Life is a mountain, not a beach
“Me twelve with Uncle John on patrol
in the forestry truck.
Him hungover and with that temper,
you didn't push the obvious.
But that sign taunted me.
As first ranger in the district
he named things factually like an explorer:
Abraham flats after a Stony chief.
The map men kept that one,
thinking it Biblical and it was, in a way”.
Bruce Hunter, from the poem "Two O'Clock Creek"
Experiencing the Canadian Rocky Mountains in the winter feels like a completely different experience from the summer as the winter transforms the visual color palette. The blue-green lakes are frozen in white, while sunsets quicken with new colors. With white, fluffy snow covering the Foothills, Mountains and Trees, everything looks magical.
No drive is ever the same on the Columbia Icefields Parkway before reaching an old Simpson and Wilson cabins. The scenic drives turn into a winter wonderland. A compelling stillness settles that transforms everything around into a beautiful world of solitude and wonder. Ancient glaciers shifting and growling, and cascading waterfalls become icefalls.
Both Bow Lake and Peyto Lake offer unique winter experiences, with walking on the frozen Bow Lake allowing for a serene, flat walk and Peyto Lake for the famous winter wonderland view.
What about explore and discover bordering Kootenay Plains. For thousands of years, this beautiful valley located in the Upper North Saskatchewan River becomes a place for spiritual contact, communication with the ‘more-than-human’ reality, and site for revelation and transformation. Today, this Valley contribute to the conservation of biodiversity.
Abraham Lake is a man-made reservoir located in the Kedonnaha Tinda Valley the “Meadow of the Winds” and currently it has become the focus of worldwide social media as in the winter the pockets of frozen methane “ice bubbles” (Ta Otha and Abraham Tears) are commercially appealing and palatable for a mass audience and offered by the local non-Indigenous tour operators as an experience. The valley itself holds historical and cultural significance, especially for the Indigenous peoples who consider it a sacred land and want to protect the burial sites lying beneath the lake.
It is shared responsibility to care for this sacred land by showing respect and appreciation, especially given the history of the 70’s dam's construction, which flooded significant parts of the Kedonnaha Tinda Valley, including Indigenous homes, pastures, and burial grounds, without prior public consultation or environmental assessment.
Elite Brands Culture Discovery Tours itineraries don’t offer walking tours over the lake in search of the “ice bubbles”.
A nearby Bighorn River is a short tributary of the North Saskatchewan River and Crescent Falls are a series of waterfalls on that river that in winter these waterfalls turn into a wall of ice…you are going to love this tour!
[ booking details ]2025-2026 Trip Departure Dates
December | January | February | March
Tour Dates: Contact us and provide the specific dates of your planning trip.
Trip Duration
1 day
Tour Operator: Elite Brands Culture Discovery Tours | Certified to Operate in Canadian Rockies National Parks
Pricing
$750 CAD | per couple | Limited to 1 couple
Included
Transportation: Calgary and area Free Pickup/Dropoff from Airport, Hotel, Airbnb, Vrbo
Booking: Minium 2 | Maximum 2 Participants
Couples +21 Welcome
1 Day Tour: Don't Freeze, Live
Many people who are visiting Banff National Park don’t have Kootenay Plains on their travel radar, mostly because it gets eclipsed by Banff, Jasper, Yoho and National Parks.
This area has a rich history beginning with the Ktunaxa Nation, who inhabited the area for thousands of years before other First Nations like the Peigan, Crea and Stoney Assiniboine start visiting this Canadian Rockies Mountain region and their Eastern Slopes.
The area became a vital trade and exploration route for European fur traders and explorers in the early 1800s.
In 1987, the Alberta government designated this area as an ecological reserve to protect its unique ecosystem.
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The Ecological Reserve and surrounding area in winter are home to a diverse array of wildlife, including large mammals like elk, moose, mule deer, and bighorn sheep, as well as cougars, and coyotes. The area serves as an important winter range for many of these ungulate species and wild horses can often be seen grazing along the highway.
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In winter, the Crowfoot Glacier is visible from a roadside viewpoint on the Icefields Parkway, offering spectacular snow-covered views.
Bow Lake is a frozen wonderland, completely covered in snow and ice, offering a serene and beautiful experience
Peyto Lake in Banff National Park becomes a frozen, with the blanket of snow and ice and the surrounding peaks dusted in white
Saskatchewan River Crossing is a remote and scenic area along the Icefields Parkway. This is a significant location where three rivers meet: the mighty North Saskatchewan, the Howse and the Mistaya. The North Saskatchewan River rises in the Canadian Rockies and empties into Lake Winnipeg over 1,600 kilometers (1,025 miles) east across the country.
Kootenay Plains mean a lot to First Nation, Metis and Non-Indigenous people. Many developed their own sacramental relationship with this strip of land.
"Ice Bubbles" on Abraham Lake are created by the natural process of decomposition.
NOT OFFERED
Out of Clouds Viewpoint
In 1911 the Ex Coelis-group was named “Kadoona” by Mary Schaffer. This was her pronunciation of the Stony name, “Kedonnaha Tinda”, or “Meadow of the Winds” – now known as the Kootenay Plains
A Place Where You Can Breathe
Chief Robert Smallboy, Simon Omeasoo, Lazarus Roan, Alex Shortneck, and some other 140 people left the Ermineskin Reserve at Hobbema for Kootenay Plains on July 8, 1968, to live the traditional life once again.
144A
In 1948, seven Stoney's families were living at Kootenay Plains: the Abraham, Beaver, Dixon, House, Poucette, Wesley and Wildman and the residents were known as the Wesley Band after their leader, Peter Wesley Sr., whom they called ‘The Great Ta-Otha’.
Crescent Falls is a scenic, two-tiered waterfall. In winter these waterfalls turn into a wall of ice.
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Calgary Pickup 6AM
Canmore Pickup 7.30AM
Banff Pickup 8AM
Lake Louise Pickup 9AM
Tour length 8-10 hours
Jerzy Maslanka
Alberta, Canada
Responsible Tourism is the mindset that guides me to offer these tours and workshops, and I believe in promoting sustainable practices to reduce environmental impact for the benefits of tourism with the imperative to protect the park's natural resources and character. I prioritize conservation over commercial interests.
All tours are designed in ways which reflect the natural, cultural and the geological character of a place – its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and people who live there. I am hoping that while I can offer these exclusive private tours, true passions and purpose will be presented to those who decided to support mine and these hospitality providers that are collaborating with 55plusTravel and Elite Brands Culture Discovery Tours.
As a small tour operator, I face genuine challenges due to Parks Canada's restrictions (access to Moraine Lake and Lake Louise), which favor larger-capacity commercial vehicles. This situation can disadvantage smaller businesses and affect the visitor experience, even if the regulations are intended to manage overcrowding and protect the environment.
Travelers often feel gratitude and satisfaction after a Canadian Rockies tour with a knowledgeable and thoughtful guide and for many, booking a tour creates a mix of excitement, anticipation, and occasional anxiety. Reading the reviews below, it may help you when thinking of booking, going for a tour and support me.
Jerzy Founder 55plusTravel
"Alberta Trails for Mutual Respect" Tours and Workshops aims to support the protection of the Canadian Rockies and their Eastern Slopes Cultural Heritage and fund community initiatives to protect such.
We invite friends from other world mountain communities and ask them to share their traditions, music, food, and stories.