Rocky Mountaineer & Canadian Rockies

If you love mountains, lakes and spectacular scenery, you must add the Canadian Rockies to your bucket list. I started the journey with Rocky Mountaineer, which is a 2 day train journey from Vancouver to Jasper, in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. Since I wanted to extend the journey to see the Canadian Rockies in more depth, I also booked a land tour through Rocky Mountaineer to the Jasper, Banff and Lake Louise regions in the Rockies. The tour ended in Calgary. Here are a few notes about Rocky Mountaineer:

• There are 2 service levels offered: Goldleaf and Silverleaf. If you can, reserve the Goldleaf service since this elevates the views from your hotel rooms. Rocky Mountaineer mostly partners with Fairmont Hotels, and believe me when I say the views from the hotel rooms are spectacular in Goldleaf (especially at Fairmont Lake Louise). Goldleaf also puts you in a panoramic roof-viewing car on the train.
• You don’t actually sleep on the train. You get transported to a hotel in Kamloops after the first day of the journey. The hotel in Kamloops was the only hotel that was basic. In all fairness, there’s not much going on in Kamloops, so it was the best in town, relatively speaking.
• The 2 journey options offered by Rocky Mountaineer are First Passage to the West and Journey through the Clouds. I traveled the latter since it was supposed to be the most scenic journey. It did not disappoint.
• The service on the train was impeccable, and the food was gourmet and quite good.
• The tour operators post-train were amazing. Super nice, friendly and extremely accommodating. They escort you on a comfortable bus to all the main attractions in the Rockies region. I was traveling with my parents on this trip and they were well-cared for by the bus drivers/tour directors.

About the train journey itself:

It begins in Vancouver and travels through scenic Fraser Valley on Day 1. You pass through Hell’s Gate, the narrowest part of the Fraser River. There are lots of viewing and picture-taking opportunities on the train, including an outside viewing platform that is available to Goldleaf passengers. You are not able to get off the train at any stops throughout the journey.

Day 2 on the train really kicked up the views another notch. We traveled from Kamloops into the heart of the Canadian Rockies, with spectacular views of Mount Robson on a crystal clear day, and a gorgeous view of Moose Lake. This was my first of many encounters with the blue-green lakes of this region.

After exiting the train on Day 2, we were transported to Forest Park Hotel. This is a really lovely hotel in the Jasper region. The land sightseeing portion of the tour began on Day 3. Here is a breakdown of the must-see attractions around Jasper and Banff National Parks:

• Maligne Lake – this is a spectacular crystal blue lake surrounded by glacial peaks and forests. You have to witness it to believe it. A cruise on the lake was included in the tour, and we were brought to Spirit Island for several photo opportunities.
• Medicine Lake – another lake worthy of a stop as you are traveling through Maligne Valley. The views are wonderful.
• Ice Explorer at Columbia Icefield Centre – you take a special ice vehicle to the Athabasca Glacier and are able to step onto the glacier. This was very cool (no pun intended).
• Glacier Skywalk – glass covered observation platform that extends 98 feet out over the Sunwampta Valley in the Banff region. If you’re afraid of heights, skip right past this one. If you aren’t, it’s worth the trip.
• Yoho National Park and Emerald Lake – the name says it all. This lake is more green than Oz and visually stunning.
• Lake Louise – this is the cherry on top of the entire trip, in my opinion. A stay at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise should be on everyone’s bucket list, especially anytime from June to late August when the lake water is a turquoise color that results from the glacial silt. The lake only changes to this turquoise color in the summer months. The hotel was magnificent, the views outrageous, and honestly, I could have stayed there another 5 days. If you can only visit one place in the Canadian Rockies, this should be it.

A note on the remaining hotels: Fairmont Banff Springs was incredible. The hotel was beautiful and the the views from the outdoor restaurant were nothing short of amazing. The last night of the trip was spent at Fairmont Palliser Hotel in Calgary. Fairmont Hotels never disappoint.

If you are even remotely interested in a trip to the Canadian Rockies, I highly recommend a relaxing train journey with Rocky Mountaineer and its land tour add-on. I hope to visit that area again one day.