Day 1
Änkôr
Québécois-Japanese · Canmore, AB
Start with dinner in Canmore, where the menu is Québec meets Hokkaido.
Open the pick →SummerAdventure
Icefields Parkway: Banff to Jasper
Canmore, AB to Jasper, AB
Dinner in Canmore, a night in Banff's grand park hotel, then the lakes: Moraine by shuttle and a night beside Lake Louise. Day three is the parkway itself, past the Columbia Icefield all the way to Jasper.
- Best months
- June to mid-October
- Stops
- 6 stops · every stop a pick
Stop by stop
Day 1
Fairmont Banff Springs
Resort · Banff, AB
Spend the first night in Banff's historic park hotel, which holds One MICHELIN Key.
Open the pick →Day 2
Moraine Lake
Viewpoint · Lake Louise, AB
Book the Parks Canada shuttle from the Lake Louise Park and Ride, since Moraine Lake Road is closed to private cars.
Open the pick →Day 2
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
Resort · Lake Louise, AB
Sleep on the shore of Lake Louise and walk it early, before the day's shuttles arrive.
Open the pick →Day 3
Icefields Parkway
Scenic drive · Jasper, AB
Stop for Peyto Lake and the Athabasca Glacier, and fill up at Saskatchewan River Crossing, the only fuel on the road.
Open the pick →Day 3
Jasper National Park
National park · Jasper, AB
End in Jasper, the park's one town, and save Maligne Lake for the next morning.
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Before you go
- There is no mobile signal on the parkway, and the only petrol station is at Saskatchewan River Crossing. Source ↗
- The Moraine Lake shuttle runs June 1 to October 12, 2026 (weather permitting); bookings opened April 15, with 60% of seats released two days before each departure. Source ↗
- The parkway is open every month but has very few services: fuel up first and check 511 Alberta for road conditions. Source ↗
Sources
- From ice roads to the Klondike Highway: 6 of Canada's most adventurous road trips · National Geographic
- Visiting Lake Louise and Moraine Lake · Parks Canada
- Drive the Icefields Parkway · Banff & Lake Louise Tourism
More summer road trips
Photo: Borbrav · Public domain FamilyLate May to October
Georgian Bay and Highway 11 loop
The Blue Mountains, ON to Severn, ON
National Geographic's Georgian Bay route, cut to six days: caves on the escarpment, glass-bottom boats over Tobermory's wrecks, the ferry to Manitoulin and the Big Nickel in Sudbury. Come home down Highway 11 with a charcoal burger at Webers.
9 stops · 7 of them picks
Photo: Taxiarchos228 · CC BY-SA 3.0 FoodieJune to September
Lighthouse Route: Halifax to the lobster rolls
Halifax, NS to Barrington Passage, NS
Leave Halifax and keep to the coast: Peggy's Cove first, then the churches of Mahone Bay and Old Town Lunenburg. The road ends near Barrington, the self-styled Lobster Capital of Canada, at a three-time champion lobster roll.
7 stops · 5 of them picks
Photo: Michael Kogan · Unsplash License FoodieJune to September
Maritimes feast: St. Andrews to Halifax by way of PEI
St. Andrews, NB to Halifax, NS
Three provinces, four dinners. An inn on Passamaquoddy Bay, an Acadian bistro in Moncton, a four-hour fire feast on Prince Edward Island, then the ferry across to Nova Scotia for a nightcap in Halifax.
5 stops · 4 of them picks
Photo: Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble · CC BY 2.0 AdventureJune to September
Newfoundland: Gros Morne to St. John's by way of Fogo Island
Gros Morne National Park, NL to St. John's, NL
Cross the island west to east: a boat up the fjord at Western Brook Pond, a ferry to the Fogo Island Inn, then three tables in St. John's. Long days on the road, rewarded every evening.
5 stops · every stop a pick
