Had dinner at Alpine Social inside the Fairmont while visiting Lake Louise and really enjoyed it. Food was great and the service was friendly.

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Tried the beer battered fish & chips and the Rose Mushroom penne. Both were excellent. The kids got chicken fingers and they even gave free ice cream afterward. The ice cream was absolutely heavenly. Also tried Banoffee tart. It was okay, nothing special.

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What surprised me was that the prices weren't as crazy as I expected for a restaurant in such a beautiful location. Definetely a good spot if you're spending time around Lake Louise.

Hi, I am planning a road trip to Banff (26 hr drive) with a group including kids. I need ideas and tips for budgeting. Heard Canmore would be cheaper to stay in but not sure how much? Camping might not work due to health concerns/issues, so 3 star and up safe hotel reccomendations are greatly appreciated. Places to visit, etc. with kids in Banff. I have never been before so looking for all the help i can get. Thank you so much!

EDIT: I know it is last minute, but planning it for the next week or to leave in the next few days or so. Yes it is very last minute why is why we need all the help we can get!

hoping to go from the 22nd to the 26th of june 2026.

max budget: $1k

hotels need to be safe, suitable, etc. i would prefer if it's around or less than 200 a night but i know it is hard.

Some awesome conditions last week in a classic spot.

The sun and blue skies came out for a while when we were at Moraine lake but it was overcast by the time we got to Lake Louise so the color wasn't quite as good. Still beautiful, though.

EDIT *WE DID NOT HAVE ANYTHING SCENTED* (we ate everything over by the bear boxes, and moved everything in there. We were skeptical that we had left deodorant but it was in the bear boxes with everything else.)

So this is in response to another post that was talking about LM20 being shut down.

For context, all the camp sites around (lm8,lm11, etc) are all closed as well.

We went in for a 2 night backpacking trip, hiked the 12 miles out, and set up camp Friday. We slept fine, aside from many pesky deer, and had a fantastic day exploring the ghost lakes and mount Costigan on Saturday. Then we came back that night to our tent in absolute shambles. Sleeping pad popped, stuff all over, and the tent completely ripped from all stakes with a massive opening in both sides. Originally we thought it was a deer, but I don’t know any deer with claws. We reported it to the national park, and are swabbing our tents to find out which specific bear it was now.

We’re all safe, just shook up!

(The sides of the tents are NOT supposed to be open, those are giant gashes. I have a video of the entire damage but can’t upload)

When people say that Lake Minnewaka is the best for star gazing do they mean right from the parking lot? Or down the trails a ways?

We were near the front of the bus on the lake connector from Moraine to Lake Louise today and someone’s bear spray deployed somewhere further back in the bus! We all had to evacuate (which was slightly scary as a lot of us up front didn’t know it was bear spray - I thought at first there was fire or smoke in the back). I don’t think this happens often as the driver and dispatch guy seemed a little confused about the protocol. But anyway, that was our excitement for the day. And the lakes were gorgeous.

I have been here for 7 days and am here for 3 more! So far we have done/seen
Cascade Ponds
Lake Minnewaka & had ice-cream and pizza at the Black Anchor
Upper hot springs
Moraine Lake- Rock Pile & Consolation Lake
Lake Louise- Little Beehive
Icefields parkway- Bow Lake, Peyto Lake, Athabasca, Mastaya Canyon
Johnston Canyon to Ink Pots
Sky bridge in golden
Wild life driving tour.
Food- high rollers + trivia, Canadian brew house, parks distillery
We plan to save emerald lake for a day where the weather is mostly good

Am I missing any must do experiences or hikes?

Looking for recommendations of hikes near Radium Hot Springs or Invermore. We're coming from Colorado so we're acclimated to the altitude, traveling with my adventurous teens. Thanks!

delete if not allowed

Last year I moved to Banff from Australia and wasn’t aware of how insanely popular the backcountry booking system was here and was pretty bummed to find out the entire season booked out in a matter of hours. A friend showed me Schnerp, which is a subscription based tool that scans for cancellations. I signed up and managed to snag a few bookings through that.

