 Icefields
Alpiner |
|
Dates: (7
days, 6 nights; Sun-Sat) |
Assembly Point:
Banff |
Tour
Cost: $2,195 (includes all lodging, breakfasts and dinners, support van, round-trip Timberline van shuttles from Calgary to Banff prior to tour and from Jasper to Banff and Calgary following tour, leaders, tour maps & narratives) |
The Icefields Parkway and Golden Triangle — the marriage of these two regions translates into the most expansive and exciting bicycle tour in the Canadian Rockies. Johnston and Marble Canyons, Banff, Kootenay, Yoho and Jasper National Parks, Radium Hot Springs, the Columbia River Valley, Kicking Horse Pass, Lake Louise, the Columbia Icefields, Athabasca Falls, Jasper — this is the heart of the Canadian Rockies that constitutes our Icefields Alpiner.
Our tour assembles in Banff and we'll ride the quiet, gentle Bow Parkway as it follows the Bow River to Johnston Canyon. A leisurely first day affords ample opportunity for the short hikes to the falls in both Johnston and Marble Canyons. We'll ride on beyond the Continental Divide into Kootenay Park and British Columbia and spend our first overnight at the historic Kootenay Park Lodge.
Day 2 is a scenic delight as we continue through Kootenay Park, tracing the course of the Vermillion and Kootenay Rivers as they carve their course through the rugged Rockies. A final climb to the crest of Sinclair Pass precedes a thrilling 7-mile descent into Radium Hot Springs, whose name suggests the treat that awaits us at the end of this special day.
From Radium, it's on to Golden on Day 3. We'll trace the course of the Columbia River with the towering Rockies to our east and the beautiful Purcells and Selkirks to the west. On Day 4 it's back over the Great Divide by way of Kicking Horse Pass (5,338') as we return to Banff National Park. We'll overnight at Lake Louise at charming Deer Lodge and visit not only the lake for which the village is named, but also incomparable Moraine Lake for dinner at the Moraine Lake Lodge.
Our tour continues northward along the Icefields Parkway. On Day 5, as we climb gently to the Bow Summit, we'll view Hector Lake and Crowfoot Glacier, ride the shoreline of Bow Lake, and visit beautiful Peyto Lake perched atop the Bow Summit. It's then downhill to Saskatchewan River Crossing and an overnight at The Crossing Resort
We're headed for the Icefields early-morning of Day 6. We'll climb imposing Sunwapta Pass, hike beyond treeline along magnificent Parker Ridge at Sunwapta's summit before continuing to the Icefields Center at the foot of Athabasca Glacier. From the Icefields, we'll descend along the course of the Sunwapta River to Sunwapta Falls for an overnight in the warm, gracious setting of the Sunwapta Falls Resort. A short, leisurely ride to Jasper, including a visit to Athabasca Falls, is planned for Day 7, providing an opportunity to explore Jasper prior to our return to Banff and Calgary.
Total Mileage—345
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