Banff and Yoho National Parks: Witness Stunning Fall Colors on a Private Guided Tour
4.9
74 Ratings
Bow Lake
Escape the crowds and witness nature's breathtaking fall transformation on a private guided tour of Banff and Yoho National Parks. Experience the cultural heritage and history of the parks while exploring the beautiful winter landscape and enjoying snowshoe walks.
Duration: 12 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Peyto Lake - Before named Peyto the lake was known as Doghead Lake—exactly what it resembles from any high point near its south end looking north. It was renamed for guide/outfitter, Bill Peyto, who would later become one of Canada’s first Banff National Park warden.

The panoramic lookout is insanely beautiful.

  • Bow Lake - Bow Lake sits at an elevation of 1920 meters and spends most of the year locked away in ice. The lake acts as the source of the Bow River that flows through Banff, Canmore, and Calgary.

At this location, we will go for a lovely hike that traverses the shores of Bow Lake, travels through an interesting gorge, and then ascends an outwash plain to the base of stunning Bow Falls tumbling down a rugged cliff.

Don’t forget to bring with your lunch for an amazing picnic at an elevation above 7,000 feet.

Hiking Difficulty Level: easy-moderate

  • Herbert Lake - Herbert Lake is a small glacial lake situated on the Icefields Parkway. It’s such a peaceful and calm lake. This is an awesome and far less-traveled trail with great mountain views.
  • Emerald Lake - Emerald Lake – The Most Stunning Lake in the Canadian Rockies. The turquoise blue of its water, bordered by pine forests and snowy peaks, is one of the most characteristic images of the Canadian Rockies.
  • Natural Bridge - The Natural Bridge at Yoho Natural Park in British Columbia is a wonder that will keep you wondering. It is a naturally-formed stone bridge that connects one side to the other side of the Kicking Horse River. When the ice and glaciers melt in its surrounding area, the sounds of the cascading water can be heard almost like, well, a kicking horse?
  • Lake Louise - Visiting this lake as a last stop.
What's Included
  • Private transportation
  • All-inclusive fees and taxes
  • Exclusive private guide
  • Intimate group experience, 2-3 travelers max
Additional Information

This private guided Banff and Yoho National Park tour may be just what you need.

Escape the crowds and witness nature’s breathtaking fall transformation. Winter is a great time to experience an already beautiful landscape of mountains, low flow Bow and Horse Kicking rivers, frozen lakes and waterfalls. Where your well-being is top of my mind.

The itineraries for this tour are based on the cultural heritage and history of these National Parks and follow the route of the first Trailblazers of the Canadian Rockies who blazed the trails from Banff to Kootenay Plains, from the 1880s to the 1950s when the tourism industry in Canada was in its beginnings.

An essential part of this tour is taking short and easy snowshoe walks. Travelers with all abilities can manage these walks and experience snowshoeing.

