When you think of Banff, it’s hard not to picture someone kayaking on a picturesque vibrant blue lake. However, there’s SO much more to do in Banff than just this Instagram-popular spot. We’ve been lucky enough to visit Banff and Jasper multiple times: once in late May/early June in 2022 where we stayed for two weeks and once as a detour to drive through the Icefields Parkway on our way home from Alaska in 2023. Hopefully, more visits in the future!
Things to Know Before You Go
When to Visit
Summer (June – August) can get VERY touristy, but has the best weather for hiking and picturesque turquoise waters. Both times we visited were shoulder season which allowed us to avoid expensive lodging and over-crowdedness.
I always love a shoulder season visit anywhere! However, it should be noted that there are always slight risks when visiting places in off-seasons. Shoulder-season (September-November and April-May) might lead to early snow, road closures, and less park services.
Where to Stay
Whether your main focus is Banff, Jasper, or both, there’s endless options for lodging between these two national parks. Depending on your budget, I’ve stayed near both. Jasper is normally the cheapest of the two, but Canmore is also an excellent option near Banff but without the price tag. We have stayed at both hotels and Airbnbs depending on the prices!
How to Get Around
The most convenient way to get around Banff and Jasper is with a car, especially to drive on the Icefields Parkway. However, there are public buses and park shuttles, as well as being active by walking or biking to get around. Generally, it is encouraged to utilize the park shuttles as the parking lots can be limited or restrictive.
Park Shuttles & Transit Services
Parking lots can fill up easily, especially in peak season. You can reserve a seat on the Parks Canada shuttle. Free all-day parking is available for shuttle reservation holders at the Lake Louise Park and Ride at the Lake Louise Ski Resort.
Moraine Lake is closed to personal vehicles, so the only way to get to it is by a park shuttle.
The typical operating season for Lake Louise and Moraine Lake is:
- Lake Louise: mid-May to mid-October
- Moraine Lake: June to mid-October (weather permitting)
Visitors should expect at least a 30-minute wait for shuttles and may have to wait about an hour in busy times.
Drive the Icefields Parkway
This scenic mountain roadway is arguably one of the best, if not the best, scenic paved roads in North America. It connects Banff National Park from Lake Louise to the Jasper town in Jasper National Park, stretching 144 miles (232 kilometers) between the two. As you drive, you’ll pass dramatic mountain peaks of the Canadian Rockies, vibrant blue lakes, wildlife, and more!
It takes 3 hours to drive it straight without stops, but there’s no way you wouldn’t stop! Therefore, it’s recommended to have around 6-8 hours to appreciate the beauty on this road. Definitely check the weather before driving it and prepare for minimal to no phone service.
The following are quick stops going Jasper to Banff and are either quick viewpoints along the highway or short hikes to stretch your legs.
Athabasca Falls
0.5 miles out-and back, little to no elevation gain
The first main stop to make after leaving Jasper is Athabasca Falls, which is a very easy hike to get out of the car and stretch your legs. It offers a stunning view of large waterfall with picturesque mountains in the background.
There are multiple viewpoints along the paved pathways that overlooks the waterfalls and the narrow canyon on the other side.
Obviously, depending on the season, you might get more or less water flow in the fall. Compared to our fall visit, our spring/summer visit definitely had significantly more water gushing down!
Tangle Creek Falls
Roadside; no hike needed
This waterfall is a quick stop along the Icefields Parkway and sits directly across the highway from the parking lot. The falls measures about 35 meters across the rocky ledges.
Sunwapta Falls
Upper Sunwapta Falls
Roadside; no hike needed
The viewpoint for the upper falls is right next to the road and barely require much walk. Fed with meltwater from Athabasca Glacier, Sunwapta Falls is one of the many Jasper waterfalls that was created by hanging valleys.
Lower Sunwapta Falls
2 miles out-&-back, ~300 feet elevation gain
If you’re in the mood to move your legs a bit more, you can hike to Lower Sunwapta Falls. We didn’t have enough time for the lower falls, but hiking on a short trail through the forest will take you to the smaller falls.
Columbia Icefields
Roadside; no hike needed
This viewpoint is a quick roadside stop that has panoramic views of Athabasca Glacier and the surrounding mountain range. This is one of my favorite viewpoints, because you get wide open views of the
You can also get views of the Columbia Icefield from the Discovery Centre Deck and the Columbia Icefield Skywalk.
At the Discovery Centre Deck is an open-air viewing platform on the upper level and the Altitude Restaurant where you can dine with vies of the icefield next to you.
