Travel Dates: August 2023
Things to do in Banff:
Lake Louise: The famous turquoise lake of Banff where you can hike and rent canoes ($155 CA per hour; $95 CA per hour for guests at the Fairmount Hotel). If you are looking for an indoor plumbing bathroom, there’s one in the Fairmount Hotel cafe, The Guide’s Pantry.
We did two hikes at Lake Louise, and I highly recommend both:
- Lake Agnes Trail – moderate hike that gets very muddy when it rains. It took us ~40 minutes from the start to our first stop at Mirror Lake, then another ~15 minutes to reach Lake Agnes. At Lake Agnes, there is a teahouse that offers sandwiches, soup, sweets and drinks. Selections are limited, but the tuna sandwich, tomato soup, and hot cider we had were exactly what we needed to refuel after an hour long hike. It’s recommended you bring Canadian dollars because because there’s a $2 surcharge for credit cards and you’ll get an unfavorable 1:1 conversion rate if paying in USD. Leave some room in your bag because you’ll be required to bring any trash or leftovers with you on the way back down, since there are no public trash cans . If you need a bathroom, there’s an outhouse available behind the restaurant.
- Big Bee Hive – From Lake Agnes, you can either head back down or if you’re up for the challenge, continue on to the more difficult Big Bee Hive hike to be rewarded with stunning views of Lake Louise. Following the shoreline path of Lake Agnes on the right, you’ll walk to the back side of the lake and then start hiking up a very steep mountain. It took us ~30 minutes to get to the top, and from there another ~10 minutes towards the edge for the best viewpoints. When heading back down, you can either take the same trail or a slightly longer, but less steep path. I recommend the latter because you get another view of Lake Louise from a difference angle. This path goes towards Plain of Six Glaciers, but at one point there will be a divider in the road where you can either continue towards the glaciers or head back to Lake Louise instead. If you have the time and energy, I would recommend continuing to Plain of Six Glaciers (top of the Big Bee Hive is the halfway point)–I heard the views are beautiful and at the end there’s another teahouse. If you head back towards Lake Louise instead, the overall route was ~45 minutes to Mirror Lake and from there ~35 minutes back down to Lake Louise (this part will be the same path you took when hiking up).
Moraine Lake: The other famous blue-green lake in Banff, though a bit smaller than Lake Louise. We did the shoreline hike which is an easy, flat path. I would say it takes about 40 – 60 minutes roundtrip but we spent a lot of time stopping for pictures and taking in the amazing views.
We also hiked the Rockpile Trail, but it was down pouring so the views were limited. But on a clear day, the view is a beautiful overlook of Moraine Lake. It’s an easy 25 minute roundtrip hike with steps.
There are also canoe rentals here at $140 CA for an hour. And there are no indoor plumbing bathrooms at this lake.
Lake Minnawanka: A nice stop outside of Banff town if you have the time. The lake color isn’t as beautiful as Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, but the mountain ranges in the backdrop are breathtaking.
Johnston Canyon: Canyon views with similar vibes to Maligne Canyon in Jasper. We only walked up to the lower falls which took us 35 minutes round trip, and the views were mediocre. But if you walk all the way to the upper falls, the views there are much better from what I’ve heard. The hike is on a paved path so it’s fairly easy to walk on.
Parking was hard for us to find in the main lot, but there is an overflow lot a little further away. Indoor plumbing bathroom is available at the start of the hike.
Overall I would recommend this if you’re doing the upper falls, and not the lower falls by itself.
Some other quick stops along our drive through Banff from best to worst:
- Bow Lake Viewpoint – Beautiful blue lake and mountain ranges backdrop; definitely worth the stop.
- Crowfoot Glacier Viewpoint – Right next to Bow Lake Viewpoint where you can get nice views of the glaciers in the distance.
- Backswamp Viewpoint – View of Bow River that has the same turquoise blue as Lake Louise.
- Herbert Lake – If you like forest lake views, it’s a nice place to stop at otherwise it can be skipped.
- Bow Falls Viewpoint – Waterfall view south of Banff, which can be a little out of the way. View is nothing to write home about.
- Weeping Wall – Set of cliffs with small waterfalls, making it look like the “wall is weeping.” There wasn’t that much water when we went so it wasn’t impressive.
Where to eat in Banff:
Grizzly House – A good restaurant for fondu and hot rock cooking experience. The food is okay but the fondu experience is definitely filling. It comes with soup or salad for starter, cheese or vegetable fondu for appetizer, selection of meats for hot rock cooking or fondu as entree, and chocolate fondu for dessert. You can call them to make a reservation or walk-in (we went around 3PM and there were tables open, but not sure what it would be like during peak dinning hours).
Juniper Bistro – If you want to eat and drink whilst basking in the mountain views of Banff, this is the spot to go to, otherwise the food is mediocre. The restaurant is located in a hotel and is right outside the town of Banff so it wasn’t busy.
Bill Peyto Cafe – Restaurant located in a hostel, across the street from Lake Louise Inn that has good beef chili. The town of Lake Louise is small and filled with tourists; food places are limited and thus can get packed. Wait time was about 30 minutes for us.
Where to stay in Banff:
Lake Louise Inn – Convenient hotel right outside of Lake Louise/Moraine Lake. It’s a tad pricey but definitely worth it given the limited options in the area. The property is like a motel/lodge style with ample amount of parking space. Depending on the type of room you get and which building it’s located in, it is either a walk up or there is an elevator available. We booked a junior suite, and this building had an elevator. Although the room was nice and spacious with a kitchenette (electric stove, dishwasher, toaster oven, utensils, dinnerware, etc.), balcony, and an electric fireplace, the downside was we had a Murphy bed which wasn’t too comfortable.
What I especially liked about the hotel was they have free bike rentals and mini golf.
What you need to know/Other tips for visiting Banff:
To enter Banff, you need to pay $21 Canadian Dollars per car each day. You will be given a receipt which needs to be taped onto your windshield for the length of your stay.
To enter Lake Louise, it’s recommended to use public transportation because parking spots are limited and can be completely filled up by 8am. Personal vehicles are also no longer allowed at Moraine Lake unless you stay overnight at their lodge.
There are different types of public transportation/private shuttles that take people to the lakes, but cheapest option is through Parks Canada.
Parks Canada shuttle is $8 per person plus a $3 reservation fee. Make sure to book your spots as early as possible since they will sell out. For the reservation, you’ll need to select a date and time (time slots are by the hour) for the bus and which lake to be dropped off at. You will have to drive and park at the Park & Ride at the Lake Louise Ski Resort (if you stay at Lake Louise Inn it’s 6 minutes away), and arrive anytime during the hour of your selected time. There are buses leaving constantly so worst case scenario you will need to wait a bit.
At the Lake Louise Ski Resort, you’ll see several tents for the different shuttle companies. Look for the Park Canada stand where you’ll check-in by scanning the bar code on the ticket (print out the ticket in advance since cellphone service in the area is spotty). They will then give you a card that you need to keep with you at all times–it’s used to board the bus, access between Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, and to get back. You can go back and forth between the two lakes as much as you want, but once you take the bus back to Park & Ride, they will collect your card and you won’t be able to go back to the lakes (make sure you bring everything you need with you for the day!).
At each of the lakes, there will always be two Park Canada signs: one to go to the other lake and one to go back to Park & Ride, so make sure you wait at the correct one.
The ride from Park & Ride to Lake Louise is about 15 minutes, and the ride to Moraine Lake is about 25 minutes.
Globe Trotter 