Banff Driving Tours

This tour travels the boreal forest region northeast of Edmonton, through some of the best fishing areas in the province, and into the district of Alberta's valuable oil sands. Drive east from Edmonton on Hwy 16 (Yellowhead Highway) to Vermilion. Go north from there on Hwy 41 into a region of sport fishing and recreational lakes, with an optional detour west on Hwy 28 to the historic town of St. Paul, formerly a Metis mission. Where Hwy 41 meets 28A, go east to Cold Lake on the Saskatchewan border, one of the departure points for fly-in fishing north of here. Cold Lake itself has sport fishing that includes stocks of walleye, lake trout and northern pike. From the town, head west on Hwy 55 to Lac La Biche, an area with dozens of small lakes and rivers, parks, campgrounds and recreational activities. These include superb birdwatching at Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park. From Lac La Biche, you have an option of travelling 291 km (175 mi) on Hwy 63 northeast to Fort McMurray, which is centred on the Athabasca Oil Sands, the largest oil reserve in the world. Back south on 63, you can return to Edmonton via Hwy 36 through Lac La Biche and Smoky Lake, or circle around on 55 to Athabasca on the great Athabasca River. The town was formerly a vital link in trade routes to the north and west. From here, head south on Hwy 2 through farm and ranchland and back to Edmonton.

The ecosystem along this tour north of Calgary is known as aspen parkland, the middle ground between the arid grasslands of the prairies and the coniferous woodlands of the boreal forests further north. Drive east of Calgary on Hwy 1 (16 Ave NE) to Hwy 9 and turn north. This will take you through a series of farm towns surrounded by acres of grain fields. At Hwy 21, turn north again, following this road over the armland and creekbeds with names like Three Hills, Kneehill and Ghostpine. An option along this stretch of the drive is to take the turnoff to Dry Island Buffalo Jump, a provincial park on the Red Deer River with an abundance of wildlife. Northeast of here, east on Hwy 12 off 21 is Stettler, starting point for short railway tours on the prairie. From Stettler, go west on 12 to Hwy 21, then onto Road 595 to Red Deer, 101 km (61 mi) away. Split by the Red Deer River, this is the fourth-largest city in Alberta. West of her on Hwy 11 (67 Street) you'll pass through the resort area of Sylvan Lake and through to Rocky Mountain House on the North Saskatchewan River. From here, head back south to Calgary via the foothills towns along highway 22, including Caroline, Sundre, Cremona and Cochrane.

This trip will take you across the flatland of Alberta's southeast, to clusters of unexpected hills and recreational areas. Start in Lethbridge, heading south on Hwy 4 (Scenic Drive) through farm country to Milk River, home to the Devil's Coulee site, where preserved dinosaur eggs were found ten years ago. Go left at Milk River, heading east on Hwy 501, which will take you to the entrance to Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park. Set in the Milk River Valley, the park is banked by hoodoo rock formations, and offers a shady, riverside campground down the path from a Native pictograph site. Continue east on 501 to Hwy 41, where you'll travel part of the Red Coat Trail, an important trailway for the early North West Mounted Police sent here in the 1800s to police the whiskey trade. Go north at Hwy 41 to Cypress Hills Provincial Park, site of the highest ground between the Rockies and Labrador. Hwy 41 continues north to its junction with the TransCanada. Go west here to Medicine Hat, then turn left and head west at Hwy 3 (the Crowsnest Highway). This road will take you back to Lethbridge via some of the most fertile farmlands in the province, and the farm towns of Bow Island, Taber and Coaldale.

This tour begins on Hwy 16 east of Edmonton, in an area identified with Ukrainian heritage, from the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village to the giant Easter egg in Vegreville. Ukranian settlers came to this part of Canada in such concentrations because of the rich farmland here, and you can see it on this drive across the patchwork prairie. At Vermilion, 196 km (118mi) east of Edmonton, you can turn south on Hwy 41 or continue east 59 km (35 mi) to Lloydminster, a town with a split personality, right on the border between Alberta and Saskatchewan (age of majority, beer prices and minimum wages are just a few of the things different between the two provinces). Drive Hwy 41 to Wainwright, site of Canada's second-largest military training facility. From here, head northwest on Hwy 14 through farmland and lake country, then along Hwy 36 and 26 to Camrose and Wetaskiwin, a name that means "Hills of Peace" in Cree. You can venture south on Hwy 2A from here to Red Deer, passing the farm towns of Ponoka and Lacombe, or go further west on Hwy 13 to the lakeland resort areas around Westerose and Ma-Me-O Beach. Return to Edmonton via Hwy 2, or on backroads including 795 and Hwy 39.

