Cross Canada by Rail Trip--August 2017
Jim and Andrea Siscel
Slide Show of Photos with captions at end of trip information
Andrea and I along with her brother Gary and his wife Ruth took the cross-Canada rail journey from Vancouver to Toronto. First, we took Amtrak from Edmonds to Vancouver. After checking into our hotel, we took a Hop On-Hop Off Bus tour of Vancouver. We hopped off at Stanley Park to see the First Nation totem poles. Continuing on we got off again and walked to Gas Town which we had bussed through earlier. We had dinner and saw the Steam Clock up close.
The next morning, we were picked up at our hotel and taken to the Rocky Mountaineer Train station. We boarded our spacious car with 60 other passengers. The upper level of the car was the seating and observation area and the lower level was the dining area. Windows in the seating area allowed viewing in all directions. In the very front of the car staff prepared drinks and excellent snacks. We were offered food all day long.
We were served breakfast and lunch during the two days we were traveling. The people on our car were divided into two groups for serving. The galley of each car was manned by two cooks and one assistant. We were offered a choice of three outstandingly delicious entrees at each breakfast and lunch. The food presentation on our plates was exquisite.
I was concerned that our viewing would be hampered by the smoke from the forest fires in western British Columbia. We passed though one forest fire area the second day on the train. The smoke was noticeable, but usually during our tours the smoke was gone in the morning hours, and became a hindrance in the late afternoon and evening.
The first day we journeyed to Kamloops where we got off the train and went to our assigned hotel, bags in the room by the time we arrived. The second day we continued on to Banff where we got off the train. We had booked our travel with CanadaRail.CA. They set up the train trip and the lodging and tours after we left the train. We stayed in Banff for two nights. The third day we had a tour that included an eight-minute tram ride to the top of a mountain on the south side of Banff. The bus tour continued around Banff allowing us to see the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel and Bow Falls. While we were in Banff it rained lightly both nights which helped clear up the smoke.
The fourth day we toured on our way to Lake Louise. Our first stop was at Moraine Lake. It was a hard, rocky trail climb up to the lake. But at the end of the trail the view of the lake was worth it. The lakes in the Canadian Rockies take on the blue color because of the fine as flour glacier ground-up rocks that cause the light hitting the water to reflect in such a way that you get the beautiful bluish water. We stopped at Takakkaw Falls, 254 meters high, which comes from Daly Glacier. To get there the bus had to back up one set of switchbacks, because the driver couldn’t make the turns. Next, we stopped at Emerald Lake and Lodge for lunch. Continuing on we saw a natural bridge with the Kicking Horse River flowing through the bridge.
Arriving at Fairmount Chateau Lake Louise Andrea and I were told that our assigned room was not available and that we would be upgraded to a lake view room in the new building. It was a very nice two room suite with extremely nice bathroom and a doorbell for our room. We couldn’t see much of Lake Louise and the mountains that evening because of the smoke. But the next morning it was beautiful, see the picture taken from our room. The previous two days we had our tours book with Brewster Tours. They are the big tour company in the Canadian Rockies.
Leaving for Jasper we were booked with Sundog Tours and were riding on a smaller bus. We stopped at Bow Lake which is the headwaters for the Bow River which empties into Hudson Bay. We picked up sack lunches at a restaurant and then stopped along a small river at a picnic ground to eat them. On to the Columbia Icefields, where we got in a huge wheeled vehicle to go out on the Athabasca Glacier. The Athabasca River empties into the Arctic Ocean. Close by is the origin of the Columbia River which empties into the Pacific Ocean. We walked around on the glacier for a while and then went to see the Glacier Skywalk structure that is built high out over the canyon and river. I went out on it, but none of the others did.
We continued on to Jasper for the night. First priority was visiting the laundromat as there is no washing of clothing on the trains. Day six saw a nature tour with cruise. We were now on a smaller bus and were the only passengers, so a private tour. We saw Maligne Canyon were over hundreds of years the Maligne River has cut a narrow channel through the rocks. A quick stop at Medicine Lake which has great significance to the First Nation people. In the spring it is full, but through the summer it drains almost empty into a below ground outlet before becoming a river again further to the west. We continued to Maligne Lake where we took a lake cruise to Inspiration Island. In the 1890s the Canadian National Railroad had a photographer take a picture of the island, lake, and surrounding mountains. The picture was enlarged and placed in Grand Central Station. This picture inspired the tourist industry in the Canadian Rockies. As you can see the island is not that impressive. We were to leave Jasper on Via Canada Rail at 5:30pm heading for Toronto. Because of a freight train problem, we didn’t leave until 8:30pm.