The Columbia Icefield Skywalk is a suspended platform with a glass walkway underneath you 918 feet (20 meters) in the air. The 1 mile interpretive walk on this skywalk features ancient fossils, exhibitions on glaciology, subalpine biology, and more, and views of the rugged valley floor below you. Sometimes you can even see mountain goats, bighorn sheep, or other wildlife from this walkway!
Athabasca Glacier
Within the Columbia Icefield is Athabasca Glacier, which runs 6 km down the valley across from the Icefield Centre. Like all glaciers, Athabasca Glacier has been receding/melting over the past 125 years and saw even more glacier ice melt than any glacier of the past 10 year since 2023. However, this remains one of the most accessible glaciers in the world as a Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks UNESCO World Heritage Site and allows visitors to see first-hand the rapid retreat of this glacier over the past century.
Toe of the Glacier Trail
0.9 miles out-and-back, ~180 ft elevation gain
This short, accessible path allows you to walk closer to the retreating Athabasca Glacier. Along the way are interpretive signs to learn about the glacier and mark where the glacier used to be in previous year. It’s always crazy to see how far the glacier has retreated even over the past few decades.
There are signs everywhere warning visitors not to go on the glacier unassisted, as it is hollow and can collapse at any time. We found a bit of ice further down the trali by the parking lot that wasn’t part of the glacier for a little photo-op. 🙂
Definitely bring a warm jacket, hat, and gloves for this trail, because the glacial wind (the AC/air-conditioning as we called it when we were in Alaska) makes it a lot colder!
Waterfowl Lake
Roadside; no hike needed
Banff and Jasper have many, MANY lakes, and Waterfowl Lake is another quick stop along the Icefields Parkway drive.
Lower Waterfowl Lake is situated directly next to the highway while you can take a short walk to Upper Waterfowl Lake. The upper lake is a easy 1.1 mile hike with barely any elevation gain that offers a views of the lake and surrounding mountains from a different direction than from the highway.
Saskatchewan River Crossing
North Saskatchewan River, the Howse, and the Mistaya all meet at this crossing. This is also the only stop along the Icefields Parkway with a gas station, public restrooms, and a restaurant if you need to stop for food or fuel.
Peyto Lake
1.6 miles loop, ~260 ft elevation gain
This vibrant turquoise glacier-fed lake is the most photographed lake in the Canadian Rockies and it’s no question as to why. The short hike leads to Peyto Lake Overlook for panoramic views of Peyto Lake, Bow Lake, the glaciers to the west, and the Canadian Rockies.
Even with the bright blue lake covered in ice and the surrounding mountains snowy, this is definitely one of my favorite views from a hike in Banff and Jasper! Especially with how easy the hike is to get here.
Bow Lake
Roadside; no hike needed
Another glacier-fed (from Bow Glacier, part of the Wapta Icefield) lake that you can stop at easily from the highway as you drive on the parkway.
You can just take a quick stop for some photos or choose to walk around the lakeside. There’s also the option to hike along the shoreline to Bow Glacier Falls.
Lake Louise
The iconic lake! The vibrant turquoise waters of the lake is how I first learned about Banff.
Several hikes begin from this area (such as Lake Agnes Tea House), as well as rentals for canoeing in bright red canoes. In the winter, it’s famous for its skiing at the Lake Louise Ski Resort, as well as acting as an outdoor skating rink.
Moraine Lake
As popular and beautiful as Moraine Lake is, it’s unfortunately one of the lakes we still have not seen! 😦
Since we came in late May in 2022 when it was still snowy, the road to Moraine Lake was closed. And then the following year in 2023, the road to Moraine Lake permanently closed to private vehicles and was only accessible through park shuttles. Since park shuttles and transit services end in early October, we weren’t able to make it there either. Hopefully on our next visit, we can finally go to Moraine!
Hiking
There is literally too many trails in these two national parks for me to list them all. Here are the ones we did and some of my favorites!
Lake Agnes Trail
5.1 out-and-back, ~1,300 ft elevation gain
Starting from Lake Louise, this trail takes you all the way to Lake Agnes Tea House, which was built in 1901 as a refuge for hikers.
Along the way, you’ll get views of the Nokhu Crags, Lake Louise, and Mirror Lake.
Mirror Lake
We didn’t hike all the way to Lake Agnes since it was so snowy, so we instead went up a little past Mirror Lake before turning back.
Emerald Lake
3.3 miles, ~170 ft elevation gain
This hike in Yoho National Park is a pretty easy hike with little elevation gains but gorgeous views of the lake, mountains, and glaciers.
Marble Canyon
0.9 miles, ~111 ft elevation gain
Another easy hike to stretch your legs – Marble Canyon in Kootenay National Park offers views of the Rockies, canyon, and river flowing through. To no surprise, the water running through this canyon is also a beautiful turquoise blue.
