BRITISH COLUMBIA & ALBERTA
British Columbia and Alberta offer travellers a remarkable mix of landscapes, cultures and year round experiences that make them two of Canada’s most versatile destinations.
In British Columbia, travellers can explore vibrant coastal cities, rainforest hiking trails, Indigenous cultures, world class skiing and alpine adventures, along with iconic wildlife viewing and outdoor experiences that shift beautifully with the seasons.
Alberta’s Rocky Mountains provide striking scenery at any time of year, from summer hiking among turquoise lakes to autumn larch forests, winter skiing in Banff and Jasper and spring wildlife encounters across the national parks.
Both provinces offer accessible adventure, dramatic road trip routes, rich cultural stories and a sense of space that resonates strongly with Australians who value nature, freedom and authentic connection.
Whether travellers want snow filled days, warm summer exploration or a quieter shoulder season escape, British Columbia and Alberta deliver the kind of outdoor focused and culturally rich journeys that Australians travel to Canada to find.
British Columbia
British Columbia is a global winter playground with 13 major ski resorts, making it ideal for active Outdoor Explorers.
Key Experiences:
British Columbia’s Kootenay Rockies is home to the POWDER HIGHWAY®, where deep snow, mountain towns and some of the most downhome, stash-laden, adventure-packed ski resorts in North America exist. This legendary place offers an abundance of deep Kootenay powder melded with authentic ski towns, full of vibrant locals.Throw in some of the world’s most renowned heli-skiing and cat-skiing operations, as well as highly-coveted backcountry lodges and this area of British Columbia stands out as one of the premier ski destinations.
Join Northern Rockies Adventures for an all-inclusive Northern Lights getaway. Board an exclusive private charter flight and set course for the North, stay in a remote Lodge and bespoke resort in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. Catch the Northern Lights and experience unforgettable guided daytrips. Dine on culinary delicacies prepared by a talented team of chefs and enjoy the beauty of pristine Northern BC.
Alberta
Alberta’s rugged mountain environment delivers iconic Canadian winter experiences.
Key Experiences:
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Skate on Lake Louise, dog sled in Kananaskis or go on a guided snow-shoeing tour in Banff
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Escape into the mountains at Mount Engadine Lodge a secluded wilderness lodge & glamping resort nestled between the spectacular mountains of Kananaskis, ideal for unplugged nature immersion
Enjoy a northern lights experience in Alberta that combines clear winter skies, Métis culture, and modern comfort.
Alberta takes great pride in its wide-open spaces, and Métis Crossing is recognized for being located in one of these expansive areas. The Northern Lights are often spotted in these regions, and the dark, wide, and unpolluted night skies make your aurora borealis viewing experience most optimal.
Spring on Vancouver Island is one of British Columbia’s most rewarding seasons for Outdoor Explorers, with wildlife returning to the forests and coastlines and early hiking routes reopening.
Along the island’s rugged west coast, the annual grey whale migration passes Ucluelet, Tofino and the surrounding waters of Clayoquot Sound, celebrated through local festivals and guided viewing experiences . Travellers can take on the Lone Cone Trail on Meares Island, a challenging climb that rewards hikers with sweeping views across Tofino’s island dotted coastline.
For those seeking iconic wildlife encounters, a stay at Knight Inlet Lodge offers immersive spring grizzly bear viewing in the remote Glendale Cove wilderness, where bears emerge from hibernation to forage along the estuary.
Across the island, early season trails begin to open around Sooke, Juan de Fuca and Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, allowing travellers to experience misty rainforests, powerful waterfalls and the return of wildlife as the landscape shifts from winter to spring.
Spring in Alberta offers Outdoor Explorers a powerful shift from winter stillness to wide open adventure, with mountain landscapes beginning to thaw and valleys filling with wildlife once more.
It is an ideal time to experience the province’s dramatic transition as snow lingers on the high peaks while trails, rivers and forest ecosystems come back to life.
One of the season’s standout experiences is the Ice Odyssey at the Columbia Icefield, where travellers venture onto the ancient Athabasca Glacier aboard rugged all terrain vehicles before joining guided walks across the ice itself. The scale of the glacier in spring, framed by deep blue crevasses and warming alpine light, creates a striking sense of immersion in the Rockies.
As temperatures rise, Alberta’s rivers begin to swell with snowmelt, transforming them into vibrant routes for exploration.
Operators like Rural Rivers offer journeys along lesser known waterways, where travellers can paddle through quiet foothill landscapes, spot wildlife along the banks and experience the sounds and sights of the season at a slower pace.
Spring is also an excellent time for early season hiking and nature watching in and around Banff and Jasper, where trails at lower elevations begin to open and animals return to the valleys.