In Canada, as in the U.S. freight trains have priority over passenger trains. During the next three days and three nights we spent a lot of time on sidings as freight trains passed us by. We were to arrive in Toronto at 9:30am, but instead we arrived at 8:30pm losing our planned day for touring Toronto. As we crossed Canada through Saskatchewan Province we saw many grain fields and wooden grain storage facilities. Entering into Manitoba and Ontario Provinces the landscape changed to many small lakes and deciduous forests.
The food on Via Canada Rail was excellent as well. Presentation was satisfactory, but considering that there was only one cook and our two servers also did the dishes this was fine. Again, we had three entrée choices at each meal and a delicious desert for lunch and dinner. The compartments were interesting. We had nice chairs during the day, which were collapsed and put under our bunk bed at night. Each compartment had a private toilet and a sink in the compartment. The shower was down the corridor. When the bunk beds were down there was hardly room to squeeze by each other. Climbing into my upper bunk was sometimes a challenge when the train was moving. But after several times I became quite proficient.
In Toronto, the hotel upgraded us to a nicer room than what we were supposed to have. The next day we took a tour to see Niagara Falls from the Canadian side. It was a bright sunny day and the falls was spectacular. We took a boat tour, wearing our pink ponchos, up into the spray of the Canadian Falls. After the falls viewing we went to Niagara-on-the-Lake, a cute older town before returning to Toronto. The following morning, we boarded Air Canada and returned to Seattle.
Recommendation: Take the Rocky Mountaineer Train. The experience was outstanding. They have several routes, from Jasper you can return to Vancouver via a northern route. If you want to continue to Toronto after Jasper have your tour company bus you to Calgary and fly to Toronto. The Via Canada Rail trip was interesting, but not really worth all the time we spent sitting on the sidings.
Jim and Andrea Siscel
Slide Show of Photos with captions at end of trip information
Andrea and I along with her brother Gary and his wife Ruth took the cross-Canada rail journey from Vancouver to Toronto. First, we took Amtrak from Edmonds to Vancouver. After checking into our hotel, we took a Hop On-Hop Off Bus tour of Vancouver. We hopped off at Stanley Park to see the First Nation totem poles. Continuing on we got off again and walked to Gas Town which we had bussed through earlier. We had dinner and saw the Steam Clock up close.
The next morning, we were picked up at our hotel and taken to the Rocky Mountaineer Train station. We boarded our spacious car with 60 other passengers. The upper level of the car was the seating and observation area and the lower level was the dining area. Windows in the seating area allowed viewing in all directions. In the very front of the car staff prepared drinks and excellent snacks. We were offered food all day long.
We were served breakfast and lunch during the two days we were traveling. The people on our car were divided into two groups for serving. The galley of each car was manned by two cooks and one assistant. We were offered a choice of three outstandingly delicious entrees at each breakfast and lunch. The food presentation on our plates was exquisite.
I was concerned that our viewing would be hampered by the smoke from the forest fires in western British Columbia. We passed though one forest fire area the second day on the train. The smoke was noticeable, but usually during our tours the smoke was gone in the morning hours, and became a hindrance in the late afternoon and evening.
The first day we journeyed to Kamloops where we got off the train and went to our assigned hotel, bags in the room by the time we arrived. The second day we continued on to Banff where we got off the train. We had booked our travel with CanadaRail.CA. They set up the train trip and the lodging and tours after we left the train. We stayed in Banff for two nights. The third day we had a tour that included an eight-minute tram ride to the top of a mountain on the south side of Banff. The bus tour continued around Banff allowing us to see the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel and Bow Falls. While we were in Banff it rained lightly both nights which helped clear up the smoke.
