4 Day Travel Guide to Exploring Beautiful Banff, Alberta

Posted on by Lifeoutsidetheinbox

I must admit, my Banff trip was poorly planned…if planned at all! I was in town for the Calgary Stampede and thought I’d take the weekend to explore Banff. Luckily, Jen, my good friend from The Plant Project Cosmetics, who previously lived in Edmonton shared a few pointers. I’ve added a few of my own 🙂

Suggested Travel Guide Activities

Suggested Travel Guide

Day 1

Arrive in Calgary – spend the day at the Calgary Stampede (if it’s on, of course). If you’re from Toronto, the Stampede is very similar to the CNE except with more cowboys and rodeos. I really enjoyed the cowboy spirit – rodeos aren’t my thing but the food was, especially the BBQ sampler.

Day 2

Travel to Banff –  My visit to the Cave & Basin was interesting but I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re on a tight schedule. It’s basically a small cave that smelled like eggs (sulfur). You can take a bit of a hike but there’s better views elsewhere. Then, take the Banff Gondola ride (it’s $64 CAD/person – if you want a spectacular view but don’t want to spend the money, visit Sunshine Meadows. $42 CAD for a 6 km gondola and ski life ride up to a beautiful hiking trail).

Day 3

Visit the Lakes – Moraine Lake & Lake Louise. I started the day late (as usual) so I had to park in the overflow lot but from there you can take a free shuttle to Lake Louise or a private shuttle to Moraine Lake. Since the lineup was long for Lake Louise, I started with Moraine Lake instead ($15 round trip). Moraine Lake was much quieter and I felt, it was more serene, taking a canoe out there is a must, even at the $100/hr price tag. Once I got back to the overflow lot, I took the car and drove over to Lake Louise since the crowd died down by then. There was still a lot of people but the further you hike, the less people you see. Then I had dinner back in town at Park Distillery (although they had great reviews on Yelp, their food was pretty average), however! Ice-cream at COW’s Banff made up for it, I had the Cowconut Cream Pie 🙂

Day 4

Visit the Fairmont Banff Springs (different than Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise) – taking advice from the concierge at the Fairmont, I went to visit Sunshine Meadows (mentioned above). While it’s an entirely different view, this makes for a good alternative if you’re a budget traveler. The hike down to the lakes was quite easy but the hike back up was a bit of an uphill climb. It looked easy but took a bit of effort. Maybe I’m just really out of shape haha.

Overall, I loved my unorganized trip to Banff. I can’t wait to go back, more organized this time. There’s still so much left to explore! Next time, I’d love to see Peyto Lake, Icefield Parkway, Jasper and take a dip in the natural hot springs!

Leave a comment