Hey everyone!

I’m a guy from Toronto and I’ll be travelling to Banff from October 7-10. This will be my first time visiting Banff, and I’m travelling solo.

I really enjoy hiking and would love to explore places like Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Johnston Canyon, Tunnel Mountain, and potentially some other trails depending on the weather and trail conditions.

Since it’s my first time hiking in the Rockies, I’m honestly not very comfortable doing longer hikes completely alone, especially with wildlife and changing October weather. So I’m looking for a travel/hiking buddy or a small group that will be in Banff around the same dates.

A little about me:

• Male, travelling from Toronto
• In Banff Oct 7-10
• First Banff/Rockies trip
• Enjoy hiking, sightseeing and photography
• Beginner/intermediate hiker, not looking for anything extremely technical
• Happy to join an existing group or plan a couple of hikes together

If you're also travelling solo, visiting Banff during those dates, or have a group that wouldn’t mind another person joining, feel free to DM me.

We can chat first and meet somewhere public in Banff before deciding on any hikes.

Also happy to hear any recommendations for good October hikes for a first-time visitor!

Thanks!

Hey all, we are looking to book the 8x bus to Lake Louise, and when we fill in the reservation the journey out there is fine but the way back for the same day is all fully booked? Would they really sell a return ticket but have no slots available for the return journey? Would you just be left there lol

Wondering if I am just reading the website wrong

went to banff 2 years ago in July for a rushed 3 days, saw the major sites, Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Peyto Lake Lookout, Bow Falls, Johnston Canyon, Lake Minnewanka, Emerald Lake, Columbia Icefields, Norquay Lookout.

I have a couple days to burn going to Edmonton from Calgary so figured i should take the scenic route and maybe see some fall colours. I am arriving calgary Friday morning so i have friday late morning/early afternoon by the time i hit the banff area. I'm staying in Banff that night then staying in Jasper Saturday night, sunday night i have to be in Edmonton,

so yeah it's rushed.

But wondering if there is something i missed the first time i really should do this time around.

I'll never grow tired of visiting Banff National Park, even though eveytime I visit, the weather doesn't cooperate. This time around, I was able to do some hiking.

We signed up for the 2 hour e-bike tour with Bike Banff. We were on the fence about going as it was raining, but the wonderful guide, Olivia, was all about going. We were treated to this wonderful scene that we will not forget. The cool thing about the ride was passing joggers, hikers, other bikers, golfers, all going about their day without a second thought to the rain. Loved our Labor Day weekend trip!

My wife and I are heading to Canmore later this week and we plan to do lots of day hikes. It’s not a fishing trip, but I was wondering… are there many smaller streams with trout that we might pass along the way? I don’t think I’ll have luggage space or time to bring my 5wt and fish the Bow River, but I’m curious if you all think it would be worth it to pack my little 3wt to bring on hikes with me.

Thanks!

mountains on film just feel right

My girlfriend and I are visiting Banff and it happens to fall on her birthday. She has celiac, so I’m wondering what’re the best restaurants with gluten free options? Farm and fire has decent options, but we’re already staying at Elk + Avenue. After countless Google searches, I still can’t find anything decent…

My Dad and I are doing a father/daughter trip in October. We fly into Calgary, rented a car and our destination is Cranbrook (where my sister and her family live), but we’re going to do a day/night in Banff. My Dad has always been very active, but a couple years ago he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of multiple myeloma, he did a tandem stem cell transplant and is now in remission, and there are no words for how special this trip is.

After battling cancer, and the drugs he takes to keep his cancer at bay, he is not the energetic, active man he used to be. While he can do some walking/light hikes, I don’t see us tackling any mountains together (and that’s okay!) I’m looking for some suggestions of activities that he and I can do while we’re there that wouldn’t be too taxing on his body, but would still let him experience the beauty that Banff and the Rockies have to offer.

Appreciate any and all suggestions!

Travelling later this September and really keen to hike the sentinel pass though from what I can see this is only possible if you are lucky to grab shuttle tickets - I’ve done a few practise runs with no luck, so I wanted a plan B if possible if I am unsuccessful getting the tickets.

Apologies if asked before, I have tried to search this forum with no luck.

Appreciate any advice as first time to Canada.

We’re planning our first family trip to Banff December 11–20, staying at the Moose Hotel. We normally make an annual pilgrimage to Whistler for a winter/ski trip, but with the El Niño forecast and concerns about early-season snow at Whistler, we decided to try Banff this year instead.

We’re hoping mid-December in Banff gives us a pretty good chance of actual snowy winter vibes and some skiing, but I’m curious what regular visitors think. If conditions aren’t great yet, is there still enough to do in and around Banff with a 7-year-old to make a 10-day trip worthwhile?

We’re definitely not a “ski from first chair to last chair every day” family. We love the whole mountain-resort experience — snow, cozy hotels, wandering around town, good restaurants, sleigh rides, skating, tubing, hot chocolate, etc. Our daughter will probably do ski school for at least a few days, but we’re perfectly happy mixing skiing with other winter activities.

Would you keep the Banff trip and just be flexible about conditions, or is December 11–20 early enough that you’d consider pivoting somewhere else if snow looks questionable?

And any favorite December/Christmas activities with a 7-year-old would be very welcome!

Hi everyone! 👋🏻
My friend and I are planning a trip from Dec 26, 2026 – Jan 2, 2027, and we’re deciding to spend the holidays in banff

We’re based in Toronto and would fly to Calgary and rent a car if we choose Banff.

What we’re mainly looking for is a trip with lots of activities and things to do throughout the week — not just sightseeing, eating and relaxing. We’re interested in skiing/snowboarding, Lake Louise, skating, Johnston Canyon Icewalk, dog sledding, snowshoeing, gondola, hot springs, etc.