The fourth day we toured on our way to Lake Louise. Our first stop was at Moraine Lake. It was a hard, rocky trail climb up to the lake. But at the end of the trail the view of the lake was worth it. The lakes in the Canadian Rockies take on the blue color because of the fine as flour glacier ground-up rocks that cause the light hitting the water to reflect in such a way that you get the beautiful bluish water. We stopped at Takakkaw Falls, 254 meters high, which comes from Daly Glacier. To get there the bus had to back up one set of switchbacks, because the driver couldn’t make the turns. Next, we stopped at Emerald Lake and Lodge for lunch. Continuing on we saw a natural bridge with the Kicking Horse River flowing through the bridge.
Arriving at Fairmount Chateau Lake Louise Andrea and I were told that our assigned room was not available and that we would be upgraded to a lake view room in the new building. It was a very nice two room suite with extremely nice bathroom and a doorbell for our room. We couldn’t see much of Lake Louise and the mountains that evening because of the smoke. But the next morning it was beautiful, see the picture taken from our room. The previous two days we had our tours book with Brewster Tours. They are the big tour company in the Canadian Rockies.
Leaving for Jasper we were booked with Sundog Tours and were riding on a smaller bus. We stopped at Bow Lake which is the headwaters for the Bow River which empties into Hudson Bay. We picked up sack lunches at a restaurant and then stopped along a small river at a picnic ground to eat them. On to the Columbia Icefields, where we got in a huge wheeled vehicle to go out on the Athabasca Glacier. The Athabasca River empties into the Arctic Ocean. Close by is the origin of the Columbia River which empties into the Pacific Ocean. We walked around on the glacier for a while and then went to see the Glacier Skywalk structure that is built high out over the canyon and river. I went out on it, but none of the others did.
We continued on to Jasper for the night. First priority was visiting the laundromat as there is no washing of clothing on the trains. Day six saw a nature tour with cruise. We were now on a smaller bus and were the only passengers, so a private tour. We saw Maligne Canyon were over hundreds of years the Maligne River has cut a narrow channel through the rocks. A quick stop at Medicine Lake which has great significance to the First Nation people. In the spring it is full, but through the summer it drains almost empty into a below ground outlet before becoming a river again further to the west. We continued to Maligne Lake where we took a lake cruise to Inspiration Island. In the 1890s the Canadian National Railroad had a photographer take a picture of the island, lake, and surrounding mountains. The picture was enlarged and placed in Grand Central Station. This picture inspired the tourist industry in the Canadian Rockies. As you can see the island is not that impressive. We were to leave Jasper on Via Canada Rail at 5:30pm heading for Toronto. Because of a freight train problem, we didn’t leave until 8:30pm.
In Canada, as in the U.S. freight trains have priority over passenger trains. During the next three days and three nights we spent a lot of time on sidings as freight trains passed us by. We were to arrive in Toronto at 9:30am, but instead we arrived at 8:30pm losing our planned day for touring Toronto. As we crossed Canada through Saskatchewan Province we saw many grain fields and wooden grain storage facilities. Entering into Manitoba and Ontario Provinces the landscape changed to many small lakes and deciduous forests.
The food on Via Canada Rail was excellent as well. Presentation was satisfactory, but considering that there was only one cook and our two servers also did the dishes this was fine. Again, we had three entrée choices at each meal and a delicious desert for lunch and dinner. The compartments were interesting. We had nice chairs during the day, which were collapsed and put under our bunk bed at night. Each compartment had a private toilet and a sink in the compartment. The shower was down the corridor. When the bunk beds were down there was hardly room to squeeze by each other. Climbing into my upper bunk was sometimes a challenge when the train was moving. But after several times I became quite proficient.
In Toronto, the hotel upgraded us to a nicer room than what we were supposed to have. The next day we took a tour to see Niagara Falls from the Canadian side. It was a bright sunny day and the falls was spectacular. We took a boat tour, wearing our pink ponchos, up into the spray of the Canadian Falls. After the falls viewing we went to Niagara-on-the-Lake, a cute older town before returning to Toronto. The following morning, we boarded Air Canada and returned to Seattle.
Recommendation: Take the Rocky Mountaineer Train. The experience was outstanding. They have several routes, from Jasper you can return to Vancouver via a northern route. If you want to continue to Toronto after Jasper have your tour company bus you to Calgary and fly to Toronto. The Via Canada Rail trip was interesting, but not really worth all the time we spent sitting on the sidings.