Start city · Alberta
Mountains to the west, badlands to the east and long prairie horizons in between. Calgary gives you an unusually good choice of road from the moment the keys turn.
Why begin here
It is the natural doorway to Banff and the Icefields Parkway, but the city also opens onto Kananaskis, ranch country and Drumheller. That range makes Calgary just as useful for a free day as it is for the beginning of a fortnight behind the wheel.
Official Calgary visitor information ↗Drives from Calgary
A worthwhile drive does not need a fortnight. Start with a free day, disappear for two nights or let this city become the first chapter of the whole holiday.
Day drive
A dramatic change of landscape, with prairie giving way to striped coulees, fossils and hoodoos before lunch.
Day drive
The cleanest first taste of the Rockies: an easy westward run, a mountain-town lunch and enough time for one proper lakeside stop.
Two-night escape
A quieter mountain break built around forest roads, trail time and a single comfortable base away from Banff’s busiest streets.
Longer road trip
The headline Canadian Rockies journey, with enough nights to let viewpoints, short walks and wildlife set the pace.