Ahh Banff and Lake Louise…in the top 2 most beautiful places I’ve ever been. It’s too hard to choose between this area and Salzburg, Austria (I’ll cover that in another post)! The Canadian Rockies are really a site to be seen. This was a family trip in June that was cut short one day when our flight to Canada was cancelled, but we were still able to cover quite a bit in under 3 days. It was very focused on outdoor activities, and this itinerary could also be for a couple or a single traveler as well. I hope you enjoy this post and are able to make the trip someday!
Here is a sample itinerary based on our 3-day trip to Banff and Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada:
DAY 1: TRAVEL DAY, CANADIAN CUISINE, AND EXPLORING DOWNTOWN BANFF
The best way to get to Banff from the US is to fly in to Calgary (YYC), rent a car, and drive the 1.5 hours to Banff. Remember, you will need a passport for this trip! We arrived in Calgary around lunch time, so we stopped for a bite to eat at Tim Horton’s, a Canadian fast-food staple. Even though it was June, it was chilly…we had soup, poutine, and doughnuts of course…haha! Poutine is my favorite Canadian food, and you can find it at a lot of restaurants…think French fries drenched in brown gravy, topped with cheese curds!
If you’ve done any research on Banff already, you’ve probably seen pictures of the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel. It has been a luxury hotel since it opened in 1888, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site right in Banff National Park. It’s impressive! As much as I would like to have stayed there the entire trip, we just stayed there on our last night, and spent the first two nights in Canmore at the Blackstone Mountain Lodge. This was also a great place to stay, as they were villa style with a balcony, fireplace, small kitchen, and lots of space for a family. Canmore is a cute, but picturesque town just about 20 minutes outside of Banff.
Once we got checked in to our hotel on Day 1, we headed in to Banff to explore the downtown area and grab some dinner. There are lots of shops and restaurants downtown to choose from, but a few family-friendly restaurants are Eddie Burger & Bar, Farm & Fire, and Bear Street Tavern. I’d also recommend checking out the Cascade Gardens just across the river from downtown. And bonus, it’s free! If you have extra time, there’s also the Banff Park Museum in that same area.
DAY 2: BANFF NATIONAL PARK
There is so much to do in Banff National Park…you will definitely want a full day there. In fact, Lake Louise is within the park, but that’s another day in itself. We grabbed a quick breakfast, gathered our layers and rain jackets, and headed out to the park on Day 2. It was drizzly and overcast that day, but fortunately it didn’t spoil the views! We chose to do a couple of hikes (we did part of the Hoo Doos Trail and the Bow River Trail) and then eventually headed to the Banff Gondola station and took the 8-minute ride up to the Sulfur Mountain Summit.
We had booked our tickets for the Gondola before the trip. It tends to be pretty busy in the summer, so I’d recommend booking this in advance through their website. The first thing we did when we got to the top of the mountain was to find lunch! We enjoyed the buffet-style lunch at the Northern Lights. We spent about 2 hours total on Sulfur Mountain between lunch and exploring, and then headed back down in to the park. We made one final stop on our way back to Canmore at Lake Minnewanka. It was just a short walk from the parking lot to the lake, but it was worth a stop to take in the beautiful mountain views and crystal clear water.
By the time we got back to to the hotel, it had been a really long day. We grabbed dinner at Rocket Pie right in Canmore and called it a night!
DAY 3: LAKE LOUISE AND FAIRMONT BANFF SPRINGS
Hopefully you’re reading this post well before your visit, because you will need to plan ahead if you are going to visit Lake Louise. Unless you are staying at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, really the only way to access Lake Louise is to book a shuttle (reservation information here). You can add Lake Moraine to your itinerary as well, however we decided just to stay at Lake Louise. We had a morning shuttle on Day 3, so we made our way to Lake Louise pretty early. Note that Lake Louise is a 40 minute drive from Banff. There’s a large parking area where you leave your car and board the shuttle bus.
When you exit the shuttle, you’re basically there…the pictures don’t do it justice, but the water is the most beautiful shade of turquoise I’ve ever seen. Fine rock dust from the Rockies stays suspended in the water, reflecting light and creating the bright color that Moraine Lake and Lake Louise are known for. Be prepared…it will likely be very crowded near the lake itself. It was hard to get a picture without people in it, but somehow I managed to get one quickly! There are several different trails you can take from there to see other small lakes, wildlife (bear sightings are very common, although my son was so disappointed that we only saw squirrels…haha!), and The Lake Agnes Tea House, which is a neat little place to rest and grab something to eat. We took routes that brought us past Mirror Lake and Lake Agnes, which are pictured below, along with a view of Lake Louise from above.
After several hours spent exploring and hiking the area, we headed back to Banff and checked in to the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel for our final night. We grabbed a bite to eat on the patio, explored the grounds, and let the kids spend some time in the pool. It’s such a beautiful property. Even if you’re not staying there, I’d recommend eating in one of the restaurants and spending some time looking around the property. For our final meal in Banff, had a delicious dinner at the 1888 Chop House right at the hotel, and called it a night. We had a long journey back to the Arizona heat the next morning!