May 20, 2026: Calgary to Toronto

Our breakfast at the hotel restaurant wasn't fantastic (and Miles' "gruel" was definitely off-putting) but at least it was free.

We had plenty of time in the airport (no wait in the security line at all) and Miles was hoping to use some of that time to pick up some souvenirs for friends, since we'd missed any other opportunities for shopping, but the selection was very limited. It was a smooth ride with barely any turbulence, but we did have to wait an unusually long time before we could deplane (there'd been some issue that backed up flights at Pearson, so we had to wait for a gate to clear). But once we got off, our suitcase was available right away, our taxi ride home was quick since we'd been delayed past rush hour, and we were greeted at home by a very happy Harley dog.

Final Thoughts

I did more detailed planning for this trip than usual, realizing that one of the things I enjoyed most about our Nahanni and Alps guided trips was that I didn't have to make any decisions along the way, so I tried to be my own trip guide in advance. I had morning, afternoon, and evening activities in mind (more than I knew we could likely fit in); I had one or two restaurant options planned for each meal stop; and I mapped out our route with driving times listed from one destination to the next in case of a lack of cell service for Maps, and previewed Google Street View for an idea of what the turn-offs would be like in the high-speed, steep-grade mountain highways. The driving turned out to be better than expected, I really liked not having to dither over a restaurant decision, and having a set of activities in mind to choose from was helpful, especially when we had to be flexible due to closures or weather. ChatGPT was useful to initially come up with destinations and the route, but it was useless at flagging activities/sites that would be closed - that required me to do more detailed research to confirm.

Traveling mid-May is a bit risky weather-wise, but we got lucky with sunshine just about every day, limited snow that we were prepared to dress for and that didn't hinder our driving, and rain limited to mostly while we were in the car. (May 29 update: There was a landslide on Highway 1 west of the Skunk Cabbage Boardwalk yesterday, closing the road between Golden and Revelstoke - so lucky that didn't happen when we were there! June 2 update: High river levels from snowmelt and rain have led to some trail closures, like Marble Canyon - feeling even luckier that we visited when we did.) The advantage of mid-May is that tourist season hasn't started yet, so we avoided crowds at popular sites, didn't need restaurant reservations, and hotels were far less expensive. And there were no bugs out yet!  

We did so much, but could repeat the entire trip just visiting other things on my wish list that we had to skip due to lack of time, weather, or out-of-season closure: Grassi Lakes hike in Canmore; Truffle Pigs Bistro and Lodge and Burgess Shale tour in Field; waiting to see a train pass through Lower Spiral Tunnel; Takakkaw Falls and Wapta Falls in Yoho National Park; canoe on Emerald Lake; Bear Creek Falls near Rogers Pass; Rock Garden and Hemlock Grove trails in Glacier National Park; Begbie Falls, the Revelstoke Railway Museum, Revelstoke Aquatic Centre, and Revelstoke Mountain Resort gondola and trails; Golden Skybridge mountain coaster; Columbia River Wetlands boat tour; full Juniper Loop hike and Old Salzburg Restaurant in Radium Hot Springs; full-day whitewater rafting on the Kootenay River (the longest one-day guided rafting trip in Canada); and Cave and Basin National Historic site, The Grizzly House restaurant, and shopping at Rocks & Gems Canada in Banff. But I wouldn't want to pass up revisiting the many beautiful and fascinating places we enjoyed, so we'd just have to stay twice as long. 

Best of List

Best meal: Crazy Weed Kitchen, Canmore

Best hotel location: Emerald Lake

Best hotel experience: Three Valley Lake Chateau and Ghost Town

Best hot tub/pool: Tie between Radium Hot Springs and Emerald Lake

Best trail: Revelstoke Illecillewaet Greenbelt

Best natural wonder: Marble Canyon

Best wildlife sighting: Bighorn sheep in Radium Hot Springs

Blanket Creek Provincial Park


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

May 15, 2026: Canmore to Field

Image
Miles was up early at 5:15 am due to the time difference, but after waiting until 7:00 am, we finally were able to head down the street for breakfast (and takeout lunch sandwiches) at the Rocky Mountain Bagel Company, which was lovely. Although we had visited Johnston Canyon before, it seemed too good to pass up a repeat visit, since we were passing the turn-off anyhow on our drive to Field. Our previous visit to Johnston Canyon seven years earlier had had a fun twist - we had met another family at dinner at The Grizzly House in Banff (there are phones at all the tables, with a map of who to call on the back of the placemats) the night prior, and made plans to meet up for the walk (figuring our two young boys would get further more happily with a friend to talk to, which turned out to be exactly the case, in spite of some rain). It was hardly busy at that time, but I wasn't sure if that was due to the poor weather, and hoped we wouldn't be swamped by crowds on this visit, since...
Read more

May 14, 2026: Toronto to Canmore

Image
Since Mark had a conference in Canmore, AB, Miles and I decided to take an extra  long weekend to meet him at the end and spend a week traveling through the Canadian Rockies. We had last visited the area in 2019, seeing the sights in Banff and Jasper National Parks, so this time we planned a different route: Yoho, Glacier, Mount Revelstoke, and Kootenay National Parks. Our trip started off with an exceptionally long wait in the security line at Pearson, at the smaller Terminal 3, which I've always found to be considerably less busy. Although we'd arrived 2.25 hours before our flight, we had just enough to get through, fill our water bottles, and then walk on board the plane, with just one person left to board after us! So, no time to pick up sandwiches at Caplansky's Deli as we'd looked forward to, and instead we had to get by with the limited food options on our Porter flight. Happily, Miles was able to order his favourite cup of chicken Mr. Noodles soup, we shared a b...
Read more

May 16, 2026: Field to Three Valley Gap

Image
We woke to snow, clinging to all the tree branches, with the mountains fading into the low-lying clouds, the lake muted to mint green, and it looked like a winter wonderland, but with bare pathways underfoot, as it really wasn't cold enough to accumulate.  Ideally, we would have visited Canada's second-tallest waterfall, Takakkaw Falls, and also the very voluminous Wapta Falls while in Yoho, but the access roads for both were still closed for the season. So, after a buffet breakfast at the lodge, we decided to do the short Hamilton Falls hike (1.6 km) instead. It was a beautiful walk up through the woods, although slippery with melting snow turning the dirt and roots slick, so I was very happy we each had a hiking pole and rain pants, plus gloves and toques (more for the dropping snow/meltwater than the temperature). We made it up to the small but lovely falls; Miles did the final short leg by himself to get the best photo, as neither Mark nor I trusted ourselves not to slip on...
Read more