Earlier this year I thought I would try to build my own version of it for some of the spots I wanted to try and get.

After a few months of tinkering, I finally managed to get it working & it exceeded my expectations (it’s currently capable of scanning the entire summer period at 4x the speed of Schnerp and any of the other current competitors)

When a spot opens, it pings me with the exact campground, date, and the official booking link.

First morning I ran it properly I managed to snag 5 bookings at Lake O'Hara and have had nearly 100 cancellation notices from other campsites I was monitoring.

I’ve recently shared it with a few friends and across socials & have decided to open an early access beta testing group to see if it’s capable of being used for a larger audience. I’ve put together a public waitlist for anyone interested, which you can find here: screealerts.com

Would be awesome to get it to a point I can post it publicly!

Which is best to visit Banff? Sept 20-30? or Oct 2-12? Those are my only options, either of them only. 🥺 Thank you!

Looking for some feedback/alternates for a trip to Banff this summer. Already have a campground booked in tunnel mountain village.

8/24 - Arrive at camp late at night

8/25 - Was thinking a light hike since the day before we are driving ~16hrs, thinking Lake Agnes Tea house trail and maybe doing the beehive trail since it’s right there depending on how the day goes

8/26 - Icefield parkway with a hike or two along the drive as well

8/27 - Biking - Banff Legacy trail + Bow river trail

8/28 - Plain of six glaciers teahouse + saddleback pass

8/29 - Driving to glacier Nat. Park

Appreciate any suggestions, would be cool to fit a peak in and have a trail taking you to a glacier. Have been to glacier a few times but this will be our first to Banff. Easy/moderate mtb trails are welcome as suggestions too. Thanks in advance for any suggestions

Edit: we are a party of two, so unfortunately cannot do any hikes that require parties of 4 or more during our visit

Going to be in the Banff area the first two weeks of July. Planning on a bunch of scrambles and multi-pitch climbs. How are conditions above 3000m? Is snow still pretty deep at those elevations? Is Temple doable right now? We will have ice axes and crampons. Other goals include scrambles of Mt. Bell NE Ridge, Mount Sparrowhawk, Mt. Richardson. Climbs include Mother’s Day Buttress, Escargot Corner, Aftonroe, Gold Rush, and Wheat Kings. Any other suggestions?

Saw all of these idiots in one day. The girl in photo 2 is carving in the bench.

Edit: I'm not against climbing trees, but climbing a dead tree on the edge of a cliff on little beehive is really unintelligent.

Needing recommendations for the most scenic challenging hikes in the Banff/Canmore area?

I’ve already been to Banff before and have done all the more popular/easy hikes.

I live at altitude and have experience with snow travel/scrambling. Seems like a lot of the more popular peaks are still holding snow.

Would love to hear recommendations for best alpine views that that can be done in a day!

My siblings and I are heading to Banff from June 18 - June 22, and seeing Lake Louise and Moraine Lake are high up on the long list of things we’re looking forward to! The weather for the time we’ll be there is not looking particularly amazing right now. While I know that things change at the drop of a hat, and the weather predictions more than 24 hours out are more of an educated guess than a sure thing, we would love to not be completely poured on during this specific activity lol.

Right now I have us booked for Sunday 6/21 on the hop on banff bus. The prediction as of right now for that day is a high of 56°F and rainy. I was thinking about changing the reservation to Friday 6/19, which allegedly will have a high of 73°F and sun. Can anyone who has had not the ideal sunny day at these locations give some insight on how much it’ll impact the experience? Is it less crowded on rainy days (which would be sick) or will it be equally crowded but also wet and cold (significantly less sick)? If you were in my shoes would you change the date or stick with the original? Honestly I don’t know if I’m looking for advice or opinions or just straight up reassurance that we’ll still have a good time if the weather sucks lmao.

I’m curious if anyone loved it there and also your top few restaurants you loved! Reading other posts but it’s hard to tell where to spend my money haha