Banff National Park

Went on a Wedding Anniversary trip here to Banff. Flew into Calgary and drove to this gorgeous national park. Wow! The views from being in their downtown area are absolutely breathtaking! Almost fake! Ha!
Would love to bring our kids here for a summer vacation when they’re older!
It’s definitely a touristy town. But, worth it!

One of the prettiest national parks in the world! Plenty of options of things to do. How can you not love this place … any time of year!

Banff is a beautiful town where the attractions are he mountains and lakes. It is mainly for hiking or sitting around and admiring the view.
At quite a price you can enjoy other activities such as paddle boats, canoeing, and horseback riding.
It is a small town with lots of window shopping to offer. Everything is overpriced. Expect to pay double the price for your meal here unless you go to franchises like Boston Pizza, Tim Hortons or McDonalds.
Also, make sure that you bring your own music. They have like 3 radio stations in this town which include mainly rock and country music.
Be aware that when leaving the town you can often lose reception on your phone.

This is one of the most spectacular places in the world. My husband and I chose Banff for our honeymoon and absolutely everything was a dream. The local produce and meat is delicious. The atmosphere is 100% welcoming. Thank you!

Loved the Banff National Park and the town of Banff. And of coarse who could forget the amazing Lake Louise situated between the The national park is spread over a vast area — blessed with various glacier-​fed lakes, vast forests and a cute little hill station which is the Banff town.
Banff was one of the beginning points of our Canadian road trip through the city of Calgary to Vancouver and on the way back coming back from Jasper to Calgary via Edmonton. I highly recommend incorporating these cities and doing a road trip to take in the natural beauty that is bestowed upon British Columbia and Alberta.

I’ve been to a number of National Parks in the US but I must say Banff National Park blew me away. It was beautiful! Nature at its best. I highly recommend putting this on your list of places to visit. It’s about an hour and a half to get to the town of Banff from Calgary airport. The drive was spectacular. The town of Banff is surrounded by amazing mountains, beautiful beautiful lakes. The town of Banff is quaint and very pretty, About 35mins away is Lake Louise and Moraine Lake with their amazing amazing turquoise color. Jasper National park is abou 2hrs away. with so many awesome sights to see. We stayed our first night at Banff, moved to Lake Louise and stayed there 3 nights to explore that area and Jasper. Stayed at Banff on our last 3nights. 8 days for us was just enough time to be able to see the sights without feeling rushed. There are a lot of tourist buses which are totally annoying. We encountered a couple of tour groups that were so noisy and rude .ughh. You just got take the bad with the good and in Banff the good far outweighs those tourbus bads.

This is a review of Peyto Lake. Peyto Lake is «a must’ visit place when I am in the Rockies. It is located between the Saskatchewan River Crossing and Lake Louise on the Icefield Parkway inside the Banff National Park. This prestine glacier-​fed lake has become very popular over the years. Admired from hundreds of feet above the lake at the tip of the Bow Summit, the turquoise colour of this huge lake is worth the 15 minute hike. Be prepared to enjoy this gorgeous view with others as this place is becoming a very popular tourist attraction. The snow going up to the Bow Summit usually doesn’t melt completely until end of May or even early June. And there is no cell phone reception in the area. So you can’t really do a check-​in.

BEAUTIFUL!!! The drive across Banff national park was very scenic and the weather was gorgeous. Luck was on our side! We came across 2 bears (1 black 1 brown) during the trip just on the side of the road scavenging for food. We did not come across any elks tho I was a bit disappointed.
For a more scenic drive out of downtown Banff, head towards the 1A highway, there you will see changing landscapes and the glacial mountains at the horizon well as the wildfire that happened there. There were many RVs and people towing their camping trailers all around Banff so expect to be stuck behind them and wait for a safe chance to pass.
From my experience the must see places which are breathtaking is the Bow summit, Bow lake, Lake Moraine and Emerald lake. Although Lake Louise is by far the most gathering of tourist in all the places we have stopped at it was still amazingly beautiful and also Johnston canyon creek is a very nice relaxing walk to the waterfalls for an up close experience.

This review is for Peyto Lake, one of the many glacier-​fed lakes within Banff National Park.
We did a Pacific Northwest & Canadian Rockies tour with Char Tours out of Honolulu, and beautiful British Columbia was a big part of the tour. It was a quick bus ride through only a small section of the park, but we stopped off of Highway 93 and saw the most gorgeous view of nature I’ve ever seen.
Peyto Lake’s color is what grabbed my attention. Its bright turquoise color simply floored me and took my breath away. Not to mention the majestic Canadian Rockies as a backdrop and the thousands of dark green pine trees that surround the lake that go on for miles down the valley with no end in sight only added to its charm. I took a great picture here.
Personally, I could’ve stayed there for an entire day just gazing out at all that peacefulness. A 6-​pack of beer would make that wish even better, but… on we had to go.
BC really stands for Beautiful Country!

