The Quintessential Banff Experience

Exploring glacier caves, camping on the shore of your own private lake high in a glacial basin, contemplating your very own waterfall, finding the "other" hot springs no one knows about, meeting gorgeous snowboarder boys and girls from all over the world at intimate pubs in the city. Please also see my journal on Lake Louise for more hiking options.

Quick Tips:

For accommodations that foster meeting lots of cool people, there is no other place than the HI youth hostel on Castle Mountain. For luxury at affordable prices, forget the Banff Springs, stay at the Rimrock. Best hikes: Kauffman Lake, Hamilton Lake Cirque, Snake Indian Falls, Lake O'Hara, and many more...

Best Way To Get Around:

NEVER ride a Brewster coach from Calgary to Banff, it's cheaper to rent your own car, especially if you're there for a weekend, or if there are more than 2 of you. This facilitates easier access to trailheads if you're hiking, or cheaper more leisurely sightseeing if you're not hiking. Hitchhiking is popular and most locals will pick you up, but if you've got a long distance to go, be prepared for a couple hours' walking first, and make sure you're dressed decent and you don't have long hair!

You can''t go wrong with an HI hostel, especially the one in Banff. It''s big, friendly, and cheap. Unfortunately, it has a few things going against it. First of all, it''s ALWAYS full, and almost impossible to get a room. Second, it''s NOT convenient to downtown. You have to walk straight downhill more than a kilometer to get to anything, which means STRAIGHT BACK UPHILL on the way home! The only alternative (in summer) is to pay $1CAD and take the trolley. Despite it all, it''s a great place to stay, certainly the most friendly and social place in town and definitely the place to meet fun backpackers. http://www.hihostels.ca/Alberta/Hostels/Banff.html

This is the newcomer hostel in Banff, and BOY is it great!!! Global Village bought a hotel right on Banff Ave just 2 blocks from the center of town and turned it into a hostel. Which means you''ve got rooms with 3 sets of bunkbeds and a LOVELY bathroom. Which means it''s NOT crowded! Rates from $21CAD ($15 US). GREAT location, great rates, and they host fun activities in the evening like "dress up like whores and go bar hopping." Cool place... www.globalbackpackers.com

For years, this was where I stayed in Banff during the summer. It''s a block from downtown, but across the river so it''s not busy. It''s right on the banks of the Bow River. They''ve got cheap net access, cheap private rooms, and a huge common area with a blazing fire where all the kids chat late into the night. Rates in summer start at $22CAD for dorm beds, and go up to $59-$99 for private rooms (some with private bath). The private rooms are nondescript, but functional, and in the summer if you HAVE to stay here in town it''s the cheapest private room you''ll get. Like any good hostel, there''s a kitchen, but this one is rather small and can get crowded. ymountainlodge.com

Melissa's Missteak is a fancifully named joint off the main strip in Banff. Because it's a few blocks off Banff Avenue, the prices are a bit lower than other hearty restaurants. Melissa's serves breakfast to dinner, with a varied menu from gourmet pizzas to fresh trout and salmon to hearty mountain stews to...well...steak. You can eat for under $10US, but if you splurge and have some Canadian beer with dinner, and perhaps desert, your bill might look more like $15US.

The Rose and Crown is my "hang out and chill" spot in Banff...when I want to be around people. It usually has a friendly pubby atmosphere, mostly younger alternative types like snowboarders. There is usually a fire blazing on the hearth in this upstairs bar where you can order a pint of Canadian beer and settle down to some live music. Fun place, but gets JAM PACKED in summer or during holidays.

Canada's answer to IHOP, Phil's is quite simply a breakfast diner with great food, large portions, and cheap prices. It's right across the street from the YWCA, just across the river from downtown. I always have several meals here since dining out in Banff can be expensive. Phil's always fills me up for just a few bucks.

