Thanks to another cheap flight deal from Going, I planned a quick 3-day weekend trip to Banff in June for a double birthday trip with a friend. While I was a little nervous about crowds and high prices knowing that it would be high season, I am so glad that we went. The temperature was perfect, it wasn’t as crowded as I’d imagined, the Canadian to US exchange rate was in our favor, and the backdrop looked like a painting – it is absolutely incredible!
Interested in a quick trip to Banff? Read on for my travel itinerary to help you plan.
Packing: Weather in Alberta, Canada can be unpredictable so it’s best to be prepared for all types of situations. For this trip, I packed a rain jacket, hiking shoes, leggings (the exercise kind, not 100% cotton), a fleece or light jacket, short and long sleeve tops, hiking pack/backpack, reusable water bottle, sunnies, and lots of sunscreen. Depending on the time of day, you’ll likely find a need for all of these items.
Getting There: Calgary (YYC) is the closest international airport to the national park and was relatively easy to fly into. After arriving, we picked up the rental car and drove 90 minutes west. It’s an easy drive that’s a straight shot once you’re outside of the city with views that get better by the minute.
Stay: The town of Banff gets especially crowded and pricey during the summer high season so we opted to stay just 20 minutes outside in a neighboring town called Canmore. Canmore is often hailed as a great place for families to stay though I’d argue it’s ideal for anyone who doesn’t want to spend a fortune on their sleeping arrangements. How much time are you even spending in there, anyway?
We stayed at Canmore Rocky Mountain Inn and I was pleasantly surprised by the amenities, size of the room, and close proximity to the downtown area in Canmore. The hotel offers breakfast to-go bags for $5 and includes a yogurt and granola parfait, fruit, juice, and pastries from a local bakery. You’ll need to request it in advance but the desk is open 24 hours so that’s easy to do. This hotel also offers a wine and cheese happy hour daily form 5-6pm and free bike rentals. I would absolutely stay here again.
Day 1: One reason I loved staying in Canmore was the amount of trails, restaurants, and natural beauty surrounding the town. While I definitely think you need to get into Banff National Park, it’s also worth spending time in Canmore as there’s plenty to do and see there as well. After arriving in Canmore, we opted for grabbing lunch at The Local before heading out to explore. With the weather as gorgeous as it was, I knew I wanted to eat somewhere with outside seating options, which is exactly what The Local offered. With several lunch offerings on the menu, I enjoyed a burger and salad with a glass of rose. Cannot complain!
After lunch, we popped into a convenience store to purchase bear spray (yes, you actually need it if you’re hitting the trails) and then headed off on a trail that circled the Rundle Forebay Reservoir. Walking around the reservoir was beautiful, though the trail itself was not quite what I was expecting as it was directly in the sun nearly the entire time and was not marked at all.
As we trekked along, we noticed several “No Trespassing” signs near residential neighborhoods and power plants but the signs were also directly on the path with no other options to head in another direction. Another confusing thing was the several other trails that seemed to merge into or run directly next to it (see: Powerline Trail) and since it wasn’t well marked, it was easy to get a little lost. We eventually made it back to town but it was frustrating to navigate and definitely increased our number of steps that day.
For dinner, we headed to Grizzly Paw – Tank 310, which was excellent. The restaurant is upstairs from the brewery itself and has the most incredible mountain views. We didn’t have a reservation but thankfully were still able to grab a seat. The food was somewhat of an Asian-Italian fusion and the cocktails were made from their in-house beverages. We loved it and highly recommend. Don’t risk missing the chance to eat here…make a reservation!
Another intriguing thing about visiting Banff in the summer is the late sunsets. We ate dinner later and enjoyed golden hour and sunset views at 9:45pm. This does mean that the sun is up earlier too but that just means you’ve got a very long day to squeeze in lots of activities.
