Grotto Canyon ice walk prices near Canmore, tour by tour
Four guided ice walks in Grotto Canyon sell through GetYourGuide and Viator, from ~$70 for a full day to ~$106 for a half-day van trip. Our pick from Discover Banff Tours sits near the bottom at ~$78. Below, the four side by side, then the extras the headline figure leaves out.
Four Grotto Canyon tours on one table
Each row is one of the four guided walks we compare in the tour list, priced per person at the lowest listed rate. Rates shift by date and by booking site, so read them as a guide to the spread.
| Tour | From | Length | Start | Group | Included | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discover Banff Tours (our pick) | ~$78 | 4 h | About a dozen Banff hotels and Banff Train Station, Canmore on request | Up to 12 | Certified guide, ice cleats, hiking poles, hot chocolate with maple cookies | 5.0 from 20+ (GetYourGuide), 4.7 from 50+ (Viator) |
| Journey, Grassi Lakes + Grotto | ~$70 | 6–8 h | Pickup in Calgary or the two mountain towns | Not listed | Guided hike with two stops | 4.9 from 10+ (GetYourGuide), 5.0 from 6 (Viator) |
| 1000HOST | ~$106 | 3–4 h | Meeting points in Calgary and both mountain towns | Not listed | Park fee, bottled water, ice cleats, lunch | 5.0 from 5 (Viator) |
| Canmore Raft Tours | ~$93 | 4 h | Its base at 829 8 St, Canmore | Up to 10 | Guide, ice cleats, beer tasting, $25 food card | New, no reviews yet |
All four cancel free up to 24 hours before the start. GetYourGuide also lets you reserve now and pay later, which helps when a warm spell could change the canyon within a week.
Two half-day walks at ~$78 and ~$93
Discover Banff Tours and Canmore Raft Tours both run four-hour trips, but the money goes to different places. One spends it on the drive from Banff, the other on more time in the canyon and a brewery stop.
Our pick, Discover Banff's Grotto Canyon Icewalk from ~$78, collects you from about a dozen Banff hotels or Banff Train Station in a modern minibus. It scores 5.0 from 20+ reviews on GetYourGuide and 4.7 from 50+ on Viator.
The fare covers a certified guide with ice cleats and hiking poles, plus hot chocolate with maple cookies at the frozen falls. The walk itself is about 4.2 km (2.6 miles) return with roughly 100 m of climb.
The weak spot is the clock. About two of the four hours go on walking and the rest on the road, so part of what you pay buys the bus ride from Banff and back.
Banff pickup plus cleats and hot chocolate in one fare
Discover Banff's four-hour ice walk with a certified guide and a group of 12 or fewer. Compare both booking sites for your date.
Canmore Raft Tours' canyon and brewery trip from ~$93 costs more but starts in Canmore, 15 minutes from the trailhead. That short drive leaves about 2.5 hours guided inside Grotto Canyon once the safety briefing is done and cleats are on.
Afterwards the group heads to a Canmore brewery for a beer tasting and a $25 food card, so part of the fare is lunch and a drink. It is new on GetYourGuide with no reviews yet, and nobody collects you in Banff.
The longer days at ~$70 and ~$106
The Journey tour is the cheapest line on the table and also the longest, at 6–8 hours. It adds the Grassi Lakes above Canmore before the canyon, and it picks up in Calgary as well as the mountain towns.
On GetYourGuide it scores 4.9 from 10+ reviews, and on Viator 5.0 from 6. That is a thin base, so you know less about pace and guiding than on our pick. Our Grassi Lakes combo guide walks through the whole day.
1000HOST's ice walk from ~$106 is the dearest here for 3–4 hours. Its Viator listing covers lunch and the park fee along with bottled water and ice cleats, and it has meeting points in Calgary and in both mountain towns.
Reviewers describe a van day with scenic stops before the canyon and an uphill start to the walk. Only 5 reviews back it, all at 5.0. Booking confirmation can take up to 48 hours.
One tour, two prices
The Journey day sells under two names. GetYourGuide lists it from Vancouver Journey at ~$70, while Viator sells it as Banff Journey at a clearly higher price for the same pairing of lakes and canyon.
Discover Banff's walk shows a small gap between the two sites too, and the cheaper side can change by date. Before you pay, open both buttons for the same day and group size, then compare the totals with taxes.
What the headline price leaves out
Tips come first. Discover Banff and 1000HOST both list gratuities as not included, and tipping a guide who looked after you is usual in Canada.
- Guide tips on tours 1 and 3, listed as not included
- A Kananaskis Conservation Pass, but only if you drive yourself to the trailhead
- Snacks and a hot drink for the long days, unless the listing includes lunch
- Warm winter boots and snow pants, if you did not pack any
The pass covers private cars parked in Kananaskis Country, so a tour with transport spares you the cost. Check the current fee with Alberta Parks if you plan to walk the canyon without a guide.
Carry food and a thermos on the Journey day, since the listing does not promise a meal. Our clothing guide lists the layers that keep you warm on a shady creek bed.
Which price suits which trip
Staying in Banff without a car points to Discover Banff at ~$78. It has by far the most reviews of the four. Poles and hot chocolate are both written into its listing.
A Canmore base and a taste for local beer suit Canmore Raft Tours, while a free full day suits the Journey tour. Our pickup and directions guide matches each start point to where you sleep.
Whichever you book, bare blue ice is never a promise. Fresh snow can bury it and a warm spell can leave water on top, so read our month-by-month ice guide before you fix the dates.