| Calgary - Rockies - Banff-Lake Louise - Jasper |
The Rockies
Sites & Attractions
- Sprawled along the Alberta-British Columbia border, the Rocky Mountains are contained within two gigantic national parks – Banff (south) and Jasper (north)
- Connecting Banff and Jasper parks is the Columbia Icefield, a vast bowl of ice made of about 30 glaciers and a remnant of the last Ice Age
- The Canadian Rockies offers visitors endless year-round opportunities for adventure and relaxation
- The winter season offers virtually no lift lines at the three world-class ski resorts. For the more adventurous, a Heli-Skiing experience in the birthplace of the sport.
- Banff and Lake Louise offer a winter wonderland of activities including festivals, Canyon Icewalks, snowshoeing, and cross country skiing, just to name a few
- The summer season is an outdoor enthusiasts' dream. Adventures are available for families, as well as advanced mountaineers. Enjoy activities ranging from guided hikes to white water rafting, helicopter sightseeing to trail rides and mountain biking to gondola sightseeing
- Each year more than 3.5 million visitors come to enjoy the unique feeling of the Canadian Rockies
Climate
- The Summer climate (July/August) brings low humidity, warm temperatures and extended daylight hours lasting until 11:00 p.m. at the height of the summer equinox.
- The Autumn season (Sept/Oct) sees a diminishing of the daylight hours and warm days with cooling evening winds
- The first snows beings to fall in November providing the Rockies with its blanketing of snow and the arrival of ski season
- Throughout the winter months, Banff and areas west and south regularly receive a welcome weather phenomenon, Chinooks, which can produce spring like temperatures in a matter of hours
- Spring begins sometime in March but the snow stays until mid April.
Taxes
- Alberta is the only province that does not have a provincial sales tax
- The 7% federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) applies to most goods and services
- Other taxes include: 10% alcohol tax; 12% hotel tax; 15% gratuity tax
Time
- The Rocky Mountains are in the Mountain Time Zone, 7 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
