Fraser Discovery Route

Watch the Rocky Mountaineer Fraser Discovery Route video Our newest route combines adventure, discovery, and legendary Rocky Mountaineer service to offer you the perfect Canadian vacation. This route features: Pristine beauty and seldom-seen landscapes. Enjoy some of the world’s most alluring scenery as you travel through unspoiled regions in B.C. and Alberta, places almost inaccessible by any other means. Experience a dramatic 3,000 ft. climb out of a river canyon. Travel along a narrow shelf of train track with the most spectacular lake on one side and sheer cliffs on the other. Witness the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, considered to be one of the greatest mountains in the world. Wonderful opportunities for wildlife viewing. This region is home to a wide variety of wildlife including Black Bear, Mountain Caribou, Bighorn Sheep, Golden Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks. This is the perfect chance to capture those extra-special Kodak moments. Specialty Lounge Car. Guests travelling in Rocky Mountaineer RedLeaf Service® have the pleasure to move about and visit our stylishly furnished and relaxing specialty Lounge Car. Enjoy a host of refreshing amenities while nature’s best show unfolds all around you. Unique Destinations: The two-day, all daylight, rail vacation links Whistler, B.C. with an overnight stay in the historical gold rush town of Quesnel.  On the second day of your journey, you will continue on to Jasper, Alberta, in the heart of the Canadian Rockies.

Scenic Highlights:

Anderson and Seton Lakes – Anderson and Seton Lakes were once one large body of water. An ancient landslide, resulting from a tectonic shift along the fault line of Christmas Mountain, made the large lake into two.  The piece of land separating the two lakes became an important trading route to the Upper Fraser. Rounding Seton Lake, the train hugs a narrow shelf between the lake on one side and sheer cliffs on the other. The distinctiveness of these two lakes is reflected as the diverted glacial melt-water changes the colour of Seton Lake from clear blue, like Anderson Lake, to a silty turquoise green.

Cariboo Plateau –A powerful sheet of ice a mile thick created this intensely glaciated plateau. Grinding mountain peaks into valleys, the ancient glacier left behind a dry and pastoral landscape. Rolling hills, endless forests and vast cattle ranches are characteristic of the area.

Fraser River –The mighty Fraser River is the longest river in British Columbia and the 5th longest in all of Canada. The rushing waters carve through rock layers and carry sediment from the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains all the way to the Georgia Strait and the Pacific Ocean. Heavy with sediment, the waters are a muddy brown to milky green. Named after Simon Fraser, who originally mistook the river to be the Columbia River, the Fraser produces more salmon than any other river system in the world. It is estimated that 10 million salmon travel up the Fraser River to spawn each year and First Nations people continue to use traditional fishing methods along its shores.

Fraser Canyon –South of Quesnel the Fraser has eroded a deep canyon that extends all the way to Hope, with steep sides soaring up to 600 metres (1980 feet) above the water.

Rocky Mountain Trench –Leaving Prince George the rails turn southeast into the remarkable Rocky Mountain Trench.  The longest valley in North America, the trench sits wide and deep between the Rocky Mountains to the east and the Cariboo and Columbia ranges on the west. It extends from just south of the Yukon border all the way to the Canada-US border and beyond.

Tête Jaune Cache – A sandy haired Iroquois man, nicknamed “Tête Jaune” or Yellow Head, gives this spot its name.  The man not only worked as an interpreter for European traders, but he also trapped fur in this region.  He stored his bounty in a cache nearby during the winter until he could cross the Rockies to the nearest Hudson’s Bay Company out post in the spring. The path he took is now called the Yellowhead pass. Once home to 5000 people, Tête Jaune Cache was a teeming scene during the construction of the railway.

Mount Robson – Soaring a majestic 3,956.5 metres (12,972 feet), this heavily glaciated peak is the highest of the Canadian Rockies. Dropping into Berg Lake to the North and Kinney Lake to the South, this mountain is a towering giant compared to the snow tipped peaks that surround it.  Originally, this great mountain was named Yuh-hai-has-kun, meaning “The Mountain of the Spiral Road” by the aboriginal people in the area. 

Jasper National Park – Declared a protected area in 1907, Jasper Park is the largest of the Canadian Rockies National Parks. Parks Canada oversees the management of the national parks with the goal to preserve them foremost as a place of nature but also as a place for people to visit, experience and learn.  Significant numbers of elk, moose, bighorn sheep and other large animals make Jasper National Park their home. Other highlights include Miette Hot Springs, Maligne Canyon, Maligne Lake and the northern portion of the stunning Icefields Parkway.

Featured Vacations
	Northern Explorer	8 nights/9 days
	A variation of our most popular tour, including the Fraser Discovery Route and Whistler Mountaineer, and all the most memorable attractions of the Canadian Rockies.
	Grand Rail Circle	10 nights/11 days
	The complete rail experience, featuring three different rail routes, together with the highlights of the Canadian Rockies and two nights in the resort town of Whistler.
	Northern Rail Journey	11 nights/12 days
	From Vancouver to Toronto by rail, this is the ultimate way to see the beauty and diverse landscape of Canada. The Northern Rail Journey vacation is a variation on our popular Trans-Canada Rail Adventure featuring travel on the Rocky Mountaineer Fraser Discovery Route and the Whistler Mountaineer, along with two nights onboard VIA Rail..