Our whole reason for this holiday to Alaska and Canada was to visit my daughter, Kylie, in Banff. Banff is a beautiful tourist town in the Banff National Park which is in the Rocky Mountains of western Canada. How fantastic that she decided to live for a few years in one of the most beautiful areas of the world so that we would have to visit and have one of our best holidays ever!
The scenery around Banff is absolutely spectacular, all year round, everywhere you look. From Bow River and Bow Falls, Vermillion Lakes, Rundle Mountain, Tunnel Mountain, Sulphur Mountain. And that’s just in the immediate vicinity of Banff, which in itself is a very picturesque town. If stunning and spectacular scenery is your thing then Banff needs to go on your bucket list!
It was the end of August when we arrived and we got some beautiful weather to start with but then it did deteriorate a bit during our week. Perhaps a couple of weeks earlier would have been an even better time. We did miss seeing bears as they had probably started moving up to higher ground by the time we got there. However, we did see some elk, and a moose with two calves which is not that common apparently. Lots of cute squirrels and chipmunks abound too!
John got to celebrate his birthday on our first full day here and we would definitely recommend the restaurant Saltlik for such an occasion. Beautiful food and wine, sitting out on the balcony on a balmy evening was a great way to top off his birthday.
My favourite locations
Some memorable day/half-day trips that we would definitely recommend, in no particular order:
- Take the Gondola (open all year round) to the top of Sulphur Mountain. Daughter Kylie pictured below at the top of Sulphur Mountain. Stunning views of the surrounding huge mountains, glistening lakes and rivers, and the town itself. Some hiking trails too.
- Sunshine Village meadows – most of the year it’s covered in snow and skiers. But in summer it’s covered in wildflowers, pretty meadows and high alpine lakes with very scenic walks. Kylie particularly enjoyed this day as she had only seen it previously whilst covered in snow.
- Johnson’s Canyon is a popular spot for day hiking. Metal catwalks line the canyon walls to allow you to access areas that would be otherwise unavailable to most of us. A couple of cascading waterfalls and pools can be admired on the trail. The lower falls has a spot just inside a little tunnel in the bedrock with a viewing platform right up close to the falls. You may get wet!
- Boat ride on Minnewanka Lake. It was a very grey and cloudy day when we did this but the low clouds did make it quite picturesque. But apparently it is really something special on a fine day with turquoise coloured water, surrounded by high peaks, pine forests and wildlife.
- Three of the most beautiful lakes in the world – I’m not kidding! They include Peyto Lake, Moraine Lake and Lake Louise. These three lakes would have the three most beautiful lakes I’ve ever seen. If I was pushed to pick one, I might have to vote for Moraine Lake as my favourite. They are really awe-inspiring, unbelievably beautiful! Couple of tips: Get to Moraine Lake early! We got there at 9am which was just right. Too many people after that. Also if doing a tour to Lake Louise, perhaps take lunch or a snack with you. We wasted half an hour queuing at the café.
- Takkakaw Falls: Before we had visited Victoria Falls in Africa, these falls would have been the tallest we had seen. This day trip also included the spiral tunnels and actually seeing our bus driver manage the switchback corners to the falls was something else!
- Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel: For a change of pace, visit this historical, luxurious and massive hotel. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been operating as a hotel from 1988.
- Icefields Parkway: This day was a highlight of the week! The Icefields Parkway is a very scenic mountain road. Take your pick of lakes, glaciers, waterfalls and scenery. My favourite part of our day tour was the visit to the glacier. Special vehicles take you out on to the Athabasca Glacier. You get only about 10 minutes to walk around on the glacier which was actually quite a thrill. And for goodness sake, wear appropriate footwear! We saw a few women wearing sandals etc. and they seemed quite surprised that being high up on a glacier was cold! Yes, really!
The list of things to see and do in the Banff area is endless. Those listed above are just some of the sights and activities available. And we were lucky that my daughter drove us around to some of the sights and we also got some discounts on the tours. Doing all the above can get a bit pricey.
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