Banff

Why Banff works

Banff National Park, established in 1885 as Canada's first national park, protects a stretch of the Rocky Mountains where glacier-fed lakes take on an almost artificial turquoise from suspended 'rock flour' ground by moving ice. Lake Louise, overlooked by the Fairmont Chateau and the Victoria Glacier, is the park's most photographed spot, its colour most vivid on calm mornings before wind ripples the surface; nearby Moraine Lake, ringed by the jagged Valley of the Ten Peaks, is often considered even more spectacular and appeared on Canadian twenty-dollar bills through the 1970s and 80s. The townsite of Banff itself sits at 1,383m in the Bow Valley, small enough to walk end to end, with elk occasionally grazing on lawns near downtown in autumn rutting season — a reminder that this remains genuine wilderness rather than a resort construct. The Banff Gondola climbs Sulphur Mountain to a summit boardwalk with views over six mountain ranges, while the Banff Upper Hot Springs, naturally heated to around 37-40°C, offer a soak with the same panorama. The Icefields Parkway, running north from Lake Louise to Jasper, is consistently rated among the world's most scenic drives, passing the Columbia Icefield, glacier-carved valleys and frequent wildlife sightings — black bears, bighorn sheep and occasionally grizzlies — along a 232km route best allowed a full day.

Trip Snapshot

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