The rambling Fairmont Hot Springs Resort spills over the Columbia River’s broad flood plain with golf courses, and climbs into its craggy snow-capped backdrop with a little ski resort. It’s a reasonably luxurious place, though the prices of its cheapest rooms aren’t extravagant, and its glut of amenities include several restaurants and so make it a fantastic base for a...

Fernie Wilderness Adventures are the main local competitor to Island Lake Lodge‘s catskiing operation, but offer a less expensive and rougher-edged experience. Their lodge is remoter and far simpler. Its terrain is also a little different – a little less extreme perhaps, but with the benefits that virtually all of it is skiable virtually all of the time. The snow...

If you’ve seen the film Brokeback Mountain, you’ll already have seen some of the finest scenery in Kananaskis Country – since it was the location for much of it. Yet most first-time visitors to the region race straight from Calgary to Banff, ignoring Kananaskis Country, the dramatic foothills area that lines the eastern boundary of Banff National Park. Created out...

A good way to round off a day in the mountains is with a soak in the Miette Hot Springs, 58km northeast of Jasper. Bubbling away at 54ºC, they’re the hottest springs in the Rockies, but thankfully they are cooled to a less scalding 40ºC for swimmers. Also at the Hot Springs is the trailhead for the hike up Sulphur...

Make no mistake, Waterton Lakes National Park is as fine a park as any in the Canadian Rockies. Yet its relatively small size and isolated position – well south of the other Rockies parks and on the US border, adjoining Montana’s Glacier National Park – keep it relatively uncrowded. Since most of the park is easily accessed from its only...

Some 3000km of hiking trails crisscross the Rockies and there’s so much great hiking you could write a book about it. And quite a few people have. Of them I’d recommend Don’t Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies (Amazon link) by Kathy and Craig Copeland. They successfully cut through the mesmerizing selection using a system of short-lists and ratings....