If you enjoy winter sports, you’ll love traveling to the Canadian Rockies between December and April. Winter travel and the focus of your vacation will be very different than a summer trip. Instead of hiking and canoeing and barbecuing, you’ll be skiing and snowshoeing in a magical mountain setting purified by snow, then retreating to relax around a roaring fire each evening. No vehicle is required for this itinerary.

DAY 1
Depart Vancouver on a VIA Rail train bound for Jasper.

DAY 2
Spend the day skiing or boarding at Marmot Basin. If you’re not staying at the Jasper Park Lodge, plan on an evening meal at this historic gem.

DAY 3
Join a guided “ice walk” through the frozen waterfalls of Maligne Canyon. Spend the afternoon traveling the Icefields Parkway to Lake Louise aboard the daily shuttle.

DAY 4
Spend the day at Lake Louise, either downhill skiing at the main resort or cross-country skiing to the end of Lake Louise. Either way, plan on an evening skate in front of the famous Chateau Lake Louise.

DAY 5
Spend the day skiing or boarding at Sunshine Village, then continue to the town of Banff for an evening sleigh ride along the Bow River.

DAY 6
Spend the morning at Mount Norquay and then return to Banff for a soak at the Upper Hot Springs.

DAY 7
Catch an airporter to Calgary for a flight to Vancouver or your next destination.