Traveling to Alberta, Canada

There are some very obvious benefits of traveling.  Experiencing other cultures, seeing beautiful sights, expanding your comfort zone, and probably the most relatable…NOT WORKING. All are great reasons to travel, and we recently had the privilege of enjoying each of these with a trip to the Canadian Rockies in Alberta, Canada.

This was the first trip we’ve planned and paid for on our own, so it felt kind of special. We had an idea, got excited, and saved up to make it happen! Of course, when we made this plan we didn’t exactly expect to be in the middle of moving in and renovating a house!  But even with the mess at home, we were grateful to get away from the mundane, and enjoy some time outside with each other.

We visited a few places on our little adventure. We flew into Calgary, rented a car, and made our way to Banff. Stayed for a few days while shopping downtown, riding the Gondola, seeing some lakes and waterfalls, and a few hikes. There is a ton to see in Banff and lots to do, but with it being Canada Day it was a bit crowded while we were there.

From Banff we headed north to Jasper, but on our way we stopped at the Icefields to walk on a Glacier! That was a really cool experience and interesting to hear about the glacier fed lakes in the area and why they look so blue!  Our absolute favorite town was Jasper. It was a super chill town, away from the crowds, but the views were still very stunning. Hiked the Maligne Canyon, relaxed at Pyramid Lake and Lake Patricia. We stayed at The Crimson which we definitely recommend for a really nice hotel with a great view and walking distance from everything. We also recommend Jasper Brewing Co. and Earl’s Kitchen for food.  So good!

We ended our trip by driving back down to Lake Louise and stayed at the famous Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.  We didn’t get to see the lake on a sunny day, which I’ve heard is amazing, but it still had that famous aqua color and was very beautiful. On our final day we did some white water rafting which ended up being a highlight of our trip! I’ll be honest, I was a bit intimidated and was certain that I would be the schmuck falling out of the raft. (Luckily I only fell INTO the raft). The rapids were awesome and we were such an awesome team that they drove us back to the beginning to do all of the wild rapids again! Needless to say we woke up pretty wrecked and sore the next morning. (ps. if they offer you gloves, say yes. My hands were frozen from the cold water).

I will also recommend a travel agent if you are planning to travel to Canada and want to include a lot of activities or excursions. I loved not having to worry about what we would do each day, finding directions, or booking flights and hotels.

We had such a good relaxing and adventurous trip. Check out some of the beautiful sites…