We began our day driving up from Lethbridge, AB, through Calgary and into Banff. For those visitors flying into Calgary (the nearest city) it is a relatively short drive (45-60 minutes). However, keep in mind that summer is construction season in the north (since there is no snow) so be prepared to end up in some traffic. At the entrance to the park are cute little cabins/ticket booths where you purchase your pass into the park. There is a bypass lane with no fees for those who are not stopping in the park.
We arrived in Banff National Park early and had plenty of time to walk around and check out the town on our first day (Note: Banff is a small town and you can walk anywhere within about 15-20 min). We were initially disappointed by how crowded and commercialized it was everywhere in town. Lots of t-shirt stores, souvenir gift shops, restaurants and bars. Most surprisingly were all the American stores – Gap, Body Shop, McDonalds, Dairy Queen, even the Old Spaghetti Factory was here.
One of our first stops was to the visitor center in the middle of downtown. You can get information, maps and, if you have an American National Park Passport book you can get a stamp so don’t forget to bring it! (I’m talking to you Danielle!!)
Once we had a map of the town and some information we decided to walk the short, easy trail to Bow Falls. The trail is located at one end of town and follows along the river.
We walked to what we thought was the end of the trail and arrived at what we thought were the falls. Again, we were disappointed because they seemed more like rapids then falls. We later found out that if we had continued on past the wooden stairs and a strolled a bit further we would have seen actual falls. 😕
At the end of Banff Ave. is the Cascade of Time Garden. It is free to stroll around and worth a stop.
A bit further was the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. It looked like a Swiss Chalet. It was absolutely beautiful, and, unfortunately, also very crowded (I think all 4 million visitors were here at the same time as us. ☹️) We ended up sitting inside for a few hours enjoying the views and a cocktail while a brief rainstorm passed by.
At the end of the first day we met up for dinner with some family and friends who were also in town. It was while we were having dinner that we discovered how early we would need to get up to get a parking spot for our hike the next morning. 😳 More on that in our next post…
Beautiful!!!! Thanks for posting your pixs! I’ve always wanted to go there.
Looks great…very a “go-to” spot. Maybe, that’s why it’s so touristy…ya think?
Hello Traveling Twosome,
We agree with the commercialization of these tourist spots…..same is happening in downtown Sedona, Az ….lots of t-shirts, trinkets, bars, restaurants, throngs of tourists, etc……although the last 20 miles on S 89A coming from Williams is just stunning. Jerome was a good choice to stay and explore!
Your are resourceful and you go and find the good and beautiful areas…..those are interesting and beautiful photos! Thank you again!