We’re also curious about New Year’s Eve in Banff. We don’t necessarily need a huge party, but we’d love to have some kind of NYE celebration, countdown, fireworks/entertainment, or festive atmosphere if there is one.

For anyone who’s been to Banff around Dec 26–Jan 2:

Is there enough to do for a full 7 days without getting bored?

Are most winter activities open during this period?
How is Banff on New Year’s Eve? Is there a good atmosphere/celebration?

Are there usually fireworks or some kind of countdown event?

How difficult is driving around Banff/Lake Louise in late December?

What activities would you absolutely recommend?

We’re really looking for adventure, activities, beautiful scenery, and a memorable holiday, rather than nightlife.

Would love to hear your honest opinions!

I’m visiting for the week and would love to run with a group. Pace between 5:30-6mins/km, distance between 5-10km!

Any groups to recommend?

I just had the most harrowing shuttle booking experience. I clicked reserve at exactly 8 am and was elated to see I'd scored shuttle seats. I'm then directed to sign in before checkout. After a buggy checkout experience I find that my cart is now empty. Of course all the slots are now taken.

My last-ditch effort was to spam the reserve button at 8:20 when my cart (and possibly others) expired, which thankfully worked. But this is a truly heinous bug which they need to fix.

Hi all, I’m mainly looking for advice on one thing: if we can only start hiking from the top of the Sunshine gondola around 2:30–3:00 PM, is Porcupine still a reasonable first-night destination with full packs? And if not, is there any legal fallback before Porcupine?

We aren't very fast or the most fit hikers.

Context: we have Porcupine reserved for Sept 12, then continue toward Og/Magog and eventually exit at Mount Shark. Our flight lands at YYC at 9:30 AM that same morning, so we still need to get through immigration, pick up the rental car, buy stove fuel, drive to Sunshine, park, eat something, and take the gondola.

From what I understand, Porcupine is about 13–14 km / 8–9 miles from the gondola top. I’ve been checking Howard Douglas Lake (Su8) for Sept 12 for the past couple of months, but it has never shown availability.

A few things I’d especially like opinions on:

• Is a 2:30–3:00 PM start reasonable?
• At what start time would you personally call it too late?
• Is there any legal contingency between Sunshine and Porcupine if Howard Douglas is full?
• Would you be comfortable hiking the last hour or two after dark with headlamps if weather is good?

We’re trying to be conservative rather than turn the first day into a race, so I’d really appreciate input from people who know this stretch well.

I’m moving to Banff in a few weeks and would love to find some local games if there are any. I understand there is a shop in Canmore but wondering if anyone plays commander in town as well?

PM if so and would be keen to play!

Hi, I will be in Banff for a few days in my 21 foot RV soon. I understand this means I cannot park in the standard car park at Lake Minniewanka and need to use the RV park.

I am planning to visit the lake on September 9th after the labour day weekend. Given it's a weekday and after the holiday weekend, I hoped that might mean the RV car park won't be too full and we would be okay parking there in midday or early afternoon.

Does that sound reasonable or is it likely to be full by then?

I've considered the bus, but my wife is pregnant and nauseous/needing to pee a lot so having our RV accessible if she needs it on the journey down would be best if we can.

I am planning a trip to Banff in late November and I'm looking for some hike recommendations. I am a fairly experienced winter hiker, but I have no experience in avalanche terrain. I would like to hike to an alpine lake while I'm there, but avalanche terrain maps are hard to find online outside of the most popular areas . Does anyone have recommendations for good hikes in Banff (or surrounding parks) that would take me to an alpine lake or another good view and avoid avalanche terrain?

Thanks!

Planning for a family trip from the US to the Banff vs Jasper for this October as we intentionally wanted to avoid the summer/school crowd. The closest I have been was the Glacier from the US side and has been my favorite national park. We like scenery views/lakes and short walks. We are used to long road trips with our toddlers and have done it multiple times internationally. We are not into hiking - obviously due to kids - but can do short hikes if it's worth the view and stroller friendly.

We are looking for 5-7 days or so. Calgary airport and rent a large SUV/mini-van. Recently, I have came across the Athabasca falls in Jasper and it looks stunning. But I am not sure if it's something unique and nothing similar to it at the Banff that is worth the extra drive and sleeping there.

To give some perspective. I really liked the Glacier from the US side where you can hit most of the epic things by driving the main road and make some stops with short walks. Contrary to the Rocky Mountain National Park where it mostly required hiking and limited driving/stroller friendliness.

Another factor, I know it's not predictable, but are their main roads that would be typically closed in Banff/Jasper during the first half of October? Many of the US national parks have history and most of the time you would know ahead.

We normally just beeline it to whatever peak we’re scrambling along the Icefields, but this time we decided to leave a day early and check out some stops on our way to HI Hilda Creek Wilderness Hostel. I also wanted to officially check off some of the named lakes in the park instead of just driving by them. I’ve driven by Herbert and both Waterfowl Lakes but never actually stood at their shores. We did the trail around Herbert and Bow Summit as our little hikes for that day, as a warm up for Boundary Peak. We had thought about redoing Parker Ridge (seeing as the hostel is right at the base), but in retrospect it was good we passed on it, as it took us a LONG time to filter the water we collected from Hilda Creek for the weekend. We expected that, seeing as the creek comes right off the glacier and glacial flour is to be expected.

Hi everyone! We booked a tour to visit the lakes with a guide and we need to leave our car at the Banff station parking lot and then reach the pick up point. Can anyone tell me the parking hours and costs?

Pictures from our visit in the third week of August. Managed to catch some amazing weather and visibility.