Combined, these experiences reveal Alberta at its most dynamic, giving Outdoor Explorers a powerful connection to the rhythms of the mountains and the renewal of the natural world.
Summer in British Columbia invites Outdoor Explorers into landscapes far beyond the well known routes.
The Great Bear Rainforest offers one of the most remote and rewarding coastal adventures in the province, where travellers can kayak through sheltered inlets, trace narrow fjords lined with ancient cedar and watch for bears and marine life in quiet, untouched wilderness. For an immersive base in this region, a stay at Great Bear Lodge provides access to pristine estuaries, guided wildlife excursions and tranquil evenings surrounded by the sounds of the forest. The lodge operates with a strong conservation ethos, making it an ideal choice for travellers seeking meaningful, low impact exploration.
Further north, the rugged scenery of Tumbler Ridge UNESCO Global Geopark reveals dinosaur tracks, fossil beds and hidden waterfalls reached by backcountry trails that offer solitude and discovery in equal measure.
Along the mainland coast, the Sunshine Coast Trail opens for long distance hiking through moss covered rainforest, open ridge lines and peaceful lakes, supported by a network of simple huts that keep the experience light and exploratory.
Inland, the Chilcotin Mountains and the high alpine meadows of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park welcome summer travellers with multi day trekking routes, wildlife viewing and horseback supported journeys across vast glacier carved plateaus. These lesser known regions give Outdoor Explorers the sense of wide open possibility that defines British Columbia in summer while guiding them toward sustainable, lightly visited places that retain their wild character.
Summer in Alberta reveals a quieter side of the province, far from the busiest national park viewpoints. In David Thompson Country, travellers can follow hiking routes through deep canyons, scramble to remote summits or paddle the upper reaches of the North Saskatchewan River where the landscape feels wild and open. The turquoise waters of Abraham Lake, known in winter for its frozen methane bubbles, become a striking summer setting for kayaking, ridge walks and sunrise photography framed by sharp limestone peaks.
To the east, the Canadian Badlands present a completely different wilderness for Outdoor Explorers. Hoodoo dotted valleys, sculpted coulees and fossil rich canyons create a dramatic backdrop for hiking, wildlife watching and guided discovery in places such as Dinosaur Provincial Park and the Red Deer River Valley.
North of Edmonton, the lakes and boreal forests around Lac La Biche and Cold Lake offer multi day canoe routes, backcountry camping and encounters with birdlife and woodland animals in landscapes that feel expansive and largely unvisited. These lesser known areas reveal Alberta at its most spacious and elemental, offering Outdoor Explorers the freedom to discover the province on their own terms.
Autumn in British Columbia invites Outdoor Explorers into quieter landscapes transformed by shifting colours and cooler air.
In the northern interior, the trails around Smithers, Terrace and the Skeena River Valley offer remote ridge walks, salmon spawning viewpoints and wide mountain vistas framed by deep red and golden foliage.
Travellers can explore the alpine plateaus of the Rainbow Range in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, where the volcanic hills turn vivid shades of orange and copper and the chances of wildlife sightings increase as animals prepare for winter.
Along the central coast, the fjords and islands around Bella Coola and the Great Bear Rainforest become especially atmospheric in autumn mist.
For an immersive wilderness experience, a stay at Spirit Bear Lodge in the Indigenous community of Klemtu offers guided journeys into grizzly and spirit bear habitat during the salmon run.
Further south, autumn is an ideal time to explore Squamish Canyon, where cooler temperatures make the steep cliff lined river corridor perfect for hiking, photography and canyon based adventure away from the summer crowds. The combination of mist rising off turquoise water, rust coloured foliage on the canyon walls and the dramatic Coast Mountain backdrop creates one of the province’s most striking shoulder season landscapes.
Alberta’s autumn brings a shift toward cooler air, long sightlines and luminous colour across its lesser known landscapes.
East of the Rockies, the foothills around Ya Ha Tinda Ranch and the Panther River corridor glow with golden larch and offer quiet, expansive hiking routes ideal for travellers who want remote viewpoints without the national park crowds.
Further north, the Willmore Wilderness Park region opens up vast backcountry territory where pack trips, ridge hikes and wildlife viewing unfold in near total solitude, making it one of Alberta’s most rewarding yet under visited autumn destinations.
In the Lakeland Provincial Recreation Area, the province’s only backcountry canoe circuit becomes a peaceful haven as migrating birds gather on calm lakes and campsites sit empty beneath turning leaves.
Closer to the mountains, the lesser travelled trails around Kananaskis Country’s Highwood Pass provide striking larch colour and crisp alpine air along routes that feel far removed from the busier park gateways.
Together, these landscapes reveal a quieter, more atmospheric Alberta in autumn, offering Outdoor Explorers the freedom to follow colour, wildlife and wide open space at a gentler seasonal rhythm.
