Starting from either Calgary (two hours from Banff) or Edmonton (about three hours from Jasper), a Canadian Rockies tour is an unforgettable road trip, drivable in a few days, but offering enough attractions and activities to lure you back again and again. Along a 175-mile route from Banff to Jasper, a seemingly endless succession of peaks towers over deep glacial valleys and turquoise lakes. Streams fed by an ice field a quarter-mile thick cascade through rock-walled canyons. Elk and deer frequent the roadsides, black bear are common in campgrounds and in the backcountry are mountain caribou, bighorn sheep, grizzlies and wolves. From the mountain summits, climbers see panoramas of peaks in every direction. There’s boating and canoeing on pristine lakes, white-water rafting, kayaking, fishing, mountain biking and spectacular hiking. Together, the Banff and Jasper national parks and neighboring Yoho and Kootenay cover nearly 8,000 square miles, more than Yellowstone, Glacier, Grand Teton and Rocky Mountain national parks combined.

The Rimrock Resort Hotel, Banff

From Calgary, our first stop was Banff, where the most recognizable structure in town is the Fairmont Banff Springs. It’s an imposing Scottish baronial-style hotel with dormers and turrets, alcoves and balusters, more than 760 rooms, several restaurants, an elaborate conference center, an elegant spa, a plethora of glittery shops and a worldwide reputation. Overlooking the Bow Valley and a lovely golf course, the hotel is itself a tourist attraction; it’s on Canada’s list of National Historic sites.

This trip, however, we didn’t stay there. Instead, we drove up Sulphur Mountain, about two miles from the town center where The Rimrock Resort Hotel looks out over the Bow and Spray river valleys below. The street-level lobby is on the hotel’s seventh floor. Just beyond the reception desk, the wood-paneled Larkspur Lounge features a massive stone-fronted fireplace and, through a wall of glass, views of 9,360-foot Mount Rundle. There’s a small terrace with a handful of tables where you can appreciate the scenery with a drink or a light lunch. Other amenities include two restaurants and a martini bar; a small but full-service spa with an indoor pool, sauna, whirlpool and steam rooms; racquetball courts; and a 24-hour fitness facility.