Most amazing scenery I have ever seen. You MUST drive North towards Jasper on the Ice Field Parkway. Best drive I have ever made’

I went a couple of years ago and just forgot how amazing it is to visit this park.
I am not an outdoors kind of person, and this place blew me away.
You do get a nice view of the mountains starting from Canmore,
but nothing matches what’s on the inside (you do have to pay to get in)
The sheer spectacular range can be better described by more gifted writers but the pictures you see posted by others only give part of the beauty.
I was in Banff in shorts one day, and in Winter weather at Lake Louise, driving in snow.
The altitude and fresh air felt so clean and crisp.
There was a Main Lake that was closed during my time there.
Only downside is the speed limit, 90km/​hour at most, even on wide highways with lots of visibility. Outside the Park, it’s 110km/​hour.
I took a very slow night ride along Bow river trail, no lights and the deer calmly straying onto the street. Very freaky to see a live bear in the woods too.

How can you not give 5 stars for this amazing place?!
The scenery alone is worth the trip, and the many activities, shops and things to do are wonderful. People are really friendly, and you can’t beat the tallness of the mountains.

Holy crap. Banff must be heaven on Earth. Or something like that. I’m pissed that I didn’t check in to the park, dammit! (Wrong. I see that I do have a check-​in here: D)
Anyway, just looking at the photos should be testimonial enough for you to decide whether or not this place is absolutely amazing. The glacial lakes and ponds are breathtaking, truly the turquoise blue that you see on your monitor (well, it also depends on how accurately your screen renders colors).
Coming from Atlanta, GA, I am lucky enough to be close to the Blue Ridge Mountains (to which the Great Smoky Mountains belong), which are a part of the Appalachian Mountains range. I started to appreciate nature and not be completely freaked out by bugs (yeah, judge me) about six years ago, which was when I began to take notice.
Alberta is the farther west that I have been in North America to date and the landscape is different from anything I had been exposed to. The mountains are formidable and awe-​inspiring. I think the entire week I spent with my jaw dragging on the ground because of the omnipresence of the Canadian Rockies. Banff was the icing on the cake. The little town/​village with all the shops is obviously aimed at tourists, but it is quaint and full of life and activity. I got sucked in and got things to bring home.
Pictures are forthcoming. Once you see those, you won’t care about reading my words. If you haven’t been to Banff yet, you are doing your life an injustice. I truly mean that. This national park is a must-​see place on anyone’s bucket list.

This park is absolutely amazing. I can’t imagine anything more beautiful than what I saw here.
I’m glad that the speed limits were slow for the animals. They even built bridges just for them to cross.
Must see places:
Johnston canyon
Peyto Lake
Takakkaw Falls
Lake Louise
If you have the strength climb sulphur mountain and definitely go canoeing in lake Louise! Get there super early or you won’t find parking and you will be trapped in a traffic jam!

This national park is amazing. very clean and the staff are very helpful. Take time to check out Lake Minnewanka. It’s breathtaking. There are so many MUST see and do, so take your time to experience it all. Make sure to bring a camera and capture how beautiful this place is.
watch out for grizzlies!
also, be mindful to drive the speed limit.

Peyto Lake didn’t have a review started so I added it here – This is a must see and such a cool shape and color for a natural lake. I especially remember this one because it looks like a gigantic dinosaur leg and foot. Certainly a perfect Kodak moment!
Along the drive to Jasper headed up to the Icefields Parkway is one of the many beautiful attractions along with the more famous glacier fed lakes such as Moraine and Louise. I was more impressed with this drive from Banff to Jasper than any other stretch of road I have marveled.

One visit and I am in love with this place. I have barely even begun to discover all the trails and mountains here, but I plan to. I can see why Farrah and Lee Faucet-​Majors made this area a haven for themselves. There are so many things to do here wether you want more primitive hiking or a more upscale ski lodge resort experience, it’s all here and just a flight into Calgary with a an hour or so drive in a rental car away. I will be back!

Other than the downside of dramatic tourist pull this is a true wonder to behold. The cleanliness, wide roads, organized trail system, and truly amazing views (even from the highway) make the park one not to be missed. The further North one goes the more remote and less civilized so if Jasper is in your plans know you’re leaving the modern world in many ways.
We opted for a combination of rafting, spa, hiking, horseback, golf, and shopping in Banff while staying in either the backcountry via pack horse or the Fairmont Banff Springs — the diversity has thus far been lifetime memorable!
I suggest focusing hard on how to stay out if the mass fray of tourists otherwise you’ll not get the retreat you hoped for. Economic availability is easiest route out in towns by staying at high end resorts or do what we did; head out into the woods…

