A Helicopter Tour of the Canadian Rockies

I've decided to upgrade this corner of my website from an adventure log into more of an all-encompassing travel blog. I plan on writing more detailed reviews of gear, lodging, and adventure tours in addition to the hiking and backpacking logs this page already houses. I hope by doing this I can inform more readers of pros and cons of certain activities and help them with their own travel plans and itineraries! To start I am going to go back in time almost an entire year and reviewing a helicopter tour I took in Alberta with Rockies Heli. 

Rockies Heli has two helicopter bases, one is located in Canmore and the other is located about two hours north of Canmore just off the Icefields Parkway. I opted to go on a tour from their Icefields base. The drive to the base is an adventure on its own. It was one of the most scenic drives I have ever been on. It was two hours of mountains and glacially-fed turquoise lakes. I had to resist the urge to pull over every kilometer on the way to the base to prevent missing my flight. I did budget some time for stops on the way back, though! 

Once I checked in at the base I was given a safety briefing and before I knew it I was in the front seat of the helicopter with my headset on and we were off! It was my first time in a helicopter and I was admittedly nervous, but once we were in the air I was too distracted by the surrounding scenery to have any sense of fear. It was jagged mountain peaks and green valleys as far as the eye could see in every direction. I was in awe. My pilot, Andrew, was incredibly informative as well and I learned many interesting facts on my flight. 

While the heli ride was breathtaking and I was able to see the Canadian Rockies in a way you can only see from the air I felt the price was a little steep for how long the tour is. However, right after I took the tour I thought it was well worth it because I had never taken a helicopter tour before and I didn't have anything to compare the price to. This past fall I took a helicopter ride in Kauai that was less than twice as much but over three times as long. My 20 minute tour flew by in what felt like seconds and while I would have loved to have taken the 60 minute tour that one was well out of my price range. 

Price for 20 minute ride: $195CAD

Front seat upgrade: $25CAD