The Bow Valley Parkway, about 3.2 kilometres east of Sunshine Road on Trans-Canada 1, angles northwest about 64 kilometres to Lake Louise. This road parallels the Trans-Canada; its lower speed limit allows you to enjoy the scenery and wildlife. The route goes through forest, flirts with the Bow River, passes meadows, offers numerous viewpoints and interpretive signs, and provides access to several hiking trails and campgrounds.

You are likely to spot wildlife, particularly elk. Along the road or in the aspen groves. You may see cows and their gangly calves, a bachelor herd of young males, or an old bull elk brandish an improbably huge rack. Sometimes you will see black bears rooting around in the meadows.

One of the most popular hikes in the Canadian Rockies branches north off the Bow Valley Parkway about 19 kilometres from its southern junction with the Trans-Canada. An unusual trail leads you along Johnston Canyon, a limestone gash that at times is 100 feet deep and maybe a tenth of that across.