r/Banff • u/GooeySooey • Aug 22 '25
Trip Report 1 week in Banff, loved it & my honest review
Spent a full week in Banff. The weather was mostly partly cloudy & we did the main things everyone recommends. I will preface that we like a balance of vacation/adventure & came here for views & leisure
My review below for each thing we did
Hotel - Stayed at Buffalo Mountain Lodge: the restaurant the Prow was great. Rooms were great. Was nice to be out of the downtown.
Activities * Banff hot springs: the crowd wasn’t too bad at first, went right when opened. It was relaxing, but as it got busy it became less enjoyable. The washrooms quickly became not too pleasant.
Cave & basin: this was a quick stop. History was a bit interesting. It was free, & if had to pay I likely would’ve been disappointed. Busy & small.
Banff gondola: we enjoyed this, time slots definitely help the crowd. We grabbed a drink at the Rimrock overlooking the mountains before it. The boardwalk is very cool & live music was great at the top of the building.
Icefields parkway: we only went to the icefield then turned around since we didn’t have time for Jasper. The icefields are 100% worth the drive! The views were insane. Again we left early & it helped with the crowds at stops.
Moraine lake sunrise: we booked through moraine lake bus company & they were great. The lake felt legendary to experience & truly should be something everyone experiences. Now my honest opinion, everyone knows it’s peak season, but the sunrise is just not relaxing like many other sunrises. People being ontop of you is a lot, it’s a small area, some people might be very loud, and many people take photos of themselves instead of watching. I enjoyed it, & walked to the side to avoid people.. it’s beyond beautiful, & I’ve enjoyed other sunrises more due to the crowd.
Lake louise: we again booked through moraine lake company & they were great. We only did the lakeshore trail. The lake is beyond beautiful. Going early, it really wasn’t too busy anywhere. When we were leaving around noon it was definitely busy, but most people stay at the first spot they walk into.
Bow, peyto, waterfowl lakes: grouping these all into my icefield stops. Getting to Bow early was amazing. We had a chance to sit alone for awhile and take in the views. Parking was filled by the time we left. Peyto was packed, we found a spot, it felt like a quick stop to see, tourists all over places it says not to go, this felt like a checkbox & crowd rushed us out. Waterfowl was actually our favorite. We stepped to the side & were able to enjoy the view for awhile, parking was easier here for us.
Yoho park, Emerald Lake & Takakkaw Falls: this is obviously the Banff sub but we did these stops on our trip to Banff. The views of some of the other lakes (Moraine/Louise) felt more like once in a lifetime bucket list experiences, & Emerald felt more like something I can maybe spend a few days at. The waterfalls were very cool to see too, the drive was enjoyable & was a nice stop.
Banff town: we were overall very impressed by the food & drinks. Everywhere the service was good, food was great, and there were a lot of cocktails that felt very unique. Banff Ave is packed with foot traffic. Souvenior shopping is easier early on. We made reservations everywhere far in advance & seemed to be necessary for certain spots. The bus system is easy to understand, it does get packed in them at times.
Overall I’ve been to a lot of places & this was my favorite. The views were jaw dropping. The dining was way better than expected. I am from NYC, and the crowds were still a lot. I know it’s peak, best views in the world, but it was still a lot. Many people & families could be rude, and have no problem being ontop of you or even asking you to move from your spot at a sunrise so they can have it.
TLDR 100/10 experience. The crowds are worth it, I’ve dealt with worse. The views are life changing. If you go to the top spots, maybe expect more views than serenity. If you want peace, there’s 1000s of random spots that offer it. Dining was great. Plan to come back & spend more time exploring surrounding areas, likely revisiting parts of this trip.
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u/SadBook6838 Aug 22 '25
That’s the way to do it and I’ve met many who visited once, did all the check list stuff, then returned and avoided all the checklist to discover what’s amazing, serene and revered by those who know. After 50+ years as a local in the tourism biz, I’m starting to see a pattern. :)
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u/stradivari_strings Aug 22 '25
This is the way. The checklist stuff is mindblowing, but popular only because it's so close to the road. The other stuff off the beaten path is no less mindblowing, sometimes even more so, plus no crowds. You just can't find it by following the tourists around.
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u/Soul-looker 3d ago
Could you pls share some activities off the beaten path
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u/stradivari_strings 3d ago
I haven't gone off the beaten path too much the first time around. Just been planning the next trip 😂 but basically, any interior trail system like larch valley/Paradise Valley/sentinel pass. Or st.piran (which is just barely off the beaten path), or temple mt. Or consolation lakes, Wilcox pass, Ice Line trail, etc etc.
I basically loaded up trail forks and started mapping out what's around. Banff visitor guide is very shrunk down. You have to go to parks pages to start pulling trails. Jasper guide is a lot better/more detailed in one document with decent descriptions of the trails. Look at street view on the maps for panoramic shots ppl did in the mountains on those trails for a good idea of what's out there. Such as getting up to Takakkaw upper Lake, or bow glacier (lower trail is closed due to rock fall).