Day 2: Time to get to it! Day 2 was focused on time in the national park, both in the town of Banff itself as well as exploring around Lake Louise and Lake Moraine. Being that it’s high season, the roads leading to the two famous lakes are closed to through traffic and therefore requires visitors to book the park shuttle (or a tour like this one!) to visit. You’ll want to book this in advance as the shuttles book up. I was in the check in line when I overheard a family discussing with the ticket agent alternative options nearby after learning that the shuttle tickets were sold out. Do not expect to walk up and purchase shuttle passes day of – there will not be any available in the high season.
Before our afternoon shuttle reservation, we spent time wandering around the town of Banff, which was more crowded than Canmore but still not anything ridiculous. We popped into a few shops for browsing and souvenirs, grabbed a sandwich at a local coffee shop for lunch on the go and headed to our shuttle meeting point. This is another thing that requires advanced planning as the national park is massive and it is about a 45 minute drive from the town of Banff to the lake shuttle meeting point. The drive through the park is amazing – it looks like a painting! We also spotted 3 bears walking along the tree line next to the highway, which was about a close as I needed to be.
After arriving at the meeting location (aka a giant gravel parking lot), we boarded our shuttle for an additional 30 minute ride to Lake Moraine. You can select either lake to start your journey, though I’d recommend doing Lake Moraine first because it was much less crowded both at the site and on the shuttle since most people start with Lake Louise first. The two lakes are glacier-fed which gives them an incredible blue color. There are several trails that surround the lakes as well as a tea house to hike to at each location so there’s lots to do. We were seriously sore from our 27,000+ steps the day before so we mostly stayed around the lake.
Lake Moraine has a short trail that leads you up to a higher vantage point and is the way to go. The views are unforgettable! You’ll likely have to exercise patience to snap a photo without other people in your background but it’s worth the wait. We were there for about an hour before boarding the shuttle again to take us to Lake Louise, which was another 30 minute drive.
Lake Louise was waaayyy more crowded. We’d found all the people! Lake Louise is where you’ll find the famous Fairmont Chateau as well as the opportunity to rent canoes to take out on the lake. I will say though that the rentals are very expensive and also require advanced reservations. We skipped this and instead enjoyed watching people figure out navigating the lake in their canoes.
The lake shore is lined with large rocks that are perfect for posing and is exactly what you’ll find people doing as you wander along. Again, being sore, we didn’t stay too long but we did enjoy more people watching and took advantage of some photo opportunities as well. From here, it was back on the shuttle and back to the parking lot.
For dinner we selected Park Distillery as we were interested in doing a tasting of their gins and ordered some delicious Canadian seafood dishes. Seriously, I was really impressed with all of the food we had over the entire weekend. Everything was great! After dinner we popped in to a few local artist shops and then headed back to Canmore. The streets, shops and restaurants were much busier in the evening than it had been earlier in the day but overall, still not bad.
Pro Tips:
- Buy your park pass in advance. When entering the national park, you’ll need to show your national park pass and, though it can be purchased on site, there’s often a line to buy it. For those who’ve purchased the pass in advance, you’ll shoot straight through and will just need to display the pass in your car windshield while at the park.
- Reserve the Lake Louise and Lake Moraine shuttle in advance. This one books up during peak season so make a plan to purchase your passes before you go. The national park sells approximately 60% of the passes in advance and the remaining 48 hours prior to so if it’s “sold out” when you’re looking to buy, check again a few days before you’re planning to visit.
- Buy bear spray after arriving. Though you’ll pay more of a premium, airlines typically do not allow you to travel with bear spray in your carry on or checked luggage. While it may make sense to purchase the spray in advance from Amazon and tuck it in your bag, check with your airline and plan to purchase it after arriving. Bear spray seems to be more necessary in the summer. We saw several large digital signs warning about bear activity and reminding hikers and bikers to take the spray with you. You likely won’t need it but I think it’s more than worth having the additional protection with you should you need it.
- Go early. This applies to several contexts but first and foremost, if you’re going to travel during the peak season, go at the start of the season to experience less crowds. I didn’t think mid-June was terrible but can only imagine how much busier Banff gets come July…
Visiting Banff National Park has been on my bucket list for a while now and, though it was a short trip, I am so grateful for the opportunity to travel to this stunning destination. It truly is a gem!
ALI IN OZ 