Packing List for a Guided Rockies Hiking and Camping Tour

Prices and details checked: 26 October 2026 · Contains affiliate links

Packing for the Rockies is mostly about one thing: temperature swings. A July afternoon on a valley trail can be 25°C, and the same night at a campground can drop close to freezing, even more so in June or September. The good news on a guided tour is that you never carry your luggage. A van with a trailer moves it from camp to camp, so a normal suitcase or duffel bag is fine, and you only carry a daypack on the trail.

The list below combines the packing advice Fresh Adventures gives on its tour pages with practical additions. Items marked "camping" are only needed on the tent-based tours.

Clothing: think in layers

The operator asks camping guests to bring two complete warm layering systems that are not cotton, top and bottom, and guests on the hotel tour three. In practice that means:

• 2–3 base layers (merino or synthetic), long-sleeved
• 1–2 warm mid layers, such as a fleece jacket or a light synthetic or down jacket
• Hiking trousers, plus shorts if you like them
• A pair of warm leggings or thermal bottoms, good for sleeping in on cold nights
• Rain jacket, wind and waterproof. The operator also calls rain trousers helpful; we would pack them.
• Warm hat and light gloves. Even in summer you will want both at camp in the evening and on high passes.
• Sun hat or cap
• Hiking socks (wool or synthetic), one pair per day or enough to rotate
• Underwear, sleepwear
• A casual outfit for restaurants, especially on the inn-based Banff tour, where the group eats out every evening

Leave cotton jeans and sweatshirts at home or keep them for the plane. Cotton stays wet and cold once it gets damp.

Footwear

• Hiking boots or sturdy hiking shoes, broken in before the trip. The operator's advice is simply anything comfortable, stable and blister-free that you do not mind getting wet and dirty. Several hikes cross streams, mud or old snow.
• Camp shoes or sandals for the evenings and the showers
• Trekking poles if your knees complain on long descents. With up to 1,000 m of descent on some days, many people are glad of them.

For the trail

• Daypack, around 20–30 litres, with a rain cover or a bin liner inside
• Water: at least one 1-litre bottle, two is better, as the operator recommends
• Sunglasses, sunscreen and lip balm with sun protection. The sun is strong at altitude, and snowfields reflect it.
• Insect repellent, especially for June and July
• A small blister kit and any personal first aid items
• Camera or phone, and a power bank

Meals and snacks are included on the camping tours. On the hotel tour, six lunches are included, but breakfast and dinner are on you.

For camping nights

• Sleeping bag rated to about 0°C, unless you rent one. The 7-day camping tour rents bags for C$80, the 12-day tour for C$100. Tents and 3.5-inch inflatable sleeping pads are provided.
• A travel pillow, or a stuff sack you can fill with a fleece
• Headlamp. The operator mentions it for the night-time walk to the toilet, and it is equally useful in the tent.
• Earplugs, if you are a light sleeper; campgrounds are not always quiet
• A quick-dry towel and a toiletry bag you can carry to the shower block
• Some coins: on the 12-day tour the operator says some showers are coin-operated, about C$4 a day

If you tend to feel the cold, add an extra warm layer to sleep in. In September it is not optional.

Swimming and hot springs

• Swimsuit and towel. Every tour includes at least one visit to the hot springs in Banff, and some hikes end at a lake where brave people swim.

Bear spray: what to know

Parks Canada recommends that hikers carry bear spray in the Rockies. You cannot bring it from home: bear spray is not allowed in either checked or carry-on luggage on flights. If you want your own can, you can buy it in Calgary or in Canmore, where the van stops on day 1 of the 7-day and hotel tours. The tour pages do not say whether the guides carry bear spray, so ask the operator before you go. Hiking in a group of a dozen people is in itself one of the best ways to avoid surprising a bear.

Documents, money and electronics

• Passport. Visitors from visa-exempt countries such as Germany or the UK need an electronic travel authorisation (eTA) to fly to Canada; US citizens do not.
• Travel insurance, ideally including trip interruption. The operator's fine print points to insurance for situations such as missing the tour start or being moved out of a campground by a wildfire.
• A credit card, and some Canadian cash. The mountain teahouses on the Lake Louise hikes have long been cash only. Gratuities for the guides (the operator calls C$10–20 per guest, per guide, per day typical) are also easiest in cash.
• Any medication you need, kept in your daypack, not your suitcase. The operator stresses this for things like EpiPens, asthma inhalers, heart medication or insulin.
• Plug adapter: Canada uses North American plugs (types A and B) at 120 volts. Charging opportunities on camping tours are limited, so a power bank helps.

The operator also suggests packing as much as possible in your carry-on so a delayed suitcase does not ruin the start. With a 2 pm pickup on the day you land, that is good advice, and another reason to arrive in Calgary the day before.

What to leave at home

• Cotton clothing for hiking
• More than one pair of heavy boots
• A drone: flying drones in Canada's national parks is not allowed without a permit
• Expensive jewellery and anything you would hate to lose at a campground

A short checklist

1. Layers: base, mid, rain jacket, rain trousers, hat, gloves
2. Broken-in boots plus camp shoes
3. Daypack, two water bottles, sun protection, repellent
4. Sleeping bag to 0°C or rental booked (camping)
5. Headlamp, travel pillow, earplugs (camping)
6. Swimsuit and towel
7. Passport, eTA if needed, insurance, card and cash
8. Medication in the daypack

For when to go and how cold it really gets in each month, see the best time for a Rockies tour. If you have not picked a tour yet, start with how to choose a guided Rockies tour.