Best Of The West

Drive to Redrock Canyon and hike to Blakiston Falls. Keep your eyes on the lookout for bears on the drive to the canyon. Take the Shoreline Cruise down the lake or drive the Akamina Parkway and rent a canoe on Cameron Lake.

Cross the border from Canada into the USA on the way to Glacier National Park. This park offers forests, alpine meadows, rugged mountain ranges and spectacular lakes. There is an extensive network of trails for visitors who want to enjoy the wilderness and tranquility.

Drive the famous Going-to-the-Sun Road, see goats at the Goat Lick and go canoeing on Lake McDonald. There are many short and easy trails to explore with beautiful waterfalls and vista points. The park has an abundance of wildlife including grizzly bears, wolves, cougars, mountain goats and bighorn sheep.

Today you’ll drive through Big Sky Country. The Seeley-Swan scenic drive is a 145 km/90 mi long corridor along Highway 83 stretching through the Swan Valley from Swan Lake to Seeley Lake. Deer Lodge creates that real cowboy feel: wide open spaces, vast herds of cattle… More museums and historical collections can be found here than in any other town in the Northwest.

Drive south to Yellowstone National Park. Ninety-six percent of the park is in the state of Wyoming, another three percent is in Montana, and one percent is in Idaho. The park offers the world’s largest concentration of thermal features such as geysers and hot pools and has an abundance and variety of wildlife: bear, bighorn sheep, bison, elk, river otters, and moose all wander, often within roadside view of travelers. Today you are driving the Upper Loop in the park, which leads you past Mammoth Hot Springs, Tower Falls and Upper Falls.

A full day to explore the wonders of Yellowstone. An enchanting world of mud pots, geysers, geothermal pools and wildlife like buffaloes await you. Today you’ll drive the Lower Loop which takes you to Old Faithful Geyser and Yellowstone Lake, to name a few attractions. Our extensive En Route Travel Book makes sure you won’t miss any of the beautiful spots along the way.

Grand Teton National Park lies in northwest Wyoming immediately to the south of Yellowstone National Park. The park features one of the world’s most spectacular mountain chains, the Teton Range. These precipitous mountains rise directly out of the beautiful valley known as Jackson Hole. Many of the west’s iconic animals—elk, bears, bald eagles among them—call this park home. Take a boat ride across Jenny Lake to see Hidden Falls, one of the park’s greatest treasures and take a scenic cruise on Jackson Lake.

Craters of the Moon National Park is a big contrast to all that mountain scenery you got used to for the last while. Craters of the Moon formed during eight major eruptive periods between 15,000 and 2000 years ago. During this time, the Craters of the Moon lava field grew to cover 1600 square km/617 square mile. Take in the view along the scenic 11 km/7 mile loop drive and walk the trails.

Highway 93 will take you north. This is a gorgeous drive and one that touches on the themes of exploration, fur trapping, mining, settlement, and Native American heritage. Missoula is known as the ”Garden City” for its dense trees and lush green landscape. It is nestled in the heart of the northern Rockies where five valleys converge.

Today again, you will cross soaring mountains, pleasant valleys and deep blue lakes. The scenery is flat-out fabulous. Newport is a small, rural town located in northeast Washington on the Pend Oreille River. Visitors enjoy hiking, fishing, boating and swimming.

Today you are crossing the border into Canada. Many artists call Nelson home and the many restored historic buildings are fun to see on a walking tour or take the fully restored and operating streetcar.

Visit Ainsworth Hot Springs and historic Kaslo on your way to Revelstoke, an alpine city. Take the free ferry which crosses Upper Arrow Lake from Galena to Shelter Bay. See the Dam and drive to the summit of Mount Revelstoke for spectacular mountain scenery.

The Trans-Canada Highway leads you through the Shuswap Lakes to the warm desert around Kamloops. Drive the Thompson River Valley to Wells Gray Park.

More than 250,000 hectares of wilderness are offered in Wells Gray Provincial Park. Check out Dawson Falls and Helmcken Falls, which plunges down in a mist-filled gorge.

The Thompson River valley offers great views of the Cariboo Mountains. Follow the old trade route, the Yellowhead Highway, to Mount Robson Provincial Park, named after the highest peak in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Watch for wildlife such as mule deer, whitetail deer, black bears, grizzly bears and mountain goats.

Enjoy a full day to explore Jasper National Park. Take a cruise on Maligne Lake, raft the canyon and visit the flowered alpine meadows and glacier of Mount Edith Cavell. You can also hike on top of Whistler Mountain or dip in the historic Miette Hot Springs.

Today you follow the famous Icefields Parkway. It is possible to travel this route in 3 hours but it is a crime to do so because of the jaw-dropping scenery. Enjoy constant views of crystal blue lakes, glaciers, forested hills and several impressive waterfalls. Along the stretch, big horn sheep, deer, black bears, and coyotes are frequently spotted. See the Crowfoot Glacier and famous Peyto Lake, do a glacier tour at the Columbia Icefields and marvel at the beauty of Lake Louise.

A full day to explore Banff and surroundings, where you have ample time to see Lake Minnewanka, Vermillion Lakes, Johnston Canyon, impressive Banff Hotel and Sulphur Mountain where you can dip in the hot pools and take the gondola to the top of the mountain.

Today your journey comes to an end as you journey back to Calgary through picturesque Kananaskis Country before returning your home on wheels.