Exploring Banff National Park in Canada

Your flight will land in Calgary today which is the customary jumping off point for an adventure-filled tour of Banff National Park and the surrounding area. You’ll meet your guide at the airport and head east out of the city to the mountain town of Banff. Keep your eyes peeled to the roadsides along your trip because the area is teeming with wildlife and will quickly prove to be the perfect ecotourism destination.

The resort town of Banff is surrounded by majestic mountain peaks and is a unique cosmopolitan destination. There are plenty of restaurants, shopping, pubs and nightlife, as well as a multitude of outdoors adventures just outside of your hotel room. Consider taking the Banff Gondola for a scenic chair lift ride up to the top of Sulphur Mountain, more than 7,500 feet high. From the summit, you will enjoy a bird’s eye view for miles of the surrounding Rocky Mountains. Keep an eye out for elk, moose, or bears which often stroll into town in search of food and shenanigans.

Today you’ll head north with your guide for a visit to one of the most scenic destinations on the planet – Lake Louise. Here you’ll experience some of the bluest lake water you’ve ever seen, a result of the glacial runoff that feeds Lake Moraine. You’ll explore the Columbia Icefield today which is considered to be the largest continuous  block of ice on the continent. You will also visit the famous Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, a luxury hotel reminiscent of a Bavarian castle.

After a luxurious stay in Lake Louise, you’ll spend the day on Moraine Lake. You can opt to canoe on the lake, take a guided horseback ride in the area surrounding the lake, rent a mountain bike for the day, or set out on your own two feet for an invigorating hike. The water in Moraine Lake is pretty cold year round since it is glacial runoff. Swimming isn’t advisable.

Today you’ll head back to the town of Banff. To get there, you’ll travel along the Bow Valley Parkway which is one of the best places to spot area wildlife. You might see grizzly bears, moose, elk, bighorn sheep and wolves. Parks Canada, the entity responsible for maintaining Canadian provincial parks, works hard to protect the animals in the region, and to monitor the interaction between animals and visitors.

On your last full day in Banff, you’ll head out to the Yoho National Park and Grizzly Bear Refuge. Here you’ll get to take in the stunning scenery of the park, Emerald Lake and Takakkaw Falls. You’ll learn all about grizzly bears, their habitat, and active conservation efforts in Canada to protect the species. You can choose to take a gondola ride through the park and have lunch at the Eagle’s Eye, the highest restaurant in all of Canada.

It will be hard to peel yourself away from the majestic scenery and awe-inspiring wildlife that make Banff the incredible destination that it is. But, today you must, although you should plan to return another day, perhaps exploring Banff and the region in a different season of the year.