We spent the last couple of weeks driving through British Columbia and Alberta. Starting in Vancouver, ending in Calgary, and enjoying Banff, Revelstoke, and Jasper in between. I can easily say this is the prettiest part of the continent. Mountain after mountain, glacier after glacier, river after river… it was incredible. And kudos to Parks Canada for doing an upstanding job keeping the roads, trails, and campgrounds in excellent shape.

Starting in Vancouver, we arrived via ferry, and drove straight downtown. As someone who has way more hotel points than they know what to do with, we decided to stay at a hotel in the center of the city. We’ve heard nothing but great things about the city parks and the food scene, and Vancouver definitely shined.

From Vancouver, our next big stop was Banff… but to get there, we had layovers in Lac le Jeune, Salmon Arm, and Revelstoke. All fun little towns with incredible views and mining / railroad histories.

Once in Banff, I was in photographer’s heaven. The mountains and lakes were so easy to get to, and because we arrived early in the season, there was still snow on the mountains, which makes everything prettier and more epic. Being Banff, it was a tad more touristy than I would have liked, so most of our hiking was done early in the day as to avoid the crowds. However, I will say, that with tourists come some great restaurants and bars.

We made our way to Jasper via the Icefields Parkway. This is one of the most incredible drives you can take and had some very nice campgrounds we enjoyed along the way. The Parkway led to so many different waterfalls, and lakes, and glacial viewpoints, it kept us busy for several days in a row. Jasper is quite a bit further north than most other cities in the area, meaning there are fewer people and the wildlife is more abundant. Because of this we saw big horn sheep, bear, moose, and my new personal favorite, the prairie dog.

We finished our Canadian journey in the city of Calgary. It has the feeling of a city on the verge of becoming something very cool. It’s an hour from the mountains, is modern, clean, and easy to get around. It’s not quite there yet, but I’ll be excited to visit again the future.