El Toro is located in Irwin's Mountain Lodge, a great budget hotel right on Banff Avenue. Unlike the hotel, the restaurant is a bit pricey (though you can certainly find much pricier places in Banff!) but it's very nice and they have EXCELLENT Greek food. If you want a romantic or upscale dinner and don't wanna spent $100CAD, go to El Toro.

The Icefields Parkway ranks among the most spectacular drives in the world. It is a well paved highway that traverses 100 miles of alpine scenery including spectacular blue glacial lakes, rugged peaks, thundering waterfalls, and frosty glaciers.

Thousands of people drive the Icefields Parkway during the summer, so it can be tough to find solitude. The first trick is to go LATE in the season! In September, the crowds begin to thin out as the breezes get a bit cooler. In October and November, the place is almost deserted. A few light snows have not yet graced the slopes enough for the skiers, but have transformed the still-pleasant climate into a wonderland.

Heading out from Banff toward Lake Louise and Jasper you have two options: the TransCanada Hwy 1, which is broad and fast, or the quieter Bow Valley Parkway Hwy 1A. I recommend driving the Parkway going, and then the TransCanada coming back. Though they are separated by only a few miles, the scenery is much more impressive on the Parkway. Just make sure you drive slow as wildlife is thick.

The Bow Valley Parkway and the Transcanada merge at the first major sight: Lake Louise. See the Lake Louise section of my journal for hints on things to do in that area.

Just outside Lake Louise, the Transcanada splits southwest and heads for Yoho Park and places beyond. The MOST SPECTACULAR scenery in all the Canadian Rockies lies down this road (which is not as heavily travelled as the Icefields Parkway) but you'll have to save it for another day. Check out the Yoho Park and Lake O'Hara sections in this journal.

For now, stick to the right, where the Icefields Parkway heads northwest. The first big sight you'll come to is Bow Lake, a large and lovely blue lake fed by the Bow Glacier. Most tourist whizz right past, but if you'll turn left into the entrance for the old Num-Ti-Jah Lodge (a lovely rustic lodge right on the lakeshore) and park behind the lodge, there is a wonderful trail that leads around the shore of the lake and through a rugged narrow canyon to spectacular Bow Falls, a 200 foot wall of water thundering out of the Bow Glacier and over the headwall to feed the canyon and lake. The hike is 4 miles roundtrip and is considered easy. Expect a couple of hours on this hike.

After Bow Lake, the road will begin to climb until you reach Bow Summit. Turn left here and drive up the road, ignoring the sign that says "Only Tour Buses Beyond this point!" Just keep driving until the road ends at a parking lot. Take the very short trail that leads out onto a deck overlooking Peyto Lake, the bluest lake in the Rockies! The view down the valley from here is breathtaking, but you'll be elbow to elbow with elderly Japanese tourists, so escape as quickly as you can.

Please see Part 2...

Go back down the hill and turn left onto the Icefields Parkway and you'll find yourself driving through eye-popping scenery for another half hour or so, passing Saskatchewan Crossing, a gaudy tourist trap. If you're low on gas, better get it here cause there's none until you reach Jasper.

After Saskatchewan Crossing, the road follows the river past a huge cliff that is laced with waterfalls in the wet season. Then the road enters a natural amphitheatre called "Big Bend" by the locals, and you can see why as it snakes around 180 degrees before beginning a steep ascent. This little basin is very interesting, and if you like long hikes, this is the starting point for the hike to the Saskatchewan Glacier, the longest glacier in the Columbia Icefield. But it's about 10 miles roundtrip.

The road climbs steeply up towards a pass, but as soon as you see a sign pointing right towards "Bridal Veil Falls" pull out onto the gravel parking area to your right. Most people stop here for a moment to admire the view of the falls and never realize that they are standing mere feet from a totally hidden waterfall that is one of my favorites in the Rockies.

You'll see a broken sign indicating a trailhead that climbs steeply down the gravel pile forming the parking lot and into the trees below. If you can't find it, just slide town into the trees and search around and you'll pick up the trail easily.