  • This private tour will have a maximum of 3 travelers
  • Free pick up/drop off from Hotel and Airbnb
Location
Bow Lake
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(74 Ratings)
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Cristinasr332cj
May 10, 2024
Best personalize Calgary tour ❤️🙏🏻⭐️ - The best tour ever not only because of the places we visited, but because of Jerzy's extreme human quality. We traveled with our elderly dad and Jerzy took special care of his needs. He took us to not so touristic sites and adapted the tour so all of us could enjoy it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kathy
Mar 2, 2024
Wow! Beautiful! Amazing! Repeat! - What an amazing day! Jersey is an absolute joy!!! He’s knowledge of the area is thoughtful and engaging. The scenery in the middle of winter was breathtaking. I can’t wait to come back in warmer weather. I would redo the tour again with Jersey in a heartbeat!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alberto_g
Jan 23, 2024
A Unique Experience in The Canadian Rockies - A refreshing experience well worth the time! We are a bit late on this review due to continuous travels, but are now taking the time to mention our extraordinary experience on our trip to Alberta, Canada, during December 2023. We are avid travelers who prefer to take our journeys in depth, and typically venture out on our own, but having an experienced guide made the visit so much more than we could have imagined. We are typically keen on experiencing our geographical roadmaps with included areas of cities or towns well known, but highly prefer to have a distance from the crowds while enjoying lesser known areas or locations which are just as beautiful and more memorable than your typical beaten path. Jerzy, was able to balance both of these for us, and was by far the most kind, and flexible tour guide we have ever had during our Winter adventure. Being a photographer hobbyist, we felt so much support from Jerzy, with his extensive knowledge on the history behind our visited locations, and recounting tales of Jimmy Simpson, who was a guiding and outfitting pioneer in the Canadian Rockies and founder of Num-Ti-Jah Lodge at Bow Lake, which was absolutely breathtaking! We were able to see the glacier caps over the mountains, and an impressive view of the glass shards pushed on the shoreline while the lake was in process of the fall overturn while at this location. Every moment we spent on this trip, and the locations were truly magical! Emerald Lake, Peyto Lake, Herbert Lake were among some of the fascinating locations we experienced, but the enthusiasm and journey and humility that Jerzy, provided was what made our day very special, and unmeasurable. We consider Jerzy, a new friend from the Canadian Rockies, and will look forward to more journeys together in the near future. Thank you Jerzy, for your kindness and extensive experience!
Review provided by Viator
Luke_b
Jan 21, 2024
Wonderful Tour - We did this tour with Jerzy back in September (sorry for the very late review!). We did not have a car during our holiday, so this tour was a great way to see lots of places we would not have been able to see otherwise. It was great having a private tour as Jerzy recommended places and we picked where we wanted to go. Whilst driving Jerzy played some interviews on the history of the area with Jimmy Simpson which were interesting. to hear. Our favourite places we visited were Bow Lake, Takakkaw Falls and Marble Canyon (we had the whole canyon to ourselves!). Jerzy is a great guide and made sure we covered everything we wanted to without feeling rushed. We would recommend his tour. Thanks Luke and Steph
Review provided by Viator
Margaret
Oct 29, 2023
Nice coach, Unexpectedly excellent experience! - Jerzy is a friendly & sincere guide, which tries his very best to bring the ultimate Banff experience to us. At the beginning of our journey, he tailored the journey by first understanding what spots we have been to before, and what experience we would like to have during this 1-day tour (eg: hiking/sight-seeing etc.). I still remembered that the weather that day is not really nice in the morning, but Jerzy paid an effort in keeping track at the weather in Banff, discussed with us and had re-arranged the travelling spots for us. Throughout the day, we had an excellent experience, which could go to the spots that we want to go in Banff. Thanks Jerzy for your excellent tour! :) We went to the Yoho National Park (Emerald Lake, and the Natural bridge), the Peyto Lake, the Bow Lake, the Bow Falls, and the Surprise Corner. Jerzy knows very well about Banff, and he knows some secret best viewing point that only a local would know! If you’re looking for the most local experience, then Jerzy’a tour would definitely be a good choice for curating your Banff journey. Thanks Jerzy, my mum and I enjoyed your tour very much, and thanks for trying your very best in curating the ultimate Banff journey for us :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sayandatta
Sep 9, 2023
Simply the best tour guide out there in Banff... - As the title suggests, Jerzy is simply the best. This was my second experience of a private trip with him and like last year the experience was top notch. We covered Bow lake, Peyto lake and YOHO national park attractions. Jerzy is much much more than a tour guide. He is a story teller and is an expert on all the hidden spots for breathtaking views. The weather was not best but even then the day turned out to be perfect thanks to him going out of the way and ensuring we get the best possible experience. For example he could read the weather patterns to the t and used that to plan out the order of attractions for the day. He will also ensure that you avoid the crowded touristic view points and in the process help you experience Banff in a completely unique way. I only have the highest recommendation and in my opinion this is the best guided trip out there.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Yolanda
Sep 6, 2023
Best Scenic and Personal Adventure - Jerzy is an outstanding guide!! Very Knowledgeable, personable and very humble. We came for an adventure and he exceeded our expectations! We laughed, I cried taking in all the beauty of nature. Thank YOU Jerzey for a wonderful gift and we feel so LUCKY that you shared with us the life of Jimmy Simpson ❤️
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Inspire60633309050
Sep 5, 2023
Fabulous Day! - Our day with Jerzy Maslanka was awesome! Jerzy customized our tour to interests and locations that new to us. Jerzy is personable with stories of history with detailed knowledge of people and places. This trip is fabulous because you get to go and park where all the big tour companies are parking and Jerzy knows where to take you for special views (and pictures) out of the crowds of people. With no set schedule, you get to enjoy your day at your pace. Our day was especially special because we saw “The Boss” bear - look him up on YouTube.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Damian_m
Aug 29, 2023
Our guide Jerzy was very... - Our guide Jerzy was very informative, interesting and attentive to our travel needs and requests. A very good driver as well.
Review provided by Viator
M8237nmjessical
Aug 25, 2023
One of the best… - Book this trip! Absolutely no way that we could have seen all the highlights of the area and learned so much in one day! Jerzy, our tour operator, was exceptional in every way. He loves nature, people and is accommodating to what you want to do while with him. We expressed early that we wanted to see “all the magnificent” that the area offered and he delivered. We toured the iconic including waterfalls, lakes and meadows all while he narrated the history of the area. We plan to come back and hire Jerzy to help us explore more!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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