Tours in Banff National Park

The Cave and Basin National Historic Site just outside town is interesting. The Banff Gondola
up Sulphur Mt. is a must do. The hike up Jackson Canyon is pretty neat. Trail fairly flat and sections
built into the vertical canyon walls. Pretty cool.
Raft trip down the Bow River very scenic.
Last time we were there they were building a glass walkway out over a canyon like the one over the Grand Canyon. Its about halfway between Banff and Jasper on the Parkway. Might be worth a stop.

Parks Canada has a different approach to managing wild lands than the NPS. They have thousands of square miles of untouched wilderness, or you can have high tea at the Lake Louise Lodge built by the Canadian Pacfici RR. Gondola rides and bus tours are available. Wandering around in the wilderness areas is the best part.

As others have posted--Lots to do! On our 1st trip in the mid 1990's, we bought a guide book and followed the advice. We were there over July 4--around Canada Day. We like to hike and got a permit to hike to a lake in the area. Only problem, the lake was still frozen over! Still enjoyed the hike. Hope your trip is a success.

southernsky wrote:
Thanks for all the information. We are heading to Jasper after spending a week in Banff. Plan on a Ice Field tour and a train ride to mcBride.

Take the time to view the movie at the Icefield Centre at the Columbia Icefield. It is the best visitor center short I have ever seen; it is special.

In Banff: The Gondola ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain is expensive, but provides spectacular views of Banff and the Bow Valley. You may wish to visit the hot springs; they are the reason Banff became the first national park of Canada. (Intestinally, the first national parks in both the US and Canada, owe their existence to smelly water.)

In Lake Louise: Lake Louise, obviously. But don't miss Moraine Lake.

Tom

I wouldn't go with a tour. For one thing, the buses are limited to where they can stop because of their size.

Lake Louise gets really busy so you may end up taking the shuttle up. IMHO, Moraine Lake is even more spectacular but the shuttle only runs in the fall, so you have to arrive pretty early and still may walk a ways to get to the lake. But really really worth it.

So much to see and do in all four of the parks. Maybe ask the Moderator to move this to the RVing in Canada forum for more responses.

Thanks for all the information. We are heading to Jasper after spending a week in Banff. Plan on a Ice Field tour and a train ride to mcBride.

Is anything worth seeing in Banff and Yoho? I almost fell off my chair. It is all worth seeing and you do not need a guide or a tour to do it. You need a week or more and some warm clothes.

Lots to do and see. Here's two not mentioned, so far.

Marble Canyon



Marble Canyon is Just into Kootenay National Park and is about 30 miles from Banff.

If you are not going to Jasper, I suggest you at least drive up the Icefields Parkway as far a Bow Glacier



You will see a few glacier and spectacular views. We did both in the same day, driving to Bow Glacier first, had lunch at Hector Lake, and then drove to Marble Canyon.

Enjoy your trip.

Tom

If you enjoy hiking, you might want to consider the hike to the
Tea House at Lake Louise. The scenery is gorgeous and the rest time at the tea house very rewarding.

We took the Lake Louise Gondola ride and it solved the parking problem. We had plenty of parking room at the Gondola base and there was a shuttle to the shore of the lake. Otherwise we found NO parking at Lake Louise. We were fortunate to see a Grizzly mom with 2 cubs grazing near the Gondola summit. The staff were friendly and very helpful to two old people.

Another thing we enjoyed was the Banff Cowboy cookout which took us in wagons from the stables in Banff. Pretty good steaks and fine travel companions. For us they happened to be from Australia.

Would recommend both of these. (we reserved for both. Just look up on Google.)