The trail switchbacks down the slope, and keep an eye for a spur trail that branches off at about the 3rd switchback. Instead of switching down, it continues on towards a huge boulder and then wraps around the cliff face suddenly revealing the powerful Panther Falls, spewing from a dark hole in the cliff. You can actually follow the trail all the way around BEHIND the falls! This is a magical spot, and I always have it to myself oweing to the tricky and somewhat concealed trail branch.

Back on the main trail, you continue switchbacking down with lovely views of Bridal Veil across the valley, until you reach a muddy and somewhat dangerous viewpoint below Panther Falls. If the sun is out a rainbow always plays hide-and-seek in the spray. This is the viewpoint that the few people who hike this trail always come to, and when you're up on the ledge behind the falls you may see a hiker or two down below gazing up at you wondering how the HELL you got up there!

The Nigel Creek Valley below might be a lovely place to clamber around in. There are quiet a few falls feeding it from the glacier-rich peaks above.

Please see Part 3...

Of the 1 million people that visit Banff each year, less than 1% of them are ever aware of the existence of Yoho National Park, a stone's throw from Lake Louise.

Since the discovery of this little-visited wonder, I spend about 3 days in Yoho for every day I spend in Banff. And there's a good reason...

Yoho is better! Everything about it is better. The mountains are higher. The lakes are bluer. The glaciers are whiter. And best of all...people are scarce!

Yoho hides Canada's highest waterfall, it's second longest glacier, and a handful of lakes that put Lake Louise to shame, Emerald Lake and the fabled Lake O'Hara, to name just two.

Yoho has so many sights and hikes that I've decided to put them in their own journal, so please visit my other journal -

"YoHo! The Better Banff"

Enjoy!

People always ask me if there's a place they can get to near Banff where I guarantee them they will see no one else, and be able to witness a massive spectacular wonder.

Snake Indian Falls is always my answer.

The falls are actually located in Jasper National Park, up the Icefields Parkway from Banff. The falls are not a family excursion, nor a day trip by any stretch of the imagination. It's a 5 hour drive from Banff to Jasper (taking your time), and then another hour drive along the Celestine Lakes Fire Road (a nightmare in-and-of itself) before you reach the trailhead. Then it's a long 12 and a half miles on foot or on a bike along a boring gravel roadway to the falls.

The difficulty in reaching the falls accounts for its solitude- certainly not the vista of the falls themselves.

Snake Indian is arguably the most spectacular falls in Canada.

So why don't people go there?

Please see the above remarks...

If you'd like to visit the falls, start from the Jasper townsite. Head east on the Icefields Parkway (towards Banff) and take the exit for the Snaring Campground. This is where the Celestine Lakes Fire Road begins.

Carefully read the informational sign, as the Fire Road is single lane and time restricted (i.e. you may start driving Eastbound from 1pm to 2pm ONLY, or westbound from 3pm-4pm ONLY, etc.)

At the end of the Celestine Lakes Fire Road is the trailhead for the remote North Boundary Trail. 22 kilometers (or about 13 miles) down this trail is Snake Indian Falls.

Be careful at the lip of the falls as they are very powerful. Also watch for grizzlies, as this is their prime habitat.

You can bike to the falls and back in a long day, or make it an overnight backpack.

There is a backcountry campground near the falls complete with bear cables, but you must have a free permit from the Jasper National Park service to camp here. (780) 852-6176

Before embarking on this trail, I highly suggest you acquire a copy of the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide, which exhaustively details getting to the trailhead and the hike itself.

Continuing up the Parkway you begin to enter the lunar landscapes of the alpine. You'll see a trailhead on your left for Parker Ridge. This is one of the finest short trails in the Rockies, so EVERYONE hikes the 1.5 steep miles to an overlook of the long tongue of the Saskatchewan Glacier. However, just up ahead, you'll have an opportunity to visit your very own glacier with no one else around, so I recommend passing up this trail.

