The classic western Canada road trip: Pacific city to the turquoise lakes of the Rockies
This is the western Canada trip most people picture: start on the Pacific in Vancouver, climb the Sea to Sky to Whistler, cross the interior through the Okanagan and Revelstoke, and finish among the glaciers and turquoise lakes of Yoho, Lake Louise and Banff.
| Day | Where | Plan | Stay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver | Arrive, Stanley Park, Gastown | Vancouver |
| 2 | Vancouver | Granville Island, Capilano, Grouse Mountain | Vancouver |
| 3 | → Whistler | Sea to Sky Gondola, Shannon Falls, Whistler Village | Whistler |
| 4 | Whistler | Peak 2 Peak, Lost Lake, village evening | Whistler |
| 5 | → Kelowna | Duffey Lake Road or Highway 1, into the Okanagan | Kelowna |
| 6 | Okanagan | Wineries, Okanagan Lake beaches, Knox Mountain | Kelowna |
| 7 | → Revelstoke | The Shuswap, Meadows in the Sky Parkway | Revelstoke |
| 8 | → Lake Louise | Rogers Pass, Golden, Emerald Lake, into Alberta | Lake Louise |
| 9 | Lake Louise & Moraine | Moraine Lake sunrise, Lake Agnes teahouse, Bow Valley Parkway | Banff |
| 10 | Banff | Banff Gondola, hot springs, fly out of Calgary | — |
Give Vancouver a proper two days — the Stanley Park seawall and Gastown on the first, Granville Island and the North Shore mountains on the second.
North along Howe Sound to Squamish and Whistler, North America’s largest ski resort and a full-blown mountain-bike town in summer. The Peak 2 Peak Gondola spans both mountains in one ride.
The middle of the trip is the reward for the driving: the vineyards and beaches of the Okanagan, then the mountain town of Revelstoke with the alpine Meadows in the Sky Parkway switchbacking up behind it.
Over Rogers Pass and through Golden, with Emerald Lake and Takakkaw Falls in Yoho as the first taste of what’s coming.
Finish with the big two — sunrise at Moraine Lake below the Valley of the Ten Peaks, tea above Lake Louise at the Lake Agnes Teahouse — then down the Bow Valley Parkway to Banff for the gondola, the hot springs and a last mountain dinner before flying out of Calgary.
We turn routes like this into a full day-by-day planner — flights, hotels, tours and maps in one file. Grab the downloadable Canada · BC & Alberta itinerary or have us build a custom version for your dates.
