Alberta

Alberta sits between the Rocky Mountains and the prairies, a province defined by two UNESCO World Heritage parks — Banff and Jasper — and the headwaters of three river systems that drain to the Pacific, Arctic and Hudson Bay. The traditional territories of the Treaty 7 Nations (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, Tsuut'ina and Stoney Nakoda) and the Métis Nation of Alberta cover most of the southern corridor we travel through. Calgary in the south and Edmonton in the centre anchor the populated belt; west of Calgary, Highway 1 climbs into the mountains within ninety minutes, and the Icefields Parkway between Lake Louise and Jasper remains one of the most concentrated stretches of alpine scenery anywhere in North America.

For Maple Fun, Alberta is the Rocky Mountain leg of nearly every premium itinerary we run. Our Banff and Jasper coach routing uses YYC (Calgary) as the standard arrival airport, with a 1.5-hour transfer to Banff and a further 3 hours up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper — a two-night minimum to do it properly, three nights for groups who want golf, helicopter or gondola add-ons. The Fairmont Châteaux at Lake Louise and Banff Springs are our anchor properties for high-end Japanese groups, and we handle the Calgary–Banff–Jasper–Vancouver one-way coach transfer for east-to-west Grand Canada programmes year-round.