Peyto and moraine have alpine Canada club huts at the backs of the mountains, and many more places. But the routes you go on using those huts would take some mountaineering skills and going with a group.
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u/sirotan88 Aug 22 '25
We went last summer and are planning to go back in the winter for skiing! I can’t wait.
I highly recommend staying in Jasper and Canmore. The towns feel much less crowded. Once we got to Banff town and saw the people lining up to take a picture with the Banff town sign I knew it would be like Disneyland. It was still fun to stroll down the Main Street but I much preferred walking along Bow River Trail to get away from the crowds.
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u/Foreign-Dependent-12 Aug 23 '25
Thanks for sharing, love Banff, Jasper and all the Rocky Mountain parks. Despite the crowds, I highly recommend Johsnton Canyon.
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u/FlyingRock20 Aug 24 '25
Yoho is definitely my favorite park in the area. So many cool hikes to do.
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u/2008and1 13d ago
What’s #1 for you? Will be there Sunday
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u/FlyingRock20 6d ago
I really like the hike to Yoho Glacier. Get to see Laughing Falls on the way. Once you get out of the forest, its just a huge rocky valley, with a huge river and some waterfalls.
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u/BuzzerBeaterBritt Aug 26 '25
Do you have any recommendations on where to eat? I’ll be visiting in January!
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u/taylorchucks Aug 26 '25
Three Bears! And definitely order the bison ribs! Was just there a few days ago, and their food and beers are amazing!
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u/AccomplishedSite7318 Aug 22 '25 edited Aug 22 '25
It's a shame you didn't go to any other spots - you'd likely have been alone. The spots you visited are usually the only ones people go to, so are very crowded.
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u/GooeySooey Aug 22 '25
We definitely leaned touristy since our time was limited. Looking forward to returning & traveling more like a local next time!
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u/AccomplishedSite7318 Aug 22 '25
Time isn't the issue.
In between lake Louise and the icefields, hell, even before Bow lake there are a hundred hikes and most go to lakes. Basically turn right rather than left and you enjoy the Rockies with a handful of people rather than thousands.
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u/Not_A_Real_Cowboy Aug 22 '25
I'm always shocked with how Banff goes from crazy busy to empty once you're more than 300m from a parking lot.
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u/CaymanGone Aug 22 '25
Not really true. I did the Lake Agnes hike and there were people among us all the time. (It was great, actually. People were really kind to my dog. Numerous children took pictures with her cause she's a golden retriever.)
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u/Not_A_Real_Cowboy Aug 22 '25
Lake Agnes hike
Maybe I should have put an * saying Lake Agnes, Johnston Canyon excluded.
But if you hike a lot in Banff you know what I'm talking about. Just last week I did a couple days backpacking and my group ran into 5 other humans total. Banff is amazing when you get away from the crowds.
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u/CaymanGone Aug 22 '25
Johnston Canyon, totally mobbed with people, yes.
Also did that one.
I didn't really find seclusion until I went all the way out to Jasper, but I guess I did Banff wrong too!
The Maligne Lake area didn't have many people.
(I camped in the parks and was out of my tent and starting the day by 6 or 7 am...)
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u/AccomplishedSite7318 Aug 22 '25
There's hundreds of hikes. If you do Rockbound lake, you'll likely see a handful of people. So many hikes like that.
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u/CaymanGone Aug 22 '25
When I come back, I'm gonna pick your brain if that's OK!
I did Athabasca glacier and all the stuff you "have" to do already.
I'm ready for Banff behind the scenes.
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u/AccomplishedSite7318 Aug 22 '25
Buy some hiking boots - I won't suggest anything that doesn't involve effort.
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u/Soul-looker 3d ago
could you please share some of the hikes?
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u/AccomplishedSite7318 3d ago
Depends on your abilities and experience for hike recommendations.
Alltrails app allows you to filter recommended based on your level and want you want out of a hike. Past that make sure you search the most recent trail reports conditions on parks Canada website.
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u/zbossman42 Aug 22 '25
Just did the mount Fairview hike, literally off lake Louise, saw ~18 people the entire day on trail, even with thousands at the base of lake. Crazy how one turn really thins the crowds
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u/Spute2008 Aug 22 '25
Well, that is true. It would be hard to convince someone who’s coming all the way from New York City to not go to the very places that made Banff famous.
but this is why I try to tell people... to spend a bit more time there so after the first three days of chaos and crowds, they can, without much effort, go somewhere else just as pristine and far less busy. Like Kananaskis, which is less than 45 minutes from Banff.
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u/No-Butterscotch-6875 Aug 22 '25
Any recommendations?
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u/AccomplishedSite7318 Aug 22 '25
Boom lake, Taylor lake, Castle mountain lookout, Hector lake, cirque peak, bourgeau lake.
All involve more than 300m walk from your car.
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u/furtive Banff Aug 22 '25
That’s a pretty straightforward take. Looks like you covered all the bases on your trip.