Our Banff-Ass Time

Have you seen the pictures of crystal blue lakes and mountains in the background with the most vibrant greenery floating around? It’s BANFF! With Canada 150 last year, it became an even more popular destination and for good reason. Every part of the park is breathtaking! We took a trip there last summer and here’s a little look into all of the adventures we had!

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Day 1:

As always, we recommend getting an early morning start to explore National Parks to avoid the crowds! We went to Banff during Canada 150 and there were definitely A LOT of others taking advantage of the free park entrance. Grab breakfast at Trailhead Cafe in Lake Louise.

Head to Lake Moraine, which has one of the most picturesque views! The parking lot is quite small so we were there by 7 am and managed to snag a spot but the lot was already filling up and people were parking on the street. Make sure to climb up the trail towards the left of the parking lot and Rockpile Trail for the best views of the bluest lake! We continued on the trail all the way to Consolation Lake. Along the way you are hiking through the tall trees until it opens to Consolation Lake and the surrounding mountains. There are massive rocks that you can climb around on.

Next up, make your way to Lake Emerald. There is a cute lodge located here, as well as a gift shop and restaurant. At this stop we were ready to hit the water! We rented a canoe from Emerald Sports & Gifts. It wasn’t cheap, but definitely worth it! You will get more scenic views with half the crowd! They are all rented out on a first come, first serve basis.

Lake Louise has to be on your list, but you don’t necessarily have to stay long. It is one of the most iconic places when people think of Banff. Fairmount Hotel is beautiful, we grabbed a sandwich there and sat next to the lake and enjoyed it. Beware- there are a number of birds that aren’t shy, one even stole the last bite of Steph’s sandwich right out of her hand! Yuck! There is a long, flat, paved trail around the lake that was swamped with people, so we decided to skip that one and hike up! We took the Lakeshore Trail towards the Fairview Lookout. We left behind the crowds and ended up being the only ones at the lookout, gazing down at the crystal blue lake and hotel. It was a quick hike (about 20-30 minutes) and not too strenuous!

After a day of exploring, take the scenic route on Bow Valley Parkway back to your lodging and keep your eyes peeled for wildlife!

We decided to head to Banff Ave Brewing Company for dinner which was great, but the ice cold beer really hit the spot! We planned to check out the Banff Upper Hot Springs that night too. To be honest, this is probably something you could skip. We were not overly impressed as it seemed to be just a warm pool and the views weren’t quite what we were expecting. Either way though, we did have fun! It’s just under $8 to get in. Also, Sulphur mountain lives up to it’s name, walking towards the springs there was a pretty strong odor of rotten eggs! However, once inside it was fine!

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Day 2:

A quick pit stop at Whitebark Cafe for breakfast and we hopped back on the Bow Valley Parkway and made our way to Johnston Canyon. Shout out to our travel buddy Caitey for always getting us up at the crack of dawn to avoid the crowds (literally starting our hikes at 7 am)! As we were leaving, crowds of people were showing up. Although there is more parking here, it still tends to fill up quickly. We spent our morning hiking past a series of waterfalls. Make sure to do both the upper and lower falls, when you reach the lower falls you can duck into a cave and get even closer to the water! The majority of this trail is paved, making it one of our easier hikes of the trip.

We spent a little more time in the car this day, as we wanted to hike the Parker Ridge Trail. It took about two hours from Johnston Canyon but the ride was just about as much fun as the hike! The scenery along the way was breathtaking.

This hike was more moderate intensity, with a few switchbacks thrown in. It took us less than an hour to get to the top. Once you reach the top you can spy the glacier in the distance and mountains all around. The parking situation here again is just a small stretch of stalls off of the Parkway, which was full when we got there. However, we just  waited a bit and people left.

We still had some energy and wanted to break the drive back to our lodging, so we stopped at Lake Peyto and another lake we found along the way. At Lake Peyto a fast hike to the top and you are rewarded with a sky high view of this bright blue lake.

For dinner we made our way to Park Distillery. If you’re looking for some amazing drink options, look no further. Steph and I always manage to choose the “dad” drinks and Steph lived up to it here when her drink came with a smoked cedar plank. Easily one of the most delicious things we came across!

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Day 3:

We decided to stay local for day three and begin our day a little later. We rode the Banff Gondola up Sulphur Mountain. It takes about 15 minutes to get to the top and once at the top you can walk around the observation deck and get a view of the mountains all around. It’s hard to say anything negative about Banff but if you’re looking to save a few bucks, I honestly think the views from previous hikes here were hands down better! You have the option to prebook tickets or get them there. We had no troubles grabbing them at the gate. Grab lunch or breakfast at Wild Flour Bakery.

After the Gondola ride we made our way around Banff. Bow Falls and Banff Surprise corner and then a hike up the Tunnel Mountain Trail to get a panoramic view of the town of Banff. It took us about two hours to do the hike and it was cake after all of our previous hiking! Bring some snacks and enjoy your time at the top!

We hadn’t quite gotten our fill of lakes so we went to Lake Minnewanka to check things out. We thought about renting a boat here but ended up sitting on the docks and watching people try and leave in their newly rented boats. Apparently you don't need to have any experience when renting, we were dying of laughter watching the staff scramble to try and direct people on how to avoid hitting the docks or each other!

For our last night in Banff we were celebrating our friend Caitey’s birthday and got a local recommendation to check out Magpie & Stump for dinner. By far the best decision we made! The restaurant does't look like much from the outside, but there is a rooftop with couches and lights strung all around. We ordered tacos and a handful of margaritas as we recapped how much fun we’d had up to this point exploring. We’d recommend saving room for a Paleta (popsicle), pick from any of the gourmet flavors they’re all absolutely delicious! If you still have the energy, we recommend you cap off the night checking out what themed party the Dancing Sasquatch is hosting. We had way too much fun capping off a great weekend dancing, laughing, and celebrating Caitey's birthday at their neon party.

Happy Hiking!

Taylor and Steph