Recently, my mom visited Canada, and I planned a Calgary and Banff trip. Discovered Banff tourism has many pitfalls! Here’s a detailed log with travel tips.
Important notes:
- Banff entry requires a National Park Pass, CAD$22/day, valid until 4 PM next day. We picked up our rental Sep 19 evening at 5 PM. At the checkpoint between Canmore and Banff (left lane sells tickets, right lane bypasses), we bought a Sep 20 pass online. When passing around 9 PM, we paid for Sep 19 anyway (next time try after midnight to potentially skip the day pass). Print the online pass and display in your windshield.
- Lake Louise to Jasper and beyond have no signal. Download Google offline maps (Apple Maps recommended for driving).
- Limited gas stations on route. Fill up in major cities.
September 19
Flew to Calgary the evening of Sep 18, planning to shop Sep 19. Alberta’s 5% tax is fantastic! Rented from Enterprise at 5 PM (finally 25+, no longer paying surcharge; my Cobalt credit card includes rental insurance—perfect!). Started toward Banff with early hotel booking at YWCA for good rates.
September 20
Purchased a package from here including Sulphur Mountain Gondola, Icefield Adventure, and Golden Skybridge. Originally planned Jasper, but wildfires forced rerouting to Golden (the included Skybridge turned out useful, allowing flexible scheduling).
Important: Online tickets without specific times require on-site scheduling. We planned morning Banff exploration (Cascade of Time Garden, Surprise Corner Viewpoint, lakeside views (Hector Lake, Bow Lake, Peyto Lake)). Arriving at Icefield Centre around 1 PM, we were told earliest available was 3 PM—wasted two hours! Recommendation: visit Icefield Centre first, then explore lakes on the return drive (afternoon 2-3 PM is optimal for Peyto Lake).
The CAD$109 glacier ticket seemed pricey for being mostly transport with only 30 minutes on ice. The glacier may disappear in 30-40 years anyway.
Stayed overnight in Canmore. Beautiful views!
September 21
Morning drive to Banff town, visited Banff Gondola (book online but still required on-site scheduling; we had 11:50 tickets, minimal 11 AM queue so went straight up—no need to wait like at glacier). Explored town then headed to Golden for the afternoon Skybridge.
Honestly, you can hike Sulphur Mountain for free, hitchhike the gondola back (typically unchecked at ascent), and skip Skybridge entirely—entirely unnecessary.
September 22
Planned Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. Both require advance shuttle reservation (two days notice) or no parking. Departing from Park and Ride at Louise and Moraine Lake Bus Shuttle (1 Whitehorn Rd, Lake Louise, AB T0L 1E0). Our base in Golden required early departure. Online booking: select Parks Canada shuttles, choose Day Use shuttle to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, select date. Two options appear—Lake Louise or Moraine Lake—choose either; this just selects which lake you visit first. Online booking assignment is strict (our 7 AM became hard 7 AM—wasted time at visitor centre again). We visited Moraine Lake first, then Lake Louise. Trail nearby Lake Louise offers Fairmont hotel views, easy difficulty, highly recommended.
Staying overnight at Lake Louise was a mistake—should have stayed earlier, allowing flexible following night placement to avoid this early drive.
September 23
Final day: drove from Lake Louise viewing Morant’s Curve via the northern back road (recommended for wildlife spotting—drive slowly). Saw little deer but no bears. This scenic route connects to Johnson Canyon but subsequent roads closed. I wanted to drive all the way back to Banff via this scenic path; split off at Castle Junction if skipping Johnson Canyon.
Summary
Jasper wildfire closure, hotel selection error, excessive travel time plus visitor centre waiting wasted significant time. Banff has many hidden pitfalls. Next visit: optimize timing and tackle more trails.
Despite everything, Banff is absolutely beautiful! A few landscape photos:
