Day trips from Calgary
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Get ready to be fired up with these seven inspirational suggestions which are all around two hours drive from downtown. From train spotting along the highest point of the Trans-Canada Highway on the famous Kicking Horse pass, to learning from Indigenous elders how to make a dream catcher, or mountain biking the old fire roads of Yoho National Park there are so many fun ways to enjoy our National Historic Sites and pristine protected National Parks! Where will you go first?
Canada’s historic first National Park.
- Driving:1.5 hours
Banff National Park
How to get there
- Driving: Around 75 minutes via Trans Canada HWY/AB-1 West.
What to do
- If you want to avoid the hot spots, hit the Bow Valley Parkway to hike the easy Muleshoe Trail.
- Go see the magnificent blue-green Ink Pots mineral pools by way of the lesser-travelled Moose Meadows trail instead of the busy Johnston Canyon area.
- Rent a bike and pedal out from Banff or Canmore on the Rocky Mountain Legacy Trail to explore 26.8km of paved paths and parkways.
A historic ranch dating back to 1882.
- Driving: 70 minutes
Bar U Ranch National Historic Site
How to get there
- Driving: Just an hour and ten minutes on the Deerfoot Trail/AB-2 S.
What to do
- Take a guided tour and step back to the 1800s to learn about the Northwest Cattle Company.
- Sip on a cowboy-brewed coffee and learn to lasso a replica steer’s horn.
- Sign up to a Livestock Animal Program and learn more about the ranch’s gentle giants, the famous Percheron horses.
Stay for lunch!
Get a taste of the West at the Bar U Ranch Café with a tasty Cow Boss Burger.
Historic fur trading post and original highway to the west.
- Driving: 2 hours
Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site
How to get there
- Driving: Just over two hours via the AB-2N and AB-11 W.
What to do
- Have a 3D Virtual Reality experience at the Visitors Centre and travel back in time to when Rocky Mountain House was a bustling fur trade post.
- Learn more about the First Nations who lived here thousands of years ago when you sign up to a Dream Catcher workshop.
- Head for a hike on the David Thompson trail, following the banks of the North Saskatchewan River in the footsteps of the famous explorer.
Brilliant for Birders:
You’ll spot plenty of birdlife here from mountain bluebird, red-tailed hawk and northern harrier to bald eagle and sandhill crane.
The highest point of the Trans Canada Highway.
- Driving: 2 hours
Kicking Horse Pass National Historic Site
How to get there
- Driving: Just over two hours on the AB-1 W.
What to do
- Drive to the highest point on the Trans Canada Highway (1627 metres) to watch trains enter the Spiral tunnels and exit higher or lower on the Rocky Mountain slopes.
- Take a stroll through Canadian history on the Walk-in-the-Past trail which leads to an old spur line and an abandoned locomotive.
Historical Fact:
The decision by the Canadian Pacific Railway to use this route—rather than the more northerly Yellowhead Pass—through the Rockies changed the development of the west and opened up British Columbia to the rest of Canada by rail in the 19th century.
Pristine national park with 28 peaks soaring over 3,000 metres.
- Driving: 2.5 hours
Yoho National Park
How to get there
- Driving: Just over 2 hours on the AB-1W.
What to do
- Book a guided fossil tour of the Burgess Shale and explore the origins of life on earth at one of the world’s most famous fossil sites.
- Head out at dawn to hike the spectacular six-hour Twin Falls trail past Laughing Falls along the Yoho River.
- Snap a selfie and #ShareTheChair at Takakkaw Falls and Yoho Lake and enjoy the view with a friend in those cosy bright red Adirondack chairs.
Attention all Xplorer kids!
There are 14 pages of activities to enjoy in the Xplorer booklet for Yoho, and when you complete at least six of them, you’ll receive a souvenir.
Home of icy rivers and steamy hot springs.
- Driving: 2 hours
Kootenay National Park
How to get there
- Driving: Two hours following TCH / Hwy 1 W and BC 93 S at Castle Junction.
What to do
- Pack a picnic and enjoy a scenic drive along the famous Highway 93S. Download the Explora Kootenay App.
- For a perfect post-hike or bike trip muscle melter, soak away your cares in Radium Hot Springs surrounded by the beautiful rock cliffs of Sinclair Canyon.
- Enjoy impressive views on the short Marble Canyon trail to see the dramatic limestone and dolomite gorge eroded by the pounding waters of Tokumm Creek.
Span the Continental Divide!
Learn about the exploration and surveying of Canada as you stop to stretch your legs at the Great Divide Day-use Area, showcasing the the border between provinces, watersheds and two national parks!
Western Canada’s oldest natural history museum.
- Driving: 1.5 hours
Banff Park Museum National Historic Site
How to get there
- Driving: Just 90 minutes along the AB1-W.
What to do
- Spend a few hours attending the ‘University of the Hills’, delving through some of its botanical and zoological specimens which include stuffed bison, bears and elk.
- Younger visitors aged between 6-11 will love joining the Xplorers Club to earn a souvenir after tracking down the museum’s original curator, Norman Bethune Sanson, solving puzzles and playing games.
- Fascinating inside and out, architecture fans are in for a treat with the decorative cross-log construction of the museum which dates back to 1903, and showcases a ‘railway pagoda’ style constructed with plenty of Douglas Fir.
Parks Fact!
Established in 1903, the museum’s collection began with eight mammals, 259 birds, a turtle and a variety of mineral and botanical specimens to the present collection of 5000 specimens!