Five Autumn Drives from Calgary That Are Not Banff

Everyone drives west to Banff. It is a very good drive and about four million people a year agree. Alberta in autumn has four other directions, and here are five days out that are quieter and, in a couple of cases, better.

1. The Highwood Pass

Highway 40 south of Kananaskis Village climbs to 2,206 metres, the highest paved pass in Canada. In late September it runs through larch country with the Opal Range on one side and the Highwood on the other. It closes to vehicles on 1 December and reopens 15 June, so autumn is the tail end of the window. Arethusa Cirque and Ptarmigan Cirque are both short walks from the road.

2. The Cowboy Trail

Highway 22, from Mayerthorpe down to Lundbreck, with the Front Ranges on your right the whole way. The stretch from Bragg Creek to Longview in October is ranch country under gold aspen, and it is empty. Stop in Longview, carry on to the Bar U Ranch historic site, and finish at Chain Lakes.

3. Drumheller and the Badlands

Ninety minutes northeast and a completely different planet: hoodoos, coulees, the Red Deer River, and the Royal Tyrrell Museum, which is a serious museum by any standard. Autumn light in the badlands is extraordinary, the summer heat has gone, and the Horseshoe Canyon rim walk takes twenty minutes.

4. Waterton Lakes

Three hours south, and the least visited of Alberta's mountain parks. The prairie runs into the mountains with no foothills in between, which is a landscape you get almost nowhere else. Autumn brings gold aspen along the Red Rock Parkway and, usually, the wind that Waterton is known for.

5. The Bow Valley Parkway

Yes, it is next to Banff, and it is still worth its own day. The 1A runs slow and quiet parallel to the Trans-Canada, with Johnston Canyon, Castle Mountain and the best roadside wildlife in the valley. Check the seasonal travel restrictions on the eastern section before you plan around it.

Planning notes

• Kananaskis needs a Conservation Pass; the national parks need a Parks Canada pass. Different systems.
• Fuel up before Highway 40 and before the Cowboy Trail south of Longview. Services are sparse.
• Autumn weather in the foothills changes fast. Snow on the Highwood in September is normal.
• Sunset comes early by mid-October. Plan to be off the mountain roads before dark or plan to be comfortable driving them in it.

Any of these makes a straightforward chauffeured day out of Calgary: a fixed rate, an early start, and a driver who knows which pullouts are worth stopping at. Tell us which direction appeals and we will build the day around it.