When I went to Banff with my parents years ago, it was our last stop on a 10-day tour. I don’t know if I was tired or just ready to get off the tour, but Banff was my least favorite spot. I remember finding it crowded.
For this trip, I decided to give Banff another shot. After all, it is the gateway to the Canadian Rockies and DH (Dear Hubby) had never been before. I’m so glad I did! The experience was totally different and most rewarding. Maybe it was because we visited earlier in the season (June instead of August) and we made Banff our first stop.
Heading to Banff
Because our flight landed in Calgary after 10 pm, we decided to spend the first night at a hotel in downtown Calgary. The next morning, we headed on the 90-minute drive to Banff on the Trans Canada Highway. The landscape soon changed from the flat prairie to incredible mountains jutting from the side of the highway.
We stopped in Canmore, a former mining town that has become a popular “overflow” spot for those visiting Banff. It reminded me of Estes Park, Colorado, exuding a western mountain-town vibe with lots of charm. We stopped at Blondie’s Cafe for breakfast and headed to Grassi Lakes for a 2-kilometer hike. Unfortunately, the parking lot was full, so we drove on to Banff, just 14 miles away.
In Banff, we parked for free at the train station. Although it was early June, the 500-slot parking lot was almost full around 11 am on a Saturday morning. This is a popular spot for parking since it’s just a few short blocks down Elk Street to Banff Ave, the main thoroughfare in the city. Believe me, you don’t want to try to park elsewhere in Banff – it’s hard to find and expensive.
Exploring Banff on our Own
To get familiar with the area, we walked along Banff Avenue. Shops, hotels, and restaurants flanked both sides of the street, which seemed to dead-end into Cascade Mountain. We decided to sit on a bench and eat our sandwiches before going any further.
Strolling along Banff Avenue, we soon crossed the bridge over the Bow River and turned onto the Bow River Trail. The river was high due to spring runoff from Bow Glacier. In fact, the trail had been closed just days earlier due to high streamflow advisories! About a half-mile on the trail, the Bow River Falls, with its 29-foot drop, appeared.
The Bow River Falls appear right at the base of the Banff Springs Hotel. I had stayed there with my parents when it was still operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway. Today, Fairmont owns the 757-room, Chateau-style hotel. New additions since my previous visit include a spa and conference center.
Open Top Tour
It was soon time to meet for our Open Top Tour of Banff. As we stepped onto the vintage vehicles, our guide told us a bit about Brewster Sightseeing, founded in 1892 by two brothers, Jim and Bill. The Brewster brothers offered guided horseback tours for visitors in the area. Over time, the company switched to horse-drawn carriages, followed by touring vehicles designed with a canvas top that could be rolled back for better views.
In 2019, Pursuit, which now owns Brewster Sightseeing, reintroduced 1930s-style touring vehicles, albeit with modern conveniences such as mobile charging ports, air conditioning, and power steering. I was glad to see blankets to bundle under since our guide opened up the top.
He played 1920s tunes on the radio and gave us the history of the park. We also learned that people can’t live in Banff unless they physically work in Banff. The national park owns all the land under a leasehold system, and they instituted the “need to reside” rule to handle the housing shortage.
Scenic viewpoints included Johnson Lake, Two-Jack Lake, and Lake Minnewanka, the largest lake in Banff National Park. The turquoise lake stretches 13 miles with depths of over 440 feet. There are even the remnants of a buried town – Minnewanka Landing. The resort town, which began in the 1880s, fell victim to a dam built by Calgary Power Company in 1941.
We stepped off the tour bus at the Mount Norquay viewpoint. Our driver passed out champagne flutes filled with sparkling apple juice while we enjoyed the scenery. It was an elegant touch.
As soon as the tour returned to the Brewster Transportation Centre, we walked to Banff Ave. From here, we caught the Roam Transit Bus #1 all the way to the gondola. The public bus system was easy to navigate, and our bus ticket was included in the cost of the gondola ride.
Banff Gondola to Sulphur Mountain
I’m not really one for gondola rides. I’d much rather climb to the top of the mountain. However, the hike to Sulfur Mountain’s peak is a 4-hour, 7-mile round-trip hike. We didn’t have the time, nor the energy for that after a full day of sightseeing.
Plus, I’d spoken to a good friend who had traveled to Banff the previous summer. She highly recommended taking the gondola and having cocktails or a meal at Sky Bistro. I didn’t want to sit inside an elegant dining room after hiking close to 4 miles uphill.
The gondola ride was easy since we had a reservation slot. The staff put us in a car with two ladies who had traveled from Jasper. They gave us good intel on hikes to do when we would drive the Icefields Parkway later in the week.
After a short 8-minute ride, the gondola deposited us in the lower level of the four-story visitor center. We headed to the expansive patio area with fire pits and astounding views. The town of Banff looked so small from that elevation, but we recognized the sites we’d seen earlier that day. Lake Minnewanka sat in the distance. The Bow River meandered and turned sharply near the Banff Hot Springs Hotel. Tunnel Mountain stood directly ahead. And in the townsite, Banff Avenue prominently intersected with the Bow River near the Park Administration Building.
Summit Boardwalk Hike
Our guide on the Open Top Tour mentioned taking the short boardwalk away from the visitor center. Also called the Summit Trail, the 1-km (0.62-mile) walk afforded us amazing views from all sides as we climbed multiple sets of wooden staircases to Sanson Peak.
The Sulphur Mountain Weather Station sits on top of Sanson Peak, the true summit of Sulphur Mountain. Built in 1902, the weather station operated for more than 30 years. Later, in the late 1950s, scientists built a cosmic ray station and laboratory that operated until 1978.
Turning around, we could see how far we’d come from the visitor center! On the way back, a plaque pointed out the Fairholme Range, including Mt. Aylmer, Mt. Giroud, and Mt. Peechee, as well as Mt. Rundle, and Cascade Mountain and many more in the distance.
At the visitor center, we rode the elevator to the rooftop observation deck. Resembling a cruise ship deck, it was the perfect setting for a small wedding occurring off to the side. We made our way to SkyBistro, which we had booked a month before, before taking the gondola back to the base.
In Conclusion
Pursuit, a US company that runs many of the activities in the Canadian National Parks, offers a discounted pass when you bundle five activities. Since it included things we already wanted to see (Lake Maligne Cruise, Gondola Ride, tour of the Columbia Icefield Glacier), we decided to save money by buying the Pursuit Pass. This pass included the Open Top Tour. For more information about these activities and tickets, click the Pursuit Banff Jasper Collection website here.
If you’re looking to spend a day getting familiar with Banff, a tour and a gondola ride are the way to go. Later in the week, we returned to Banff for a couple of days and hiked Johnston Canyon and toured Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. Check back soon for those posts.