“The Canadian Rockies live up to the hype and more”! This would be my one one line summary of a road trip we did from Seattle to Calgary then up north to Jasper National Park in the summer of ’23. Starting in Seattle it takes around 2 hours to get to one of the border crossing points, these would be the Peace Arch or the Sumas crossing. it is always a good idea to check ahead of time which has the lesser wait time before heading out as these can vary from virtually no wait to a few hours.
The drive up to the border is nice even along the interstate I-5, a more scenic way is taking the state route 9 although this adds another hour or so to the trip. We had a pretty quick crossing at the Sumas crossing and were on our way to Kamloops by midday. For some strange reason Canada has a different feel to it and its not just the speed limit signs (in km rather than miles). One can either follow the TransCanada Highway 1 all the way to Kamloops or opt for the more scenic route 5, which is what we decided to do. It was a pleasant drive and we got into Kamloops around 5 pm. We had rooms booked at the Wingate, the hotel is ok, a little expensive for the amenities though. It seems that a lot of footfall through town is people passing through on their way to or from Vancouver. We had a nice leisurely dinner at Katch Kitchen near the hotel and called it a day.
The next day we started off early, heading east on Highway 1, the plan was to stop in Banff on the way to Calgary. We took a short pitstop in quaint town of Revelstoke, the area is well known as a mountain resort. The town itself is worth exploring, although we did not have a lot of time, we will be back for a more detailed visit soon. We made it to Banff early afternoon, and our first stop was Lake Louise, there are plenty of hiking and boating activities available at the lake, the downside is that in high season the sheer number of visitors is overwhelming. A short drive further west took us to the mountain town of Banff, which is a typical mountain town, with lots of shopping and cafes setup for tourists. We took a leisurely snack break and did a little shopping before heading out. Banff of course deserve a few days of exploration, but on this trip our goal was to head out to Jasper and explore that area, and in retrospect if one is looking for peace and quiet Jasper is the better option with a smaller footfall. We got into Calgary after sunset and checked into the Best Western Plus, had dinner at Barrington’s the in-house restaurant, both the hotel and the restaurant are highly recommended.
The following two days were dedicated to exploring the city of Calgary. Situated at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers, Fort Calgary was ceded to the Hudson Bay Company by the fist peoples late 1800’s although the area has been continuously inhabited since pre historic times. Fort Calgary museum is worth visiting with an excellent guided tour. We spent quite a bit of time in the Prince Island Park area, from which one can walk downtown.
After a couple of relaxing days it was time to head to Jasper for some outdoors-y adventures (more on that here). The Pacific Northwest is has it own unique beauty and I am sure we will be exploring more of the area in times to come.
The Open Roads 