I knew it would be epic, but I wasn't ready for the majestic alpine scenes, emerald waters and drool-worthy meals in hidden library rooms.
Rocky Mountaineer, a private rail company that's been providing picturesque trips through the West Coast of Canada (and more recently the United States), offers a two-day voyage in a glass-roofed panoramic train that goes from Vancouver to Kamloops and then Kamloops to Banff, after a restful sleep in a plush hotel.
Called the First Passage to the West, the journey is packed with jaw-dropping views first of plains, then of majestic mountains as you enter the awesome Canadian Rockies, not to mention wildlife and rushing waters.
To call it a luxe experience doesn’t quite cut it—from the natural splendour to the heated reclining seats, it spells grandeur with a capital gee-willikers.
Here are 11 reasons why I found the First Passage to the West an absolute bucket-list trip.
1. Yellow pines
Time your trip for the fall, ideally in early October on one of the last First Passage to the West trips of the season, and not only will you be hosted by a staff brimming with excitement at a break after a summer of virtually non-stop work (the train days are over 14 hours long, and they’re on shift throughout), you’ll also be in time to see the larches in full splendour. Larch trees are conifers in the pine family that grow at high altitude. Although they’re conifers, they’re one of the few conifers that are also deciduous, meaning they change colour and lose their needles in winter. They’re a brilliant, fiery yellow sight along the rolling scenes of beauty outside the train window.
2. Emerald waters
One of Banff’s main attractions is the aquamarine Lake Louise, a natural wonder and one of the highlights of the train journey’s end—especially if you treat yourself to a few nights at the tawny Fairmont Hotel Banff Springs to cap the experience. But throughout the train journey you’ll have already gazed upon emerald hues from your privileged front-row view upon the Columbia River. Among the Columbia’s 14 dams between the U.S. and Canada, the most striking is the Mica Dam at Kinbasket Lake, north of the city of Revelstoke, where the river’s crystalline green tint—created by the glacial minerals that flow down from on high—really shines.
3. Okanagan wine
The Okanagan region of British Columbia is a renowned wine growing region—and not just for the famous B.C. weed, which we noticed can be purchased (legally) from a variety of shops in Kamloops. Wine is the region’s most famous product, but because it’s so popular and the growing season so relatively short, it’s a privilege to have access to some great vintages by the likes of Sumac Ridge Estate and Steller’s Jay with every meal aboard the Rocky Mountaineer (and between meals, unless you want to try some of the cocktails).
4. Simply perfect meals
Spring for the Golden Leaf level of travel and you’ll benefit from the best of Rocky Mountaineer’s Executive Chef Kaelhub Cudmore’s menu, with everything from perfect scrambled eggs and smashed potatoes to Alberta striploin steak with sweet corn and kale gnocchi being cooked from scratch in one of the kitchen cars. All of Chef Cudmore’s beautifully fresh and straightforward dishes look to honour regional products, from beautiful steelhead trout to French macarons crafted in Alberta’s Fraser Valley, the breadbasket of the West Coast.
5. Fairmont beds
It’s no wonder they started selling them on their website. Our trip started with two blissful nights at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver and ended with two sleeps at the now Fairmont-owned Rimrock Banff, and now we’re stalking that website daily, patiently awaiting a sale.
6. Secret dining rooms
Tea time takes on another meaning at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, where not only will they put on a three-tiered spread featuring a bounty of pillowy scones, petite baked sweets and crustless sandwiches, but they’ll also serve this feast in a hidden dining room. With all the suspense of a Harry Potter flick, the tea room at Notch8 Restaurant and Bar (named after the highest speed a train can achieve) can only be accessed via a hidden door that doubles as a bookshelf. And lo and behold, a few days later in Banff we experienced another hidden bookshelf room at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel! Because reading is what? Fundamental.
7. Spiral tunnels
One of the amazing things about the First Passage to the West voyage is that it starts at sea level, in Vancouver, and climbs to the Great Divide, a natural boundary between British Columbia and Alberta, and the highest point in the Rockies at 3,954 metres in elevation. The only way this is achievable by train is thanks to engineering borrowed from the Swiss in the form of the Spiral Tunnels, which turn first one way and then another. Aside from being an impressive piece of railroad history and a thrilling part of the journey’s last stretch, they make for great photo opps as the train curves onto itself.
8. Magical mushrooms
Now we’re not suggesting you microdose, but if you come all this way without working in a hike or two in the lush West Coast woods, you’ll be missing out. We followed one of the Fairmont Château Lake Louise’s trusty guides for a forest bathing hike, a two-hour experience that’s part meditation, part natural history, and saw some of the most incredible species of mushrooms ever. Banff Springs was the first national park in Canada (established in 1885, making it the third in the world), and as such it goes untouched: no fallen logs are cleared out, no intervention in the natural cycle is made. So in addition to towering evergreens that are centuries old, the forest floor is strewn with their fallen brethren and deep with mosses and fascinating fungi of all shapes, sizes and colours.
9. A hot chocolate bar
Stay a night or two at the Fairmont Château Lake Louise—the castle in the sky—if only to enjoy the view and amenities like the outdoor apple bakes, canoe rides on the lake or a leisurely afternoon at the aptly named Fairview Restaurant and Bar, where we enjoyed a hot chocolate bar—as in, a self-serve hot chocolate display with various boozes and indulgent toppings like whipped cream, chocolate shavings and marshmallows. It was just what the dentist ordered.
10. Caramel popcorn
Speaking of sweet treats, no trip to Banff is complete without a stop into The Fudgery. Nevermind the teenage employees who seem ready to off themselves—it’s worth it for the sake of the caramel popcorn. More caramel than popcorn, these thick, buttery slabs of crunchy golden brittle are studded with salted popcorn and every variety of nut. A delight.
11. Bald eagles, big horned sheep and deer, oh my
Nature lovers will get their fill along the First Passage to the West route, not only for the quiet moments of contemplation of the flora (well, we say quiet, but the soundtrack of classic rock Rocky Mountaineer likes to pump through the train does distract at times—highly recommend earplugs or headphones) but also for the fauna. We spotted a handful of bald eagles, baby deer drinking from the Columbia River, big horned sheep bucking on a mountaintop and some elk. Some lucky passengers also get to see bears. Blackberry bushes have been planted either side of the tracks for vast stretches of the railway to keep animals safe from crossing, while other stretches feature deer crossings at regular intervals.
For more news about Rocky Mountaineer and the First Passage to the West, click here.
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