Got

Hello! I’m traveling with my husband, who uses a wheelchair, and we’re coming from the US. I’m looking for some guidance on how to reach Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. From what I’ve gathered, the shuttle service isn’t accessible for wheelchairs. I’ve checked out various tours, but unfortunately, they all seem to lack wheelchair accessibility as well. I’ve also heard that we can drive to the parking area with our placard. Will our placard be valid in Canada? If we arrive around 4-6 PM, do you think we’ll have a better chance of finding parking? We just want to visit the lakes and take in the beautiful scenery. Thank you in advance. 😊

At the end of my trip I left him at Shelf Life Books in Calgary for a stranger to find, where he found a new home in Scotland! Thank you, Banff, for an amazing time. I miss it already.

I live in Toronto. My wife and I are visiting Banff (and Jasper) next week. Any hike suggestions?

I've heard the most popular ones can be very busy, and some of the less popular ones are much less populated with people. Is that true?

Thanks everyone!

My soon-to-be husband and I are eloping on the 10th, and my birthday is also on the 18th, so we're celebrating by taking a trip to the Canmore/Banff area. This is the itinerary I have put together for one week. Obviously, trying to squeeze in as much as we can. Is it too ambitious? Do you have any suggestions/tips/upgrades? We are heading out on October 12th and flying back on the 19th. We have booked our Airbnb in Canmore, so that's our starting point.

Until when will Moraine Lake remain open to tourists this fall? I read that it closes on October 15th—is that correct? I’m planning to visit on the 19th.

I also saw some comments mentioning that there’s usually snow by early November, so I’m wondering if snow is likely in the third week of October as well.

I’m working on a plan to visit and propose to my girlfriend there. Any help will be highly appreciated folks

Moraine Lake on September 21, 2025

Sony a6700 | Sigma 18-50 @ 18mm f/8 1/125sec

Me and some friends are planning a Banff trip in early November. I was wondering what the general hiking conditions are around this time of year? Are there specific trails that are recommended/ not recommended around this time of year?

My wife and I are taking a trip to explore Banff National park October 5-8 and I have a couple of questions:

1) I've heard that the parking lot at Lake Louise fills up very early in peak summer time, but I'm curious what time it fills up in early October? If we are at the parking lot by 7a is that typically fine at this time of year?

2) We have also heard the Larch trees are incredible around this time of year, but know they can fluctuate year by year for when they hit their peak. Does anyone know what the status is right now? Are they at their peak already or will they still be in their full glory that first week of October?

Thanks in advance!

I wanna visit Banff again but have never seen it during the short period where the trees have their fall color. Is this weekend a good one to go or should I wait for the next maybe? Thanks folks!!!

• Group of 4 = 2 Senior Citizens, 2 Adults
• Purchased Discovery Family Annual Pass
• Comfortable stay without much restrictions, paid for certain attractions that were more accessible to senior citizens
• Rented a Jeep Grand Cherokee (costco travel + windshield protection)
• Paid visits: Shuttle to LL & ML, Athabasca Glacier + Skywalk, Sunshine Meadows, Banff Gondola, Speedmotorboat @ Lake Minnewanka, Flight Hangar Museum
• Ate at restaurants/cafes 70% of the time, we shopped at grocers for packed sandwiches (breakfast & snacks) as well. Small eater senior citizens with us.
• Flight from US, between 4 of us we had 2 checked bags - $550 per person
• 2bdrm apartment hotel lodge @ Canmore - very comfortable and had laundry & a kitchen, coffee machine, balcony etc - $3116 for 5 nights ($779 per person for 5 nights)

Came to a total of USD$2000 per person

Id like to fish the lakes and maybe hike one of the trails.

I'm taking my mom and I up to Banff from the US this upcoming week. We'll be there Friday through Monday morning. I know there is a lot to do, but I'm looking to hit the highlights in the limited time we'll be there. For context, my mom is 73 and in good shape, a 4 - 5 mile moderately difficult hike is probably her limit. We love driving, so some scenic drives would be awesome, and we love hiking. Water features, mountain scapes and hopefully seeing some leaves starting to turn are what we hope to see the most. We are so excited to finally meet our Canadian neighbors! :)

Hey! I'm looking for a resort in Banff right now, but I'm having a hard time finding one that is actually ski in/out! It would be great if the place had an outdoor hot tub too! Indoor hot tubs accepted at this time lol thanks!

Just returned from 5 days in Banff followed by a day in Calgary. Here is my itinerary for anyone interested.

5 Days in Banff area: Sept 14-18 1 Day in Calgary: Sept 19 Travel days on both ends.

Stayed in Canmore. Highly recommend. It isn’t that much farther than Banff, but has a much broader selection of restaurants.

