5 Tips For Planning a Road Trip in the Canadian Rockies

The Canadian Rockies are truly some of the most awe-inspiring landscapes in the world. Dramatic scenes await you around every corner. But planning a trip through this area of the world takes some expert knowledge and curation based on your interests and length of trip. These 5 tips for planning a road trip in the Canadian Rockies will help make your vacation a brilliant one.

5 top tips for planning a Rocky Mountain road trip in Canada:

Ask people who have actually driven the roads, not just travel agents

Seeking out advice from blogs, online travel communities and locals is truly important when it comes to curating your Canadian Rockies adventure. There’s advice all over the place, but the real key is to get a broad spectrum of advice (including the WHAT, WHY, HOW) and make informed decisions.

This is particularly key when deciding how long you stay in each place.

Travel agents often get to do FAM (familiarisation) trips to destinations they sell, but that doesn’t mean they’ve driven them on their own time and explored everything that might be to your liking. In fact, it’s often made up of bus trips and organised tours, and not a DIY adventure at all.

The other important thing to consider is that there are many routes from Vancouver or Calgary into the Canadian Rockies. Each time we go, we take a different route. And while the Vancouver to Okanagan Valley is a favourite one, the Sea to Sky Highway 99 up to Lillooet is amazing too.

Make a list of all the attractions you want to see in an area, then take the advice of locals / online communities to figure out how many days you need in each to achieve your hit-list.

Give yourself time to enjoy the journey as well as the destination

For us, the journey, the road trip and the stops along the way IS the vacation. We usually take the slower more scenic routes and love to stop and take photos, have picnics, do small hikes and fill our cup with road trip goodness!

This isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but believe me, the Rocky Mountains are bursting with scenery and roadside beauty. The journey IS the point, not necessarily the night-time stopovers (although they are awesome too).

On the Icefields Parkway, we stopped at the below list of formal stops + about 20 other random pullouts and gorgeous views.

Pack layers of clothing + good footwear

If you’ve never visited the Canadian Rockies before, the season and weather changes can be extreme. One day it is warm and crisp, the next you can have a snowstorm. Packing layers of clothing and good footwear is a must. If you are visiting in the shoulder seasons, where weather can be less predictable, packing traction cleats and a good jacket is a good idea.

If you are an avid hiker, you should pick up some bear spray before you head out onto the trails.

Get the right hire car

I know it’s not always within your control what hire car you receive, but if you are driving in the Canadian Rockies (especially in the shoulder seasons) I urge you to book an SUV or 4-wheel drive if you can. While a standard sedan is perfectly adequate for most journeys, a 4×4 is useful, especially if you plan on heading to any of the more remote trails.

We have visited Canada in the spring many times, and much of the time it is sunny, crisp and without any hazardous road conditions (other than spring showers). But on a recent visit to the Rockies, we drove through a huge and unexpected snowstorm. Luckily, we had been upgraded to a car with a 4×4 function.

Build in down time

The thing about the Canadian Rockies is that it is so unbelievably beautiful, you really do need to build in time to just take it all in. Places like Jasper and Banff are buzzing centres, with many accommodation options. So if you are wanting to enjoy city life in the evenings, they are good options.

If you want nature, peace and quiet, there are more remote corners in which to stay too. See below for accommodation options.

How long should a Canadian Rockies road trip take?

How long is a piece of string? Just kidding. We find that 7-10 days average is a nice length of time. Although we keep coming back to this part of the world; so if this will be your only visit, then aim for 2+ weeks.

TIP: Unless it’s a transit stop to break up a drive, we always like to have at least 2-3 days in a place to allow time for 1 busy day, and 1 more laid back day. We like to stop and talk to locals, wander and see beyond the attractions. And also have time to rest and take in the vibe of a place.

Recommended hotels in the Canadian Rockies:

Recommended itineraries:

• Calgary (2-3 days) > Cochrane (stop for lunch) > Banff (3 days) > Icefields Parkway (full day drive) > Jasper (3 days) > Icefields Parkway (full day drive) > Kananaskis (1 day or transit) > Calgary.
  
• Vancouver (3-5 days) > Hope (1 night) > Revelstoke / Glacier National Park (1-2 nights) > Lake Louise (2 nights, with a jaunt halfway up Icefields Parkway and back) > Banff (2-3 days) > Bow Valley and Cochrane (stops on the way) > One way to Calgary.
  
• Vancouver (3-5 days) > Sea to Sky Highway (scenic drive) > Whistler (1 night) > Clearwater (1 night) > Jasper (3 days) > Icefields Parkway (full day drive) > Lake Louise and Banff (3-4 days) > Kootenay National Park (1-2 nights) > One way to Calgary.
  
• Vancouver 3-5 days) > Okanagan Valley (2 days) > Glacier National Park (1 day) > Lake Louise 3 days (with day trip to Banff) > Icefields Parkway (full day drive) > Jasper (2-3 days) > Kamloops (1 night) > Squamish (1 night) > Vancouver loop.

Planning a road trip in the Canadian Rockies

I hope this guide has given you some food for thought. While everyone has different travel styles and travel goals, there are some benefits to listening to the advice of fellow travellers to hone your Rocky Mountain itinerary.

There is no doubt that you will want to return to this area over and over again. I urge you to take different routes in and out, find the places that lift your spirit, and spend time just staying still in this phenomenal landscape.

See more of our North American adventures!

All photos & content © Hannah Henderson and may not be used without permission (sharing this blog post is fine, though!). Images shot with a Canon DSLR T3i Rebel + Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM; and an iPhone13 pro.