You'll soon see a tiny shack on your right with a sign saying "Hilda Creek Hostel." Park in the large gravel pullout on your right, walk across the highway, and slide down to the creek bed, making sure you're to the RIGHT of the creek. A small trail winds back into the forest, eventually coming to a HUGE gravel mountain that looks like some horrible contruction is going on.

Well, nature is the bulldozer here! This is the terminal moraine for the Hilda Glacier. A moraine is a pile of rocks, dirt, and gravel pushed ahead of a glacier as it slides down a mountain. Resist the urge to climb this moraine (even though a trail leads up it) and continue along the right side of this massive mound until the trail just disappears and you see a few rock cairns on top of the morain above you.

NOW you can scramble up here, and now the hike becomes tricky. You are first treated to a view across the lunar landscape scraped out by the glacier. Far up the valley towards Mt. Athabasca you see the white of Hilda Glacier. Follow the rock cairns along the top of the moraines until you just can't follow them any more. Then, carefully scramble down into the deep glacial valley below you. Once you're down there, head towards what looks like a dirty cliff.

This is actually the toe of the now-receding Hilda Glacier.

Standing with hordes of tourists at the Athabasca Glacier at Icefields Center just up the road is impressive, but here, at Hilda, I promise you'll be all by yourself, gazing up at a 10-story-high wall of ice and feeling incredibly small.

Be careful! If there is warm weather or rain, the glacier will be melting and rocks will hurtle down, threatening to knock you senseless. You can continue up the valley as far as you like, but the going is very tough. Return the way you came in. Hiking to the toe of the glacier and back will take you about 3 hours, even though it's only about a mile each way.

The next stop is at the Icefields Center. Turn left towards the massive Athabasca Glacier. Follow the trail (it gets longer each year as the glacier recedes) and join the host of tourist peering warily into crevasses at the glacier's toe. This is an obligatory visit, despite its popularity, because getting this close to a classic "river of ice" glacier is always spectacular.

See part 4...

Continuing on the parkway, the scenery gets better and better as you pass more glaciers snaking down from lofty peaks. Just as the road reaches the summit of the pass, pull out onto the left side of the road and peer down into the canyon below.

This vista is breathtaking! Above the canyon is a thick layer of virgin-white glacier. In the canyon below, a murky river swollen with just-melted ice thunders along, made larger by umpteen waterfalls pouring off the cliffs to join it. What I wouldn't give to be able to hike down here!

You enter Jasper National Park at the British Columbia border, and shortly after this you'll drive RIGHT past Tangle Falls because you're coming down a steep pass. This means you'll HAVE to turn your car around and drive back! Because Tangle Falls is delightful!

Unlike most Rockies waterfalls which are thundering and scary, Tangle pours in many different tiers delicately over the cliff. A maze of trails lead up the left side of the falls for a better look.

Continuing on the parkway, you'll reach the popular Athabasca Falls down a spur road to the left. It's not really as spectacular as other things along this alternate route to Jasper, and I highly recommend deviating from the parkway to take this narrow road, Hwy 93A.

You'll pass the falls visitor center, and then after a few kilometers you'll see spur roads for Geraldine Lakes and the Fryatt Valley. Both of these trails are spectacular, and I highly recommend staying at the Athabasca Falls Hostel a night and hiking these trails, or just camping in the area.

Geraldine Lakes can be visited in a day hike. They are a chain of high-country lakes connected by massive waterfalls.

The Fryatt Valley is a remote and deserted, hanging valley containing two electric blue lakes connected by a thundering waterfall. There is even a primitive cabin in the upper Fryatt Valley that you can stay in. See the Huts and Hostels section of my journal for more info. The hike into the Fryatt Valley is long, perhaps 7 miles. I recommend that you hike in one day, camp or stay at the hut, and hike out the next, or make a 3 day trip out of it.

Continuing down Hwy 93A, we see a turnoff for the Mt. Edith Cavell Hostel and the Angel Glacier.

This is pretty spectacular country, and you must take the popular trail to the Angel Glacier, a cascading glacier in a wild amphitheatre containing a small iceberg lake.

