Chester Lake Trail, moderate, 5.6 miles, elevation gain, 1,030 ft

After meeting in Canmore, you transfer through lush conifer corridors to your lovely lodge home for the next three nights. The start of the first walk is just outside the lodge door, with a destination of Chester Lake, a beautiful subalpine lake, at a maximum elevation of 7,280 feet. Beginning along a quiet, narrow trail scented with heather and berry bushes, a series of elevation gains are interspersed with flat areas through alpine meadows filled with elephant head, fleabane, and colorful Indian paintbrush. This amazing array of summer alpine flowers transitions to autumn colors, as the larch trees change from green to gold into September. Lake Chester, its surface often punctuated by leaping trout, is encircled by an amphitheater of rock and awe-inspiring peaks—the Fortress, Gusty Peak, Mount Galatea, and Mount Chester. In fact, these mountains are known locally as the Battleship Range because they have been named after either famous battleships or people who were involved in World War I. Initially you return along the same route for a little over a mile, then break off along a different trail to return to the lodge. The region is renowned for grizzly bears, which love to feed on the many glacier lilies; your guides are alert to the signs, however, and keep you close and safe.

At the conclusion of today’s walk, you return to the cozy, welcoming lodge to enjoy a cup of tea or glass of wine on the wrap-around deck overlooking Moose Meadow. A welcome dinner is in the lodge’s restaurant, where an exquisite meal of local mountain specialities awaits.

*Please note: An alternative trail of comparable terrain will be used in the event of trail closing due to wildlife activity.

Burstall Pass; 10 miles, moderate to challenging (1,567-ft elevation gain),  or easy to moderate, 5-6 miles

After a bountiful breakfast, a short drive brings you to the start of the Burstall Pass trail in Peter Longheed Provincial Park. The wide trail runs level through light forest where you may hear the drum of a Lewis’s woodpecker in search of insects or perhaps spot a grazing mule deer.

Crossing a creek over a small footbridge, you enter the wide gravel alluvial flats, an area of glacial sediment deposited by streams at the base of Robertson Glacier. Silver wolf willow abounds as you traverse the flats and braided creek channels. Those who wish for a shorter option today return to the lodge from here. Others continue with a short climb leading to a dense alpine forest that opens to a beautiful heather-filled meadow in a hanging valley. A healthy ptarmigan population inhabits the meadow year-round.

Larch trees surround and rim the alpine plateau, as you ascend to a bluff where you encounter Burstall Pass itself. The expansive and impressive view is an amphitheater of mountains; through the pass, you take in Mount Assiniboine—Canada’s Matterhorn—to the south you see Mount Sir Douglas; to the east, Mount Birdwood and an eagle’s-eye view of the valley of Burstall Creek.

Upon your return to the lodge, you can relax and marvel at the mountain view. Your day’s adventure is rewarded with another culinary feast that concludes with a decadent homemade dessert, perhaps topped with in-season Saskatoon berries.

Barrier Lookout Trail, 8.2 miles, moderate, elevation gain of 1,550 ft

This morning you embark on a stunning drive along the Smith Dorrien Spray Trail, a scenic gravel road, where elk and big horn sheep often graze along the roadside. The journey takes you to Elbow Sheep Wildland, the north end of Kananaskis Country and the start of the Ptarmigan Cirque, a high mountain bowl between Mount Arethusa and Mount Rae.

You begin climbing up the Highwood pass through a forest of alpine larch, subalpine fir, and Engelmann spruce. Along the way, the wooded path opens and levels out into a breathtaking circular alpine meadow filled with wildflowers, complete with a glacial stream. As you bask in the grand views of the meadow and surrounding mountain peaks, you enjoy a trailside snack by the waterfall while keeping an eye out for bighorn sheep.

