Banff National Park | Canada

Banff National Park is a park in the Rocky Mountains. Here are my must do’s in Banff National Park.

1) Peyto Lake

Peyto Lake is a glacier-fed lake in Banff National Park and is known for its bright color. The best view of the Lake is from Bow Summit, the highest point on the Icefields Parkway.

Fun Fact: The water has rock particles that absorb all colors except for blue and green. Thus the color of the Lake.

2) Bow Lake

The water from Bow Lake comes from the meltwater of the Bow Glacier. You can also see the Crowfoot Glacier from Bow Lake.

3) Crowfoot Glacier

Crowfoot Glacier is a glacier in Banff National Park and originates from the Little Ice Age. The glacier once resembled a crowfoot but the glacier has shrunk too much for it to be recognizable again.

4) Lake Louise

The town and lake wear the same name. The lake is a glacial lake, so don’t even try to take a swim in it. The bright blue color of the lake comes from stone particles that absorb all the colors except for the color blue.

5) Lake Agnes

We decided to follow the Lake Agnes trail from Lake Louise. The trail takes around 2 hours (return) and is 7 km long (return). Lake Agnes is quite beautiful but Lake Louise is more beautiful. Lake Agnes also has a teahouse but don’t even bother because the queue starts already at 8 AM for a tea.

On your way to the top, you’ll pass Mirror Lake. When there is no wind, the mirror lake will do its job!

We also thought we would see Lake Louise from on top but that wasn’t the case. The trees were too big and stood in our view.

6) Morraine Lake

We also went to Morraine Lake but then a thunderstorm hit us. The lake stayed blue during the heavy rain though! We planned on kayaking on this lake, but yeah that didn’t go through.

7) The Bow Valley Parkway

Bow Valley Parkway was the original highway that connected Lake Louise with Banff. Now it is a route to educate visitors about the region and to spot wildlife.

Read more about what you can see on the Bow Vally Parkway below!
» The Bow Valley Parkway to Banff | Canada

8) Johnston canyon

On the Bow Valley Parkway lies Johnston Canyon. Johnston Canyon is a canyon where the Johnston Creek flows and is formed by erosion over thousands of years. There are a lot of waterfalls and pools to be spotted in this canyon. We planned on hiking the canyon but the weather changed our plans (thunderstorm).

9) Vermillion Lakes

When you arrive in Banff, you’ll immediately see Vermillion Lakes. Vermillion Lakes consists of 3 lakes. The lakes provide food and shelter for wildlife.

10) Bow falls

Bow Falls is located in Banff city. It is not a large waterfall but due to accessibility, many tourists come and see this waterfall.

11) Surprise Corner Banff

This is the best viewpoint to take a photo of the famous Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.

Fun Fact: The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel is rumored to be haunted. A family checked into room 873. One night the father killed everyone and himself. The ghosts of his victims remained in the room and startled guests in the middle of the night with screams and bloodstains.

Fun Fact: It is believed that this story was the inspiration for The Shining of Stephen King.

12) Hoodoos viewpoint Banff

I personally was not a fan of this must do, but maybe that’s because I was tired from our long day (including the thunderstorm). The Hoodoos are actually some kind of stone that is leftover from thousands of years earlier. The stone is hard to erode. Nothing much to see.

13) Sulfur Mountain Gondola

You can also take the Gondola in Banff to the Sulfur Mountain. We decided to not do this because it was $90 for a 10-minute ride.

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