from $86 · 85 reviews
North up the Icefields Parkway past Bow Lake and Peyto Lake to the Columbia Icefield, where an Ice Explorer rolls you onto the Athabasca Glacier and the Skywalk hangs you over the valley. The most dramatic drive on the continent, and the longest day on this list.
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Easy does it
The gondola and soak
8 to 11 hours (approx.) · from $61 · 156 reviews
Less driving, more Banff. Ride the gondola up Sulphur Mountain for the boardwalk views, wander the town, and finish with a lake cruise or a soak in the hot springs. The pick for a relaxed first day, or for travelling with kids and grandparents.
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The prairie cracks wide open.
Ninety minutes east the flat land drops away into the Badlands: striped canyons, mushroom-topped hoodoos, and the richest dinosaur beds on earth. The Royal Tyrrell Museum holds the bones; the Hoodoo Trail holds the strangeness. A whole different Alberta in an afternoon.
Give Calgary a morning.
Before the mountains, the cow town earns a look: the Tower and the skyline, Heritage Park and the Stampede grounds, the shops and murals of Inglewood. Easy half-days that fit around a mountain trip.
Craft beer and cattle-town cooking.
Calgary punches above its weight for food and drink. Sample the Barley Belt breweries, walk a street-art and tasting route, or graze the Farmers Market with someone who knows the stalls.
Kananaskis is the Rockies, minus the crowds.
The nearest mountains to Calgary are also the quietest. Ride the foothills on horseback the way people always have here, run the whitewater on the Kananaskis River, or just take the long scenic drive. Same peaks, half the tour buses.
Pick your Rockies, day by day.
The map sorts itself into day trips, and each one is its own kind of trip. Lake Louise for the turquoise. Banff for the town and the gondola. Columbia Icefield for the glacier. Drumheller for the dinosaurs.
Know what you’re after?
Twelve ways to spend a day out of Calgary. Pick the one that sounds like your kind of trip and every option behind it is already reviewed and priced.
The rest of the map.
Beyond the Banff-and-Lake-Louise core, the road keeps going: a glacier to the north, hot springs over the BC line, and the quiet lakes and prairie corners most visitors never reach.
Three days, airport to icefield.
You can’t see all of it in one trip, but three days covers the essentials: the city, the famous lakes, and the glacier road. This is the order we’d give a friend landing at YYC tomorrow.
Day 1
Land and look around
Ease off the flight with the city: the Tower for the lay of the land, Heritage Park or the Stampede grounds, a wander through Inglewood. Save the driving for tomorrow.
Plan day one →
Day 2
The two blue lakes
The early start pays off: Moraine Lake before the crowds, Lake Louise for lunch, Johnston Canyon or Banff town on the way home. The day the whole trip is really about.
Plan day two →
Day 3
Up the Icefields Parkway
North past Bow Lake and Peyto Lake to the Columbia Icefield, out onto the Athabasca Glacier, and over the Skywalk. The most spectacular road in the Rockies, saved for last.
Plan day three →
The newest reviews.
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★ 4.0Calgary YYC Airport to Banff/Canmore – Private (Round Trip)From $2879 reviews
★ 4.5Private Badland TourFrom $5379 reviews
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★ 5.0From Calgary: Explore 4 Stunning Lakes in Banff & YohoFrom $799 reviews
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