This tour wanders through the foothills region west and southwest of Calgary, where oilfields and early cattle ranches dominated the landscape for most of this century. Start in Calgary, heading west on Hwy 1A (Crowchild Trail) to Cochrane, where the road dips into a town built on ranching, now one of the city's major bedroom communities. Follow Hwy 1A along the Bow Valley, through the Stoney Reserve at Morley, to the gateway to the Rocky Mountain parks and the junction with Hwy 40. Head south along 40, which travels between the peaks of Kananaskis Country, including Mount Allan, site of the Nakiska downhill skiing resort developed for the 1988 Winter Olympic Games. This drive overlooks the area's two largest lakes, Kananaskis and Barrier, and winds up through the Highwood Pass (closed through mid-June). At the junction with Hwy 541, turn east and travel 541 through the rolling foothills that guard the Rockies' eastern face. Turn north on Hwy 22 at the rangeland town of Longview, and continue on Hwy 543, then across the Highwood River's abundant trout stocks, east to High River. From here, you're on the main north-south highway which will take you north to the community of Okotoks, settled on the banks of the Sheep River. From Okotoks, you can travel back west along Hwy 7 to Turner Valley and Black Diamond, two small towns at the centre of the first oil discoveries in the province in 1914. Both towns are also on the edge of the vast Sheep River Wilderness, a remote area crossed with creeks and hiking trails that extends west to the Rockies. From Turner Valley, head north on Hwy 22 through Millarville and Priddis, areas dotted with farms and ranches, then west on Hwy 22X to Bragg Creek, known for is artisan shops and country restaurants. Hwy 8 from Bragg Creek wil bring you right back to Calgary at Glenmore Trail.

This tour circles Edmonton, passing through oil country, lakeland parks and heritage villages. Head south from Edmonton on Hwy 814 (50 Street) just east of Hwy 2 to the town of Beaumont. Further south, then west on Hwy 623 will bring you to Leduc, site of the province's first big oil strike in 1947. West on Hwy 623 and north to Hwy 60, the town of Devon sits on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. Just north and west of there is the Edmonton bedroom community of Stony Plain, site of a series of murals painted by local artists, and the Multi-cultural Centre, a living museum dedicated to the early homesteaders. Return to Edmonton via Hwy 16, then drive north on Hwy 2 to St. Albert, one of the province's oldest settlements, clustered around Sturgeon River and Big Lake. North on Hwy 2 is another historical town, Morinville, established in 1891 by German and French settlers. A bit south and east on Hwy 37 is Fort Saskatchewan, also on the North Saskatchewan River. Like St. Albert, this town is very close to the suburban communities of Edmonton itself, and you can tour all the towns and districts of this trip without driving very far from the city.

Travel west of either Calgary or Edmonton for one of the most spectacular drives in Canada. From Calgary take Hwy 1 (16 Avenue NW) to Canmore. It's just outside the gate of Banff National Park (expect to pay a park fee of $10 per day per car), and Hwy 1 will take you into the heart of the Rocky Mountains where the town of Banff sits on the banks of the Bow River. You can drive straight through on Hwy 1 to Lake Louise, or turn off to the right shortly after Banff and drive the more winding, forested Bow Valley Parkway, which will take you past one of Banff Park's most visited attractions, Johnston Canyon. The drive takes you through Lake Louise townsite, then through to the fork where the Icefields Parkway (Hwy 93) branches off toward Jasper. Whether starting from Calgary or Edmonton you can cut the loop short by turning onto the more remote David Thompson Highway (Hwy 11) at Saskatchewan Crossing (about half way between Lake Louise and Jasper) to Red Deer then back to either Calgary or Edmonton. If you continue north to Jasper, expect long stretches of breathtaking vistas here, as you drive through the wide valleys of the North Saskatchewan, Sunwapta and Athabasca Rivers, past the Athabasca Glacier and Columbia Icefields. the popularity of these sites means you should expect parkway gridlock at the height of summer. Just past the towering ramparts of Mount Edith Cavell, you'll be in Jasper townsite. The distance between Calgary and Jasper townsite is 412 km (247 mi); between Edmonton and Banff townsite it's 401 km (241 mi).

This tour will take you into the desert landscapes east of Calgary, where canyons and coulees have given up the bones of the land's inhabitants from millions of years ago. Drive east out of Calgary on Hwy 1 (16 Avenue NE) to the junction with Hwy 9, then head north on 9 through the fields and farmland of Irricana and Beiseker. As it reaches the town of Drumheller. the road will drop unexpectedly from the flatlands through the arid cliffs that bank the Red Deer River. From Drumheller, go north, then east on 9, through the farmlands around Hanna, then south toward Brooks on Hwy 36. Before Brooks, try the detour of Hwy 544 to Dinosaur Provincial Park, a dry, folded landscape that looks as if it's been transplanted to Alberta from south of the border. This is where some of the most significant fossil discoveries in North America have been found over the past hundred years. Just south of the 544 junction, Hwy 36 meets up again with Hwy 1 (the TransCanada) and you can quickly follow it west back to Calgary.

This tour will take you on a wide circuit that will pass western ranchlands, the grand valleys of Waterton and the coal mining country of the Crowsnest. Start in Calgary, heading south on Hwy 2 (Macleod Trail) through the farming and ranching regions of Nanton, Stavely and Claresholm, to the town of Fort Macleod, which has preserved many of the buildings in its 120-year-old core. Continue south to Cardston, first settled in the 1880s by Mormons on North Americas's last great wagon train. At Cardston, go west on Hwy 5, past the spectacular view of Chief Mountain, just south over the border in Montana. After Hwy 5 meets up with Hwy 6, it ends in Waterton Lakes National Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site, International Peace Park, and recognizable around the world for its glorious vistas and cold clear lakes. From Waterton, drive north on Hwy 6 to Pincher Creek, site of fields of experimental power-generating windmills. Just past Pincher Creek, go west on Hwy 3 (Crowsnest Highway) into the Crowsnest Pass region, where coal was mined from the mountain passes 100 years ago. This road winds through the remains of Frank, a town demolished by a freak landslide in 1903. Retrace this route on Hwy 3 back to Hwy 22 and head north, which will take you back to Calgary through rangeland pastures with stunning views of the eastern face of the Rockies.