I have already decided that when it is time for me to retire I am going to spend my summers here. I wish I could spend every summer/​fall here. Banff is one of my favorite places on earth. The mountains are so majestic. I like to describe them as the Sierra’s and the American Rockies on steroids. I love the accessibilty of the mountains and the alpine lakes. Lake Moraine, Lake Louise ohhhhh how I miss you.
I was lucky enough to be here at the end of the summer season when the days were warm but the nights were brisk, the tourists minimal, the animals cute and fat because they were gorging themselves for hibernation and the leaves were starting to change.
Highly recommend camping because it allows you to more easily explore the entire park without having to return to homebase everynight. Plenty of campgrounds which allows for better mobiltiy in the park. I ran into a honeymooning couple that had to tediously drive back to Banff village everyday of their 7 day visit and they were envious that I was able to set up camp at nearby attractions and explore for longer.

I wasn’t sure how we wanted to set up our drive from Calgary home and what to see, but as it turned out, we got to go Through Glacier NP in Canada, as well as Banff. We saw some beautiful mountains and it made for one of the prettiest drives we have ever had.
We paid $ 20 for the car and drove on into the town of Banff for lunch. It was kind of crazy as we drove through so much wilderness to then, suddenly, be in a very busy tourist shopping zone. Tons of shops and hotels, not to mention a lot of people. It was pouring down rain when we got there, but stopped by the time we set back out on the road. We did end up stopping to eat and then walked around for a a little bit before getting back on the road. This area is very pretty and I would like to go back to visit the surrounding lakes.

Einer der schönsten Nationalparks die ich bis jetzt gesehen habe. Wir wussten gar nicht wo wir zuerst hinschauen sollten. Kaum setzt man sich ins auto um ein paar Meter zu fahren schon entdeckt man einen neuen grandiosen Aussichtspunkt. Ein muss ist auf jedenfall der Magline Lake hier wird man von einem Farbenspiel überrascht welches man so recht selten sieht. Klasse wir fahren auf jeden Fall wieder hin.

Der in der kanadischen Provinz Alberta gelegene Banff-​Nationalpark wurde 1885 gegründet und ist damit der älteste Nationalpark Kanadas, der zweitälteste Nordamerikas und drittältester der Welt. Mit seinen 6641 km Fläche gehört er zu den größeren Nationalparks in den kanadischen Rocky Mountains. Die Natur ist wirklich toll, da wo es nicht so überlaufen ist. Besonders empfehlenswert ist Maligne Lake, Lake Louise (aber erst am anderen Ende des Ufers– vom Parkplatz gesehen, Richtung Tea House), Icefields Parkway (eine der tollsten Straßen der Welt), Bow Valley Parkway (Verbindung zw. Banff City und Lake Louise). Yoho und Kootenay National Park, die dem Banff NP untergeordnet sind, stehen ihm aber in nichts nach (im Gegenteil) — sind auch nicht so überlaufen! Siehe meinen Bericht zu Yoho NP. Icefields Parkway ist nochmal ein Thema für sich. Dieser verbindet Banff NP mit Jasper NP. Man hat eine tolle Station nach der anderen. Ein Muss ist Peyto Lake, Bow Lake, Athabasca Falls, Athabasca Glacier und viele weitere schöné Aussichtspunkte (einfach inspirieren lassen). Man sollte sich mind. einen langen Tag für die Fahrt Zeit nehmen, da man sonst gar nicht die ganzen tollen Eindrücke erleben kann. Wer ausreichend Zeit hat, sollte auch noch mal den gleichen Weg zurück fahren ;-) Auch sollte man sehr früh beginnen, dann kannn man noch schön langsam fahren und die Ausblicke (auch als Fahrer) genießen. Ab etwa 10 Uhr beginnt die Rush-​Hour. Zum berühmten Columbia Icefield, welches man auch dort findet, habe ich meine eigene Meinung. Erschreckend und auch interessant ist, wie weit sich der Gletscher in den letzten Jahrzehnten zurückgezogen hat (dargestellt durch Holztafeln, welche den jeweiligen Eisstand der einzelnen Jahre kennzeichnen), da soll nochmal einer den Treibhauseffekt leugnen Die Befahrung des Gletschers mit großen Snowcoaches finde ich voll daneben, welche ich auch nicht gemacht habe. Empfehlenswert ist die gegenüberliegende Bergseite (etwa 1 Km vor dem Columbia Icefield bei Befahrung Süd– Nord Richtung), wenn man dort etwa 30– 45 Minuten hochwandert, hat man einen tollen Ausblick auf das CI, ohne tausende Touristen um sich zu haben. Das Panorama ist eindeutig schöner als direkt am Gletscher. Für den überbordenden Tourismus gibt es einen Stern Abzug. Es ist, selbst in der Vor– und Nachsaison extrem voll. Die Hauptsaison (Juli u. August) geht gar nicht.