Alberta
Best of Banff: Our Mountain Heritage
Program No. 13178RJ
Delve deep into Canada’s history as you visit Banff National Park, and take expert walks through the Canadian Rockies to learn about artists and outdoorsmen.
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Protecting the Environment
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6 days
5 nights
11 meals
5B 3L 3D
1
Check-in, Registration, Welcome Dinner, Orientation
Banff, Alberta
2
Cave & Basin Historic Site, Gondola Ride
Banff, Alberta
3
Icefields Parkway, Kootenay National Park
Banff, Alberta
4
Women of the Rockies, Historic Banff & Museum, Free Time
Banff, Alberta
5
Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Yoho National Park
Banff, Alberta
6
Transfer to Airport, Program Concludes
Banff, Alberta
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 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
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 Banff National Park, Canada’s first national park, and its unique geothermal hot springs.
- Witness the Whyte Museum’s collection of art dedicated to the cultural heritage of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
- Uncover the geological history of the Canadian Rockies on an in-depth field trip with a local expert.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Brent MacDonald
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.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Brent MacDonald
View biography
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.
Greg Allemang
View biography
Growing up in the military has brought Greg across Canada and given him a real taste of everything the country has to offer. Finally settled now in the Calgary area, Greg has followed his passions for his country to study travel management and become a certified hiking instructor. Greg also enjoys climbing and enjoying the beautiful wilderness that surrounds his home. His love of nature has fueled his passion for connecting people to their environment and showing off his country to visitors.
Brenda Blair
View biography
A summer job as a general studies student changed Brenda Blair’s life forever. She spent eight years living in Cold Lake before moving to Sydney, Australia for a few more. For the past twenty years Brenda has lived in Calgary, being involved in adult education as well as having a particular interest in vintage and historic aircraft. That had her working for a number of years at the Aero Space Museum of Calgary, bringing her passion to life for visitors.
Suggested Reading List
(5 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.
Best of Banff: Our Mountain Heritage
Program Number: 13178
Epic Wanderer: David Thompson and the Mapping of the Canadian West
This full-length biography of David Thompson, is set in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries against a broad canvas of dramatic rivalries—between the United States and British North America, between the Hudson’s Bay Company and its Montreal-based rival, the North West Co., and between the various First Nations thrown into disarray by the advent of guns, horses and alcohol. Thompson spent nearly three decades (1784–1812) surveying and mapping over 1.2 million square miles of largely uncharted Indian territory.
Handbook of the Canadian Rockies
Geology, plants, animals, history and recreation from Waterton/Glacier to the Yukon.
Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest
A world-leading expert shares her amazing story of discovering the communication that exists between trees, and shares her own story of family and grief. Suzanne Simard brings us into her world, the intimate world of the trees, in which she brilliantly illuminates the fascinating and vital truths—that trees are not simply the source of timber or pulp but are a complicated, interdependent circle of life; that forests are social, cooperative creatures connected through underground networks by which trees communicate their vitality and vulnerabilities with communal lives not that different from our own.
The Place of Bows
The Place of Bows is a story rich in character and often dramatic in events, and helps to shed light on how Banff National Park became such a focus of world attention. For those seeking to understand the contemporary debate over conservation versus development in Canada's first national park, many of the answers lie within this book.
Stone by Stone: Exploring Ancient Sites on the Canadian Plains
Author Liz Bryan explores archaeological sites that are accessible to today’s inquisitive travellers and provides enough detailed information, striking photographs, maps, and illustrations to satisfy any armchair archaeologist.