Alberta Adventure
SELF DRIVE TOUR
CALGARY | MORAINE LAKE | BANFF | WATERTON PARK | DRUMHELLER
This self-drive adventure takes you to some of Alberta's most loved places such as turquoise Moraine Lake and beautiful Banff. Explore the hidden gem of Waterton National Park and visit the UNESCO heritage site of Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, then step back in time in Drumheller, known as Canada's Dinosaur Capital. Visit the Dinosaur Provinical Park and the famous Royal Tyrell museum, Canada's largest Dinosaur museum.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Discover the beautiful Moraine Lake
- Explore Banff and Banff National park
- Waterton Lakes National Park, a photographer's paradise.
- Drumheller Valley, the dinosaur captial of Canada.
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Your Itinerary
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Day 1
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Day 2
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Day 3
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Day 4
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Day 5
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Day 6
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Day 7
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Day 8
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Day 9-10
Day 1 : UK - Calgary - Moraine Lake (122 m)
Upon arrival into Calgary, pick up your rental car and begin your Rockies adventure. Take the drive from Calgary on either the Trans-Canada Highway or the more scenic 1A Highway. Moraine Lake Lodge is situated on the shore of Moraine Lake known for its iridescent turquoise colour, Moraine Lake has become known as The Jewel of the Rockies.
Day 2 : Moraine Lake Lodge
This is a day to relax and savour the fresh clean mountain air. Enjoy breakfast overlooking the lake, relax by the fireplace in the library, take a walk along the lake shore or maybe take one of the canoe’s out onto the lake. This is a day to enjoy the essence of tranquility. In the afternoon take a 20 minute drive to Lake Louise, one of the most photographed lakes in the Canadian Rockies. Here you can also walk around the lake or go canoeing, but when they day draws to a close we guarantee you will be happy to be returning to Moraine Lake Lodge.
Day 3 : Moraine Lake - Banff (44m)
Enjoy the leisurely drive to Banff. Choose the Bow Valley Parkway, beside the Bow River with an option for you to take a stop at Johnston Canyon and walk along the paved footpath to either the lower or upper waterfalls before continuing to Banff.
Day 4 : Banff Exploring
The day is free to explore Banff and Banff National Park with your rental vehicle. In town you’ll find lots of excitement - shopping, cafés, nightlife and museums. Check out the Cave and Basin National Historic Site, Banff Gondola where you will have a panoramic view of the Bow Valley (admissions not included).
Day 5 : Banff - Waterton Park (263m)
Travel south to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (admission included). Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, the site has been used continuously by aboriginal peoples of the plains for more than 5,500 year and is one of the world’s oldest, largest and best preserved buffalo jump’s known to exist. Continue south to Cardston where the Remington Carriage Museum is located - North America’s largest museum of horse-drawn transportation. From Cardston, it’s a short 45 minute drive to Waterton Lakes National Park. This beautiful park is a nature enthusiast and photographer’s paradise.
Day 6 : Waterton Lakes National Park
The day is yours to discover the wonders of this beautiful region. You may wish to travel to Montana’s Glacier National Park (the U.S. half of this International Peace Park) via the famous Going to the Sun Road, an astonishing feat of engineering and spectacular scenery as well.
Day 7 : Waterton Lakes to Drumheller (242m)
Today head north along Highway 2 on your way to Drumheller, you may stop at Nanton. Here you can wander down the Antique and Art Walk of Alberta, where you will find a variety of antique and art stores. Before reaching Drumheller, you will travel through First Nations “reserve land” allowing you an up-close look at how our First Nations’ people live. A special treat is a stop at the Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park, which provides a once in a lifetime opportunity to explore First Nations Culture in Alberta.
Day 8 : Drumheller
There is nowhere quite like the Drumheller Valley; Dinosaur Capital of Canada! Being here will take you into another world - the world of startling contrasts between the deep past and the exciting present. Rolling fields suddenly give way to steep, dry coulees ridged with the strata of hundreds of years of erosion by time, wind and water. Don’t miss the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology (included) - Canada’s largest dinosaur museum where you can journey through time and come face-to-face with incredible creatures that lived millions of years ago.
Day 9-10 : Drumheller - Calgary (84 m) - UK
As you head out of town, don’t forget to stop and view the unique canyons and the hoodoos. Enjoy your journey through fertile farmland as the foothills and the Rocky Mountains rise up on the western horizon. Spend the remainder of your day in Calgary at leisure. Established by the North West Mounted Police in 1875, the city’s population now numbers just over 1 Million. Visit the Zoo, take in a football game and/or hockey game, stroll the riverside pathways, dine on the world’s finest beef. Don’t miss Heritage Park Historical Village (admission not included) on the city’s south side, a “living museum” representing turn off the-century Calgary with costumed interpreters, a steam train and scale-model sternwheeler, an old-fashioned candy store and much more.
