Which national park train tours are available in Canada?

Your trip can be personalized to include the Rocky Mountaineer, which operates during daylight hours with overnight stops in destinations such as Kamloops, Lake Louise, Banff, and Jasper. Or you can choose to include VIA Rail’s The Canadian — an overnight sleeper train traveling between Vancouver and Toronto, with a stop in Jasper along the way. You can even combine both services into one itinerary for two distinct ways to experience the Canadian Rockies and their surrounding national parks. The duration, the parks you visit, and your time in each destination can all be tailored to your interests and preferred travel pace.

Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies and home to the second-largest dark sky preserve in the world. Jasper can be reached directly aboard VIA Rail’s The Canadian or Rocky Mountaineer’s Journey Through the Clouds route.

Travelling between Banff and Jasper is one of the most scenic parts of a Canadian Rockies itinerary. There is no direct train from Banff to Jasper, so this portion of the journey is completed by road along the Icefields Parkway, with rail travel connecting the trip at either end.

There is no direct Banff Jasper train or Jasper to Banff train. Instead, the two national parks are connected by road along the Icefields Parkway, a scenic route stretching about 290 km (180 mi). The drive takes around four hours without stops, but a private transfer or guided coach can include time to enjoy the scenery and visit some of the Canadian Rockies’ most famous sights.

Along the way, travellers can see Peyto Lake, the Columbia Icefield and Athabasca Falls, with stops at scenic viewpoints and attractions. This makes the journey between Banff and Jasper an opportunity to explore rather than simply get from one destination to the next.

The road transfer can be combined with rail travel on either side of the national parks. VIA Rail’s The Canadian and Rocky Mountaineer’s Journey Through the Clouds both connect Vancouver and Jasper, while Rocky Mountaineer’s First Passage to the West connects Vancouver and Banff. Travellers can take the Rocky Mountaineer to Banff, then continue by road to Jasper, or visit Jasper first and travel by road to Banff before taking the Rocky Mountaineer back to Vancouver.

This combination makes it possible to visit both Banff and Jasper while experiencing the Canadian Rockies by rail and road. A Vacation Advisor can arrange the transportation between Banff and Jasper and tailor your rail journeys, accommodation, sightseeing and time in each destination to your preferred pace.