Johnston Canyon to Upper Falls
3.5 miles out-and-back, ~520 ft elevation gain
This trail takes you through the canyon on some narrow suspended bridges to the viewpoint for Lower Falls and the bottom of the Upper Falls. The Upper Falls runs a stunning 30 meters tall, so you can add an extra 265 meters past the Lower Falls viewpoint to reach the top of the Upper Falls, which I highly recommend!
Unfortunately, as writing this in October 2026, Johnston Canyon is closed for essential rock slope mediation work until further notice.
Tunnel Mountain
2.9 miles out-and-back, ~870 ft elevation gain
Starting from downtown Banff, the low summit of Tunnel Mountain provides a great birds-eye view of the town, Bow Valley, and Mount Rundle. This trail follows long, gradual switchbacks through forests as you hike along the side of the mountain.
Valley of the Five Lakes
3.4 miles loop, ~400 ft elevation gain
This was one of my favorite hikes in Jasper National Park! Valley of the Five Lakes offers exactly as the name says and each lake is just as beautiful as the one before!
You can choose to hike this clockwise or counterclockwise. If you choose to go clockwise to the left at the junction, you’ll start at the first lake and go around to the fifth lake. For less constant elevation change, it is recommended to start counter-clockwise to the right at the junction.
Wasootch Ridge Trail
8.6 miles out-and-back, ~3,100 elevation gain
This hike is not easy, but it was one of my favorite hikes for its panoramic views of the Canadian Rockies surrounding you! It has some loose scree, rock scrambling, and leg-burning elevation but it is for sure a rewarding hike.
Old Fort Point Trail
2.4 mile loop, ~500 ft elevation gain
At the top, Old Fort Point offers panoramic views of Jasper Valley, the Athabasca River Basin, Lac Beauvert, Jasper Park Lodge, and distant peaks (Mount Edith Cavell and The Whistlers).
It’s recommended to go clockwise on the loop so you take the steep staircase down rather than up.
We saw a bunch of bighorn sheep at the top of the viewpoint lounging around!
Edge of the World Trail
0.6 mile out-and-back, ~110 ft elevation gain
As a pretty easy trail, head a little past a local waterfall to reach the viewpoint for Edge of the World trail. Off of Marmot Road, this takes you to sweeping views of the surrounding valley and mountains.
Please note that there is no official parking lot – just a small area for about 4-5 cars before the trailhead sign.
Maligne Canyon
2.4 mile loop, ~450 ft elevation gain
Just 10 minutes outside the town of Jasper, Maligne Canyon is the deepest canyon within Jasper National Park. This trail has waterfalls, a series of bridges, ancient fossils, and more!
Unfortunately, this trail is currently closed due to fire damage.
Flightseeing/Helicopter Tour
While the mountains and scenery around you is no less breathtaking from the ground, it becomes even more special when you can see them up close from an aerial view!
As a birthday gift (thank you Matt!!), we took a helicopter tour with Rockies Heli Canada for a 30 minute flight on their Epic Summit tour. During this tour, we flew over lakes, rivers, glaciers, and mountains, and had distant views of the Continental Divide and the Columbia Icefield.
I always feel like I black out during a flightseeing tour because of the adrenaline rush, but it’s just too exciting and unforgettable!
Banff Town
As a resort mountain town, the downtown of Banff is walkable and filled with numerous shops, museums, restaurants, and more. It’s even better with a picturesque mountain (Mount Rundle and Cascade Mountain) in the backdrop!
The Banff gondola will take you up to Sulphur Mountain. There are also natural hot springs nearby, as well as obviously the access to visiting Banff National Park from here.
Jasper Town
Jasper is a smaller town than Banff, but I think it’s still a gem! There are several shops, restaurant, bars, and more to explore.
Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge
This historic 700-acre resort sits on the shores of Lac Beauvert and served as one of Canada’s classic grand railway hotels.
Since we can’t afford to spend a night here, we opted to grab a nice birthday dinner at Orso Trattoria with some scenic views of the mountains and lake as we dined.
Gallery
As always, I’m always better with my photos than I am with my words! 🙂
Things We Missed
There are endless things to do in both Banff and Jasper, so it’s hard to hit everything when we’re only there for a limited time! Here are a few things that we missed during our trips.
- Columbia Icefield Skywalk
- Moraine Lake (sadly)
- Banff Gondola
What’s Next?
After coming home from Alaska with this slight detour to Banff & Jasper, we are on our way to Iceland next for the first of our many out-of-the-country travels!
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