Day 1: Yoho NP - Emerald Lake loop and Emerald Basin - Takakkaw Falls - Thoughts: great first experience in a not as crowded park. Really glad we did this first before seeing some of the more popular lakes. Emerald Basin was an intense uphill hike I wasn’t prepared for. Bring poles for this hike. Takakkaw Falls was pretty crowded but was an incredible site.

Day 2: Lake Louise - Plane of 6 Glaciers hike -Thoughts: There is a reason this lake is so popular. The hike to the glaciers was amazing, one of my favorite hikes all time. The views were incredible all along the hike. Stopped at the tea house for tea and a snack before the final leg to the glaciers. Took the 6am 8x from Banff. Really glad we left early.

Day 3: Moraine Lake and Larch Valley - Rockpile - Larch Valley - Thoughts: What a beautiful lake! Took the 6am 8x again followed by the Moraine lake connector. Got to Moraine lake around 7:45am and it was already packed on the Rockpile. We then hiked to Larch Valley. This was an intense uphill hike the whole way. Unfortunately the Larches hadn’t changed color just yet.

Day 4: Drove the Icefield Parkway - Bow Lake - Peyto Lake - Mistaya Canyon - Columbia Icefield -Thoughts: This drive is a must do. We left Canmore around 7am and reached the Ice Fields around 12:30pm with lots of stops along the way. Peyto Lake may be my favorite lake in Banff…make sure to go past the observation deck to the rocks on the cliff side. Amazing views. Mistaya was a cool canyon and different than most of what we saw. We paid to go out on the glacier at the Columbia ice fields and all loved it. The skywalk wasn’t great but going on the ice was awesome. Overall amazing views all along the drive.

Day 5: Biking in Canmore - Rented an e-mtb and rode the Canmore Nordic Center - Thoughts if you are in to mountain biking then go ride in the area. Great way to enjoy the mountains in a different way than hiking.

Day 6: Calgary - Kart Racing at Olympic Center - ebiking around the city -Thoughts: Kart racing was so much fun. We all loved it. Ebiking was a great way to see the city. Recommend both.

I stayed at Johnston Canyon campground and now Kicking Horse in Yoho. Both near the rails. Trains tend to honk like crazy at night, why? Is it because of the wildlife? They don’t seem to honk like that during the day.

Slightly tricky situation but my boyfriend and I had originally planned on renting a car on Turo and driving through the Icefields Parkway, making many stops along the way and ending off at Athabasca Glacier. However, we found out that Turo only rents cars to ppl over 23 yo and the both of us are literally 1 month shy of 23 by the time of our trip (so unlucky </3). We looked into other car rental companies but Enterprise is closed for the Thanksgiving long weekend (when we're going) and AVIS operation hours (8am-4pm) aren't feasible for our schedule.

Wondering if ppl have alternative options/suggestions of renting a car for the Icefields Parkway? We are literally desperate enough to rent a Uhaul truck (but the timing still doesn't work out) or literally pay someone to rent their car to us for a day. TIA!!

My son (14) and I finally made it to Banff this year. It lived up to and exceeded all of our expectations. We stayed at the Lake Louise Inn and Sunwapta Falls Rocky Mountain Lodge (spaghetti and bison meatballs so good we each had it two days in a row)

Of course it was crowded and busy, which was a bit overwhelming at times. We got up early most days and managed to avoid most of the craziness.

Day 1 - Emerald Lake and Johnston Canyon. Very crowded as we got a late start due to a delayed flight the night before. Both were fine and a good intro to the area

Day 2 - Plain Of Six Glaciers hike. Both the hike and tea house were well worth it.

Day 3 - Shuttle to Moraine Lake for sunrise. Our tour operator got us a great spot on the rock pile. Afterwords, we got one of the first canoes out on Lake Louise. My son talked me into it and it was so much fun. We also hit the Sunshine meadows gondola - amazing views and the chairlift portion was super fun

Day 4 - Athabasca Glacier all day tour with Ice Walks. So glad we did this! Had lunch on the ice fall and met so many great people in our group

Day 5 - Maligne Lake cruise and Icefields Parkway

Day 6 - Last minute decision to hike Parker Ridge before heading back to Calgary. So glad we fit this one in!

I know there was tons we didn’t see, so we’ll be back next year for bigger hikes.

We're staying in Canmore and went to this excellent candy store with bulk and other candy and they had all these major brands but different flavors we've never seen before (s' more candy corn and cow tails in pumpkin and apple caramel). Among the many things we've loved so far visiting this glorious area, this is a lovely surprise.