Banff National Park

Must see places in Banff National Park:

The places below are in the recommended order to see, considering the distances, location, parking situations and assuming that you are staying either in Calgary or Canmore. All the lakes are beautiful and very different in their setting/beauty and depending on the season they have different colors

Itineraries : suggested 2-day and 3-day Banff visiting itineraries are at the end of this page

Accommodations: You can either stay in Banff or Canmore.  All these places can be day trips from Calgary as well. People usually go with Canmore. There are a lot of vacation rentals and B&Bs in Canmore.

Park Pass needs to be purchased for Banff and it can be bought for the number if days you are visiting. Pass can be purchased at the toll gate before entering the national park just after Canmore on Highway 1.  

Lake Louise Area:

• Lake Louise

A very beautiful lake with milky blue waters, backdrop of 7 glaciers and surrounded by mountains.

Parking: The parking for this lake fills up early so the recommendation is to reach here by 6:30am (or earlier if possible). There are shuttle buses during the day in case you don’t get a parking but that must be booked in advance. Last minute seats in the buses opens at 8am MST 2 days in advance. Use the booking portal to book your shuttle https://reservation.pc.gc.ca/  Select the Day Use -> Shuttle to lake Louise and Moraine Lake. For Moraine Lake you need to get the shuttle as they don’t allow cars to the lake anymore, but for lake Louise you can get parking if you reach early in the morning, so my recommendation is to try starting your day early. There are other private buses that takes you to the lake, which will be costlier than the parks Canada buses.  

Exploring lake Louise:

Walk to the end of the lake, it’s a nice walk and you will see so many beautiful spots to enjoy. If you have the time and are hikers, there are a lot of beautiful hikes to explore like plain of 6 glaciers, little beehive, big beehive, St. Piran etc. and there are couple of tea houses when you hike up.

• Natural bridge (In BC)

Approx 30 mins drive from lake Louise village on highway 1 (TransCanada highway).  After Field, BC take exit to Emerald Lake. Natural bridge has a small parking lot on left side that comes on that road to Emerald Lake. It is not marked but that’s the only parking lot that comes soon after the exit.

• Emerald Lake (In BC)

Once you take the exit from Highway 1, after Field, BC, that road takes you straight to Emerald Lake.  Lake has a nice long walk around it. It has stunning green color. There is a nice café by the lake

• Peyto Lake (Icefield Parkway)

This lake is on highway 93, an exit from highway 1 just after Lake Louise village (coming from Calgary/Canmore). The exit is marked as Jasper, Icefield parkway. Approximately 35 mins drive from lake Louise village (go past the bow lake), you will see sign board to take left turn for Peyto lake. I usually recommend visiting the furthest point first hence Peyto listed before Bow Lake.

The color of this lake varies in different seasons. Usually, it’s a stunning copper blue. There is a small steep hike to reach the lake viewpoint. If you are a hiker, there is a great viewpoint further up and the hike is called Bow Summit. The path to the viewing deck is pretty steep.

No cell connection: There is no cell connection on icefield parkway so have the location saved in your map if you need to, but these lakes are well marked. If you are going in more than one car, make sure you have a plan to meet otherwise you won’t be able to contact each other after you enter this road.

• Bow Lake (Icefield Parkway)

If you are returning from Peyto lake to Lake Louise village, bow lake is the big lake that comes on the right side. There is a parking lot if you take the exit and go near the “red” Lodge. It’s a nice walk to the end of lake. The bow glacier can be seen from the lake. There are amazing hikes here like the Bow glacier falls.

• Crowfoot Glacier (Icefield Parkway)

On the way back to Lake Louise village from Bow Lake, crowfoot glacier (A glacier in the shape of 3 toes of a crow) comes on the right at a roadside viewpoint

• Moraine Lake

Another amazing lake, surrounded by 10 peaks is a stunning view. This lake was on the older $20 Canadian bills. Cars are not allowed to enter the 11km road that leads to the lake. You will need to take a shuttle. You will need to consider the time needed to see this lake including the shuttle time. Shuttle buses are boarded from the lake Louise ski area parking lot and is a half an hour drive to the lake. This is an avalanche prone area, and the lake is closed from Mid-October to mid-May.

There are amazing hikes here as well like the valley of 10 peaks, Sentinel pass, Eiffel Lake etc. If you are an extreme hiker, then go for Mount Temple hike.  There is a hike to the rock pile that faces the lake and peak. This one is usually done by visitors.

You can rent Kayaks/Canoes at the lake.

Banff Area:

• Johnston Canyon

It’s a beautiful canyon with well-built walking path to reach the waterfalls. There is a lower falls and upper falls. Lower falls to Upper falls hike is a bit more challenging than the first section. You can proceed further to ink pots which is a bit far and tougher hike.

Lower falls: 1.2km one way

Upper Falls:  2.5 km one way

Ink pots: 5.6 km one way

There is a viewpoint through the tunnel and usually a long queue and wait to get to that viewpoint. You can skip that in my opinion as the view from the bridge is the prettiest.

• Lake Minnewanka

Another beautiful lake, with a unique mountain in the background. In the summer months there is a good café with great ice-cream. There are several fire pits and picnic spots as well. You can walk along the river and reach to the different viewpoints.

• Cave and Basin

This is a national historic site with a Sulphur cave. The Sulphur smell in the cave is pretty strong. There are some exhibits and information on life in olden days as well.

• Sulphur Mountain Gondola

  A beautiful Gondola ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain. There is a path built using steps to go to the nearby mountain from the top of Sulphur Mountain

• Bow Falls

Right in the town you can see a beautiful little falls.

• Banff Town walk and Cascade gardens   

Banff town is a cute little town, and the main avenue is usually closed for vehicles. Take a nice walk and find a restaurant that you like to enjoy an evening. The town has a backdrop of a huge mountain which is a great sight. Just across the bridge in the town you can find cascade gardens, a nice little garden filled with all kinds of flowers.

• Banff hot spring

Spend an evening dipping in the hot springs. It is located right next to the gondola station. I haven’t visited it, so no pics from my end

• Banff Signboard

Don’t forget to take a snap at the Banff signboard 😊

This is right there when you take the Mt. Norquay Rd exit from Highway 1 to Banff Town.

Itineraries

If you have 2 days, suggested Itinerary is as below (this is pretty tight schedule):

Day 1:

• Lake louse
• Natural Bridge
• Emerald lake
• Peyto lake
• Bow lake
• Banff gondola
• Bow falls

Day 2:

• Moraine lake (consider time for the shuttle bus)
• Lake Minnewanka
• Johnston canyon
• Banff town and cascade garden

If you have 3 days in Banff, suggested Itinerary is as below (a bit more relaxed schedule):

Day 1:

• Lake louse
• Natural Bridge
• Emerald lake
• Peyto lake
• Bow lake

Day 2:

• Moraine lake (consider time for the shuttle bus)
• Cave and Basin
• Banff town and cascade garden
• Bow falls

Day 3:

• Johnston canyon
• Lake Minnewanka
• Banff gondola
• Banff hot springs

If you have more days a few suggestions in Canmore can be found at Canmore