Resort and Tour News: Nighttime Climbing in Canada, Birding in Costa Rica

Our morning travel news digest, with deals, tips and anything else that travelers may want to know.

HIKING AND RAPPELLING IN THE DARK IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES

In the Canadian Rockies, outfitters and organizations in the mountain town of Jasper are offering new means by which to appreciate the stars above, collectively deemed a Dark Sky Preserve by Canada’s Royal Astronomy Society. From Sept. 1 through Oct. 31, Rockaboo Mountain Adventures plans to offer dark-sky rappelling, a two-hour guided rock climbing and rappelling tour under the stars. Canadian Skyline Adventures has introduced periodic dark sky hikes, including the next on Sept. 12, in which guides lead a sunset hike to hilltop Old Fort Point for stargazing and fondue. The annual Jasper Dark Sky Festival, Oct. 16 to 25, will offer several opportunities to combine glacier walks while gazing at the constellations overhead, and Jasper National Park offers its own slate of activities including moonlight hikes and aboriginal storytelling under the stars, Sept. 5 to Oct. 21.

SPORTY JOURNEYS FROM PERU TO SWITZERLAND

Best known for its culture-focused trips, the tour operator Classic Journeys is pumping up the activity level of some of its departures with new multisport trips. Designed for families, the new five-to-eight-day itineraries include a tour of Peru that highlights rafting on the Urubamba River and mountain biking in the Sacred Valley of the Incas as well as two days at Machu Picchu (from $4,595 per person, double occupancy). In Switzerland, travelers can hike on a glacier, go mushing in the Alps, trek with a llama, raft a river and bike (from $4,295). Visits to Bryce, Zion and Grand Canyon National Parks include sandboarding, mountain biking and mule riding (from $3,295). Additional trips tackle Morocco, Costa Rica, the Canadian Rockies, Croatia and Italy’s Amalfi Coast energetically.

EXPANSION AND ADDITIONS FROM VAIL RESORTS

In ski country, big — in terms of snow and size of the terrain — is a brag. And this week, Vail Resorts announced it would spend more than $110 million in the 2015/2016 season to improve its 10 mountain resorts in the United States, including creating the country’s biggest resort at over 7,300 acres in Utah. Allocating $50 million for the project, the company plans to link Park City Mountain Resort with neighboring Canyons Resort by building an eight-passenger, high-speed gondola to whisk skiers from end to end. The resulting resort will be called Park City, and will include a new 500-seat restaurant to open near the gondola. The Utah expansion virtually overshadows news at sibling resorts in Colorado, where Vail will get a new six-person lift, and Beaver Creek and Breckenridge will both get more snow-making machines.

BIRDING IN COSTA RICA

If you don’t know your manakins from your macaws, consider signing up for a bird-watching week with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Costa Rica. A Cornell University researcher will lead bird walks and offer conservation talks during the weeklong Bird Watching Experience at the Cayuga Collection of boutique resorts. Held Nov. 29 to Dec. 5, the trip will visit two distinct bird habitats via Cayuga locales including the coffee plantation Finca Rosa Blanca and the jungle-based Lapa Rio Ecolodge. The latter, located on the Osa Peninsula, is particularly rich in animal life, including over 325 bird species recorded by the lodge. Rates start at $528.64 per person, per night, double occupancy, including tours, transfers and most meals.

CELEBRATING SCUBA IN THE CAYMAN ISLANDS

In its second iteration, the annual Cayman Islands’ Legends & Lions scuba festival will expand from one to four weeks, Sept. 5 to Oct. 3. During that time, several resorts will offer a series of weeklong packages that bundle seven nights of accommodations and six two-tank dives. The final week, participants will also receive tickets to the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame induction dinner. Packages range from $1,099 per diver, double occupancy, with dive trips by Red Sail Sports and overnights at the Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach, to $1,499 at Cobalt Coast resort with underwater adventures led by Divetech.