Is Banff on your bucket-list? If not, it will be soon!
What is Banff?
- Banff is a little town located in Banff National Park, Canada's first National Park - founded in 1885.
Where is Banff?
- In the Canadian province of Alberta
- Surrounded by the Canadian Rocky Mountains
For most trips, I research what the best time to visit that certain destination is, usually their ‘summer time’ or ‘dry season.’ Few places, including Banff National Park, are good anytime & every time of the year! So of course, I wanted to visit Banff during the summer & the winter to see what all the hype was about. And boy, I can’t recommend it highly enough - in all seasons. There’s no bad time to go!
Banff National Park in the Summer: June - August
- Warmest weather
- Great Hiking
- Lots of tourists; high prices
What to do in Banff in the Summer:
- Explore Banff village - many shops and restaurants surrounded by the gorgeous Canadian Rocky Mountains
- Rent a car and drive the Ice Fields Parkway - it goes up to Jasper National Park - there are many opportunities to stop along the way and admire this beautiful area! - Peyto Lake & Viewpoint, Bow Lake, Saskatchewan River Crossing, Columbia Ice Fields (glacier) - only go during the day when you have sunlight, & make sure you have a full tank of gas before you go!
- Lake Louise
- Moraine Lake (for sunrise) - the famous lake that you probably have seen through pictures. Go kayaking here if you have time!
- Banff Upper Hot Springs - outdoor hot springs with mountain views
- Take the Banff Gondola up to Sulphur Mountain
- Hike Johnston Canyon - you can hike to the lower falls and the upper falls (a couple miles of easy hiking through gorgeous views in the canyon)
- Castle Mountain
- Vermillion Lakes
- Lake Minnewanka
- Surprise corner - go just after sunset or at night to see Banff Springs Hotel lit up
- Cave & Basin National Historic Site
- Cascade Gardens - free gardens with mountain views in the background
- Bow Falls
- Tunnel Mountain Trail - short, easy 1.5 hour hike roundtrip
- Find the Banff Sign!
- Tea House Hike
Banff National Park in the Fall: September - October:
- “Off-season”: less tourists = cheaper time to visit
- Access to hiking trails is usually still good
- Cooler temperatures than in the summer months - great for hiking
- See the changing leaves of the Larch & Aspen trees (late September to early October)
Banff National Park in the Winter: December - March
- Coldest weather
- Ski season at the famous slopes nearby
What to do in Banff in the Winter:
- Explore Banff village - many shops and restaurants surrounded by the gorgeous Canadian Rocky Mountains
- Banff Upper Hot Springs
- Lake Louise: ice skate at one of the world’s most gorgeous ice skating rinks (you can’t rent ice skates there - you have to rent them at Wilson Mt Sports about 5 minutes away).
- Ski at the Big3 ski resorts: Lake Louise, Sunshine Village, & Mt. Norquay
- Visit during their winter festival - lots of activity around Banff Village & Lake Louise
- Banff Gondola up to Sulphur Mountain
- 2 Jack Lake: see Mt Rundle from here
- Morant’s Curve: cross the street from the parking lot to catch one of the most popular photographed places in Banff National Park in the winter (the train goes through this area - some photographers wait hours to capture this moment - I did not...)
- Hike Johnston Canyon - you can rent microspikes at one of the sports stores in town. I wore my winter boots - it was a little icy at some points but I was fine.
- Castle Mountain
- Vermillion Lakes - go for sunset
- Abraham Lake: to see the famous methane bubbles - go to Preacher’s Point, off highway 11. It's 2 hr 15 min from the Banff village. You drive along the Ice Fields Parkway. Go when there has been no fresh snowfall so you can see the methane bubbles better. Make sure you go in the morning so you won’t be caught there after the sun goes down. Make sure your gas tank is full before you go, as you only have a gas station in Lake Louise. I did not have cell phone service for the last 1.5 hours of the drive, so make sure you download offline maps & keep this in mind if you are driving by yourself.
- Surprise Corner - go just after sunset or at night and you will be able to see Banff Springs Hotel lit up
There are many other National Parks around this area of Canada as well, and if you have time, I highly recommend visiting them via roadtrip!
Jasper National Park - what to do:
- Pyramid Lake & Patricia Lake for sunset
- Jasper Town Village
- Maligne Canyon - 2 hour hike
- Medicine Lake
- Maligne Lake - gorgeous during sunset
- Jasper Skytram
- Valley of 5 Lakes Hike
- Drive the Columbia Icefields Parkway
- Red chairs at Wilcox
- Parker Ridge Trail Hike
- Athabaska Falls
- Goats & Glaciers Viewpoint
- Sunwapta Falls
- Tangle Falls
- Bow Lake - one of the most gorgeous turquoise lakes I've ever seen
Yoho National Park: visit Emerald Lake & Lodge
- Kootenay National Park
- Revelstoke National Park: great ski resort
- Glacier National Park of Canada
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