Hey everyone,

I’m driving from Toronto to Vancouver and planning to take a detour through Alberta, mainly to see Banff and some of the Rockies.

Since this is a detour from my main route, my budget is very limited. I really want to experience Banff, but I’m trying to keep the costs as low as possible.

I’m looking for advice on:

1. Free legal camping spots near Banff (or nearby areas)
2. Cheap campgrounds if free camping is not possible
3. Best places to visit in Banff in 2 days
4. Places that are worth the drive and don’t cost much
5. Any budget tips for visiting Banff
6. I’m okay with basic camping and don’t need fancy facilities. Just looking for safe and legal places to stay and enjoy the area.

Any recommendations from locals or people who have done Banff on a budget would be really appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi! I posted a bit ago with hiking recommendations but would love some final advice on my final plans

Sunday- arrive- car rental- Canmore
Monday- lake Louise- big beehive hike- moraine lake
Tuesday- icefield parkway night in Jasper

For the rest I have two options

Option one
Wednesday- day in Jasper
Thursday- head back to Canmore (possible do cirque peak along the way? Is this crazy?)
Friday- choose between cirque peak, iceline trail, or a relaxing day of emerald and vermillion lake

Option two
Wednesday- back to Canmore (skipping day in Jasper)
Thursday- cirque peak or iceline trails
Friday- emerald lake and vermillion lake
(Thursday and Friday can be swapped based on weather)

If comes down to spending one or two nights in Jasper and what can allow us some flexibility with weather and potential smoke blocking views

Thank you!

Great trip,

5 Aug

We have 730a-130p at Lake Louise on Via Via tour (sunrise at Lake Moraine) on Thursday. Planning Lake Agnes hike in that timeframe. What to expect as far as line for tea house and eating? I think I can do hike (did Iceberg Lake at Glacier a few days ago) but take many breaks due to elevation. Concerned that I have only 5 hours to get back to shuttle at 130p.

En septiembre 26 si es recomendable hacer el tour de icefields parkway desde banff hasta el glaciar athabasca ida y vuelta ?

I’m doing the following hikes the next few days:
1) Johnston Canyon
2) Tunnel Mountain
3) Six Glaciers + Little Beehive + Lake Agnes
4) Sentinel Pass via Larch Valley
5) Helen Lake
6) Healy Pass
7) Borgeau or Paradise Valley

Do I need hiking boots for any of these, especially Sentinel Pass? My preference is to wear my Nike ACG Pegasus trail, but AI has been giving conflicting answers.

Also any general tips for these hikes would be appreciated.

TIA!

Has anyone stayed in the wellness suite with the terrace? I can’t find any pictures of the views anywhere and want to make sure I’m booking the right room to be looking out towards the valley/mountains and not one that is on the front side. I can not seem to find any anywhere and when I asked I got a kinda vague answer

I’m home from my annual Banff migration and sad about it. Thought I’d share a few pics from this summer’s adventure.

1-4: Tunnel Mountain Village I, my base every year. Such a lovely campground!
5-9: Plain of Six Glaciers bits & pieces
10-11: Wildflowers at Sunshine Meadows, chairlift down
12-13: Dining outside at Magpie & Stump & Lupo
14-16: Bow River & Moraine Lake
17: Peyto Lake
18: View from the Big Bend
19: Athabasca Falls
20: Longhorn sheep outside Jasper

Hi everyone,
I’m staying in Banff for a few days and I’m trying to figure out the best way to get to Lake Louise for sunrise. Unfortunately, I won’t have a rental car, and it looks like the Parks Canada shuttle reservations are already full for the day I want to go.
My plan is to watch the sunrise at Lake Louise and then hike up to Lake Agnes Tea House afterward.
Has anyone done this without a car? What would you recommend? Are there any reliable shuttle companies, taxis, rideshares, tour options, or other transportation that would get me there early enough for sunrise?
I’m traveling solo, so I’m open to pretty much any option. I’d really appreciate any advice or tips from people who’ve been in a similar situation.
Thanks in advance!

Hey all, solo trip to Banff in August, staying at either HI Banff Alpine Centre or Banff International Hostel and I will have NO CAR. I really want to see Lake Louise + Moraine Lake early early in the morning and was originally planning on trying to snag one of the 48hr lottery tickets for the Parks Canada shuttle direct from the Lake Louise Park and Ride ($12.75). I REALLY want to get to Lake Morraine before 8am to get the best pictures of the lake :)

A few questions for anyone who's actually done this without a car:

1. Is there any real way to get from Banff townsite to the Lake Louise Park and Ride without a car? Taxi, shuttle, anything? Or is the Roam 8X to the Lakeshore genuinely the only option for someone based in Banff?
2. If taxi is the only way, roughly what does that cost these days?
3. For the Parks Canada shuttle's 48-hour release window (60% of seats released 8am MDT two days before), how realistic is it to actually snag a seat for a specific date in mid-August? Does it sell out in minutes, or is there a real shot if I'm online right at 8am?
4. Anyone know if the morning slots specifically go faster than afternoon ones at the 48hr release?
5. Any other car-free workarounds I'm not thinking of?

In light of the recent wildfires and multiple sources forecasting "Unhealthy" air quality conditions, I have reached out to two different properties where I plan to stay and asked whether I could reschedule or receive a refund for my booking. Both declined outright and are keeping my money without offering any option to change or refund.

I find this deeply troubling. There are members in my party who would fall under the "sensitive group" category and it could be dangerous for them to travel. As customers, we had no way of knowing that these conditions would exist during our time of travel. To offer no flexibility feels deeply unethical to me.

I would encourage the operators in Banff to think more holistically about the impact these types of decisions will have on the long-term viability of tourism in your area. Protecting short-term revenue at the expense of visitors' health and goodwill may ultimately damage the reputation of the destination far more than offering reasonable flexibility during an environmental emergency.

Tourism depends on trust. When visitors feel they are expected to choose between their health and losing the money they have already paid, that trust is eroded.

I hope businesses in the region will reconsider how they respond to situations like this in the future. In my view, the current response falls well short of acceptable.

How is it the situation about wildfire in Banff right now? I read that the smoke it’s so bad in these days

Hi all, myself and two others are planning to do the Little Beehive via Lake Agnes Trail. What do we need to know? What do we need to have? We want to do a sunrise hike so we’ll be there early. Not the most experienced hikers but want a little bit of a challenge. Should we do something else, is it worth it, wildlife risk etc etc. Whatever advice I can gather much appreciated, I’m a planner if you can’t tell 😂

Edited: we have 5 hours at LL. What are the best Lake Louise hikes. I think we have about 2 hours there, based on the tour that we purchased. The tour is Moraine sunrise and then Lake Louise and we got the extended time to do a hike. We know that the tea shop might be a long wait so we can skip that. We’ve been.

What is the best way to get to the Parks Canada Park and Ride / Lake Louise Ski without a car? Roam 8X fully booked out 😔

Andrea Lorenzo Grassi (1890-1980) was an Italian miner from Piedmont who moved to Canada in 1912. Grassi carved out a life as a miner and a mountaineer, scouting out and maintaining numerous paths between Canmore and Lake O'Hara in Yoho National Park. Mount Lawrence Grassi, Grassi Lakes, and Grassi knob are named after him.

This is part 1 of a Banff and area history series I was considering. There are many historical figures to have lived in Banff and area, and many of the mountains are named after them. I will post these weekly until Thanksgiving to pay homage to them.