1. Banff: Grizzly Bear Refuge Tour with Lunch
Get picked up from a meeting point at the Mt Royal Hotel in a modern minibus by your friendly guide. Departing from Banff, head to Takakkaw Falls in Yoho National Park (when access permits), to see Canada's 2nd highest waterfall tumbling 254m (830 feet) in one stretch and 384m (1,260 feet) in total. The falls can be admired from the parking area or from an optional short 0.5km (¹⁄₃ mile) walk on a paved trail from the parking area to the base of the impressive falls. Then, continue on to Kicking Horse Mountain Resort to take an enclosed sightseeing gondola with glass windows. Travel up to 7,700 feet s you admire the panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains, the Columbia River Wetlands, and the quaint town of Golden. At the top, enjoy a gourmet lunch from your choice of menu items with a non-alcoholic beverage and dessert at Eagle's Eye restaurant, Canada's highest restaurant. After a leisurely lunch and enjoying the mountain top views, descend back down the sightseeing gondola, and take a 4-person open-chairlift chairlift partway up the mountain to the Grizzly Bear Refuge, the largest enclosed grizzly bear habitat in the world. At the refuge, meet Boo, a bear with paws the size of hubcaps, a mouth full of sharp teeth, and enormous muscles moving beneath his shaggy fur, in his 20-acre habitat in the Rocky Mountain bush. Hear his personal story and learn about grizzly bear behavior from the knowledgeable guide. Watch him explore, hunt, and forage just like his wild cousins. After the tour, descend back down the open-air chairlift and have a brief stop at stunning Emerald Lake on the return journey to Banff. This tour has a guaranteed grizzly bear sighting or your next tour is free.