After descending via the same route, you board your van(s) for the 50-minute drive to the Barrier Lookout trail, again along a road that offers the possibility of spotting more wildlife. The walk begins on a trail skirting the edge of Barrier Lake, eventually intersecting a trail that climbs to another trail with undulating terrain. Over a distance of over 2 miles, and with two large steps in elevation, you make the gradual ascent through a forest, finally reaching Prairie View Lookout and its stunning views of the Kananaskis Valley. A perfect lunch spot at the highest point of 5,812 feet, you return along a shorter route that descends back to the trailhead, closing this loop walk. Later, you return to the lodge to savor the Rocky Mountain tranquility and view the alpenglow on the peaks looming through the trees. Tonight you dine on regional favorites served at the lodge.

Bow Lake; 6 miles, easy to moderate. Transfer to Field, British Columbia

Located a short distance from the Icefields Parkway, Bow Lake is the third largest lake in Banff National Park. It is also the headwater of the Bow River. The lake is fed by the meltwater from Bow Glacier, one of six outlet valley glaciers of the Wapta Icefield. Today’s walk follows the lakeshore, eventually reaching an overlook of Bow Glacier. Pioneer outfitter and guide Jimmy Simpson spent the winters of the early 1900s hunting and trapping in the remote country north of Bow Lake.

Your home for the next two nights is a comfortable lodge, a sanctuary in the National Park. Nestled along the glacial Emerald Lake, the Emerald Lake Lodge consists of a series of individual cabins. Each one is perfectly appointed, with down duvets, large outdoor decks, and fireplaces—a true oasis. This evening you enjoy dinner at your leisure.

Takakkaw Falls to Iceline Trail to Yoho Lake; 6.3 miles, moderate to challenging (1,400-ft elevation gain) or Takakkaw Falls to Laughing Falls; 5.8 miles, easy (295-ft elevation gain)

Today’s walk begins in the Yoho Valley at Takakkaw Falls. After a short warm up on a flat trail you ascend a slope past Whiskey Jack Falls passing 300- to 400-year-old spruce trees, some of the oldest in Yoho National Park. Eventually you reach the Iceline Trail having enjoyed the last mile of panoramic views of the Yoho Valley and Dally Glacier. Turning on to the Highline Trail you follow it to your next destination of Yoho Lake. The first white explorer to reach the lake was Ralph Edwards in 1897, when he wrote that the lake was, “...a marvelously beautiful lake, not much larger than a little pond, but of an exquisite ultramarine colour.”

After enjoying lunch at this quiet spot you continue on the trail around the edge of the lake winding through a colorful wetland of wildflowers that offers brief glimpses of Yoho Valley. The trail starts to descend bringing you back around to Whiskey Jack Falls before looping back to your starting point at Takakkaw Falls. With luck you may spot moose, hoary marmots, pika, or be visited by a whiskey jack, the small sociable bird that gave its name to the falls. Common vegetation includes bunchberry, Indian paintbrush, queens cup, and foamflower.

Today’s other option leaves Takakkaw Falls heading along the valley floor. The trail meanders through a forest with the west bank of the Yoho River grazing the trail. The soft green verdant forest floor offers plants and mushrooms not seen elsewhere in the area, plus viewing spots of the wild rapids of the Yoho River. Laughing Falls offers a picnic spot with the cataracts and sparkling stream presenting an enriching vista. After lunch you head back down the trail taking a slight detour to visit Point Lace Falls. As the name suggests, this delicately patterned waterfall is in direct contrast to Takakkaw Falls.

Regardless of the option, you have the chance to walk up the short half-mile interpretive trail to view the base of Takakkaw Falls. Here you experience the thunderous roar and enjoy the rainbow-infused spray of glacial water descending from this 836-ft high waterfall. A final feast is served this evening at the lodge where you raise your glass and toast the Canadian wilderness and your new friends.

Guide's choice; approximately 5 miles, easy to moderate. Departure

Early risers walking alongside Emerald Lake may have a final opportunity to hear loons calling and perhaps spot a moose among the supple willows and alders.

After a final breakfast at the lodge, you drive back toward Banff. The morning walk depends largely on the weather and is chosen from the repertoire of highlights along the route. Excellent views of nearby mountains are accompanied by the possibility of elk and deer sightings during a picnic lunch.

You arrive in Banff by late afternoon, where you may choose to extend your adventure amidst the magnificence of Banff National Park or begin your journey home.