10 Things to Do in Banff, Alberta Canada

Morraine Lake in Alberta Canada

Traveling to Banff in Alberta, Canada

We had the opportunity to visit Banff and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is obsessed with scapes, elevation and hiking. Being a girl from the midwest where everything is flat, I was completely floored coming here! Driving through the national state park feels like you’re driving through a painting because everything is so picturesque.

Things to Consider

It is important that you do your research prior to arriving to maximize the time you are there. To get into Banff National park you must purchase a national park pass. We bought ours here, they’re about $10 or less per person, however if you take more than one vehicle, you’ll need one for each one so keep that in mind! The nice thing about the pass though is that it is valid for the day you purchase it AND the next day until 4:00pm, so you can plan your itinerary and leave times after that time so you don’t have to purchase another day pass.

Where to Stay

Unfortunately everything in the city of Banff and Lake Louise is quite pricey. We stayed at the Inns of Banff since it was the most affordable we could find in the city of Banff at ~$135/night in late September. Of course these prices fluctuate depending on their busy season which are usually summer and winter months. If we were to do it again though, I probably would not stay in the city of Banff or Canmore because it’s so far out from everything else. I would recommend staying somewhere near Lake Louise as I feel it is more central to other locations and closer to Icefields Parkway which is close to Peyto Lake, Bow lake, etc.

Things to Do and See

  1. See the gorgeous little town of Banff. There are a bunch of little shops and restaurants along the main street of Banff Avenue.
  2. Take a touristy picture at the Banff sign because I mean come on, we really should lol
  3. Walk around Lake Louise and capture pictures of the lake and the Fairmont Hotel because this is literally what you think of when you think of Banff, or at least for me 🙂
  4. Go kayaking at Emerald Lake – it is generally more affordable to kayak on Emerald lake compared to Lake Louise because it is not as touristy here but you still get the stunning scapes!
  5. Walk up the steps of the Rock Pile at Morraine Lake. I mean you can capture some really great pictures on the ground but omg the views from the rock pile are literally heart eyes all day every day!
  6. Check out the Natural Bridge in Yoho National Park which is basically collapsed rock that created a natural bridge over water
  7. Try a beaver tail dessert! It’s not an actual beaver’s tail but it’s a pastry and you can add things like nutella and banana/strawberries on it!
  8. Check out the Fox outlined lake at Peyto Lake! This one is a slight drive Northwest, but I definitely think it’s worth it!
  9. Bow Lake is a quick stop by off the freeway and literally just stunning. It’s really cool to feel so close to such large glaciers here!
  10. Go get some Pulp Press Juice at a local grocery store if you’re a huge fan of green juices! Literally our favorite thing to do every single morning we were there!

So there you have it beauties! 10 amazing things to do in Banff. It was seriously one of the most beautiful trips we ever went on. You literally just drive down the freeway, and there were so many times we would be driving and I would be like ahhh stop the car! And we would jump out and take a picture! Hope you all have a blast here!

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