Continuing on the road you'll eventually come to Jasper, a city not nearly as charming as Banff, and you'll be ready to hot-foot it back to Banff. However, it's a 4 hour drive back home, so you might want to spend the night here or at one of the hostels on the road home.

90% of visitors to Banff see the mountains through the window of a large tour bus, which is a shame, since these mountains hide perhaps the largest and most spectacular hiking trails on earth.

The Alps in Europe have grown more civilized and cultivated and populated. The Andes are too high to easily hike, the elevation becomes a serious problem, AND it's expensive to get there. The Himalayas escalate both those problems to ridiculous extremes. This leaves the Canadian Rockies... Easy to get to, comparatively low elevations, comparatively long hiking seasons, and it's CHEAP!

The first thing you'll need is a car. They're not TOO expensive, especially if you'll hike in late September, when crowds are gone and prices lower. You CAN hitch rides or pay for transfers to popular trailheads, but it's a total pain. Get your own car.

The second thing to take into consideration is hiking season. July is often too early for a lot of high-country passes, they are still snowed in or terribly muddy. August and September are usually perfect, with October bringing colorful leaves and still-nice trails.

Third is your ability. You can find spectacular scenery on short trails (Angel Glacier, Bow Falls), moderate trails (Hamilton Lake, Geraldine Lakes, all trails around Lake O'Hara), or multi-day backpacks (Yoho Valley, Fryatt Valley).

IT IS IMPERATIVE that you have a good trail guide, and BY FAR the best is the THE CANADIAN ROCKIES TRAIL GUIDE. It's so popular it's tough to find. The visitor's center in Banff always carries it, but in summer it's likely to be sold out. Try to order a copy on the internet at Amazon.com before you leave. This will help you plan your trip.

Other great guides are BACKCOUNTRY BANFF and HIKING LAKE LOUISE. If you like scrambling (mountain climbing with no experience or equipment), another must is the SCRAMBLES IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES.

How does one describe Lake O'Hara?

In brief, imagine what Lake Louise looked like before it became host to thousands of tourists each year... A secluded mountain lake of the deepest blue, perched high in a valley surrounded by cathedral peaks and glaciers, replenished by seven waterfalls pouring out of the mountains and onto its shores.

Lake O'Hara is quite simply and inarguably the most spectacular lake in the Canadian Rockies, perhaps in all the world.

And that is not an understatement.

The only problem is that's it can be tough as hell to get here, because the park service limits the number of people who can access this sensitive area. Thank God!

If this piques your interest, check out my separate journal on Lake O'Hara (entitled "The Most Beautiful Lake on Earth") which will give you the whole scoop.

Trust me, it's WORTH IT!

No trip to Banff is complete without an evening soak in the Upper Hot Springs.

WAYYY up on Sulphur Mountain, near the Gondola and across the street from the lovely Rimrock Hotel, those brilliant Canadians have diverted hot sulphrous water from several hot springs and filled a large pool with them. The springs range from 100F to 110F, and the pool ranges from about 2 feet deep to about 5.

In summer and during peak winter holiday ski season, it gets downright crowded at night. But in the fall and early winter, this place is a dream at 9pm, especially if there's snow falling. The condensation from the steam freezes solid in your hair, and you can break off a handful of ice and hold it while the rest of your body is toasty warm.

Bring your own towel and swimsuit to avoid having to rent one. Show your hostel card to get a discount of $1CAD.

PRACTICAL INFO:

Fees (in CAD)-
October-May $5.50 per person
May-October $7.50 per person
Locker - $0.50
Towel - $1.50
Swimsuit - $1.75


Hours -
October-May weekdays till 10pm
Fri and Sat till 11pm
May-October till 11pm

You can even have spa treatments like massages at the Hot Springs, for considerably cheaper than U.S. rates.

There are more hot springs in the Banff Vicinity, at Radium Hot Springs, and at Jasper, both of which are more family oriented than the Banff Upper Hot Springs.

http://www.worldweb.com/ParksCanada-Banff/springs.html