The Canadian Rockies were made for road trips. Banff, Jasper, and the icefields between them are all here, with planning help for timing and routes.
Alberta camping delivers scenery that’s hard to believe, from glacial lakes in Banff to the dinosaur badlands out east. It also comes with the realities of bear country, a short summer season, and campgrounds that book out months ahead, so the planning matters as much as the packing.
The hardest part of a Moraine Lake hike is getting to the trailhead: private cars are banned, so a booked shuttle or a very early bus is the price of admission, and the road only opens for a few summer months. Solve the access and the trails themselves are the easy, glorious part.
With only two days, the temptation is to chase every famous lake at once, and the drives between them will quietly eat the weekend. Pick one or two highlights instead, and you’ll spend more time enjoying Banff than driving through it.
Canada is big enough that a road trip can become an endurance test, so the best drives aren’t the longest but the most scenic per mile. A few days on the Icefields Parkway or Cape Breton’s Cabot Trail deliver more beauty than a week of prairie highway. Pick the spectacular short route over the epic long one, and the drive stays a pleasure the whole way.