Prior to Covid, my fiance and I took a trip out west Canada to Banff, Alberta. Alberta truly has it all; beautiful lakes, mountain peaks, glaciers. Here I go over our 3 days with an exact itinerary to give you an idea of what we were able to fit into each of our days! If you want suggestions of other activities to fit into your days click here for my Ultimate Guide to Banff, Alberta!
I would like to add that we actually flew into Edmonton, Alberta and stayed a night with our friends before we started our road trip to Canmore, Alberta which was about a 4 hour drive. We woke up at 0530 and arrived into Canmore at about 1100 to get our three days there started.
Where to Stay?
I highly recommend staying in Canmore, Alberta. It is a quaint little town in the middle of the Rockies. It is very well known for the Three Sisters peak and the Ha Ling peak. The great thing about Canmore, is it does not feel commercialized like Banff does, and it is about 2x less the cost to stay then it is in Banff! Canmore has so many beautiful hikes, we cannot wait to go back.
The resort that we had stayed at is called the Solara Resort and Spa. The resort was absolutely beautiful – the rooms were like apartments with a full kitchen, full living room and a full size bathroom. We also had a cute balcony with a table and chairs, to enjoy a nice cup of coffee in the morning OR a nice glass of wine in the evening. The views from the rooms were beautiful, as we had a view of the Three Sister Peaks from the balcony.
When to Visit?
The best time to visit Banff is June – August and December – March. My personal favourite would be June-August as I love hiking and the warmth but if you are someone who loves skiing, snowboarding, sledding and anything in the snow, the winter months from December to March would be your best option!
We were in Banff during the month of June which tends to be less crowded then in the busier months of July-August which was perfect! I just suggest to watch the weather in the mountains during the month of June, we luckily had beautiful weather but the day after we left it snowed soooo much.
Getting Around
If you are an adventure seeker like us, rent a car! You can rent cars from the airport for a decent price. Trying to get to remote places is just too difficult and you may need to arrive to certain hikes before buses even start shuttling due to wanting to beat the crowd!
TIP: If you are driving yourself you will require to purchase a daily park pass for $9.80 CAD. You can buy them ahead of time here.
Itinerary for Day 1
0530: WAKE UP CALL! DRIVE FROM EDMONTON – CANMORE
We woke up bright and early to get our journey started as we had a 4 hour drive from Edmonton – Canmore. Stopped on our way to grab a bite to eat at McDonalds and continued on our journey. On the drive from Edmonton, the closer you get to Calgary you can start seeing the mountain ranges on your right hand side. Once you pass through Calgary, it is about an hour drive till you arrive in Canmore. It was soooo beautiful driving into the mountains, I have never seen anything like it before. We stopped along the road a couple of times to get some pictures and soak it all in as much as we could.
1100: CHECK INTO LODGE
We arrived into Canmore a little earlier then check in was called for. I did call ahead of time to see if they would let us check in early, which they had a room available and ready so as soon as we got into town we went to check in right away! Our lodge was beautiful. As mentioned previously we stayed at the Solara Resort and Spa, it was stunning and highly recommend to anyone we speak to, to stay there!
1200: LUNCH TIME
The Grizzly Paw Pub & Brewing in Canmore is where we went for lunch, they had an awesome outdoor patio. They make a killer caesar, which anywhere that can make a caesar is a must go to for me! After we finished lunch we just went for a little walk in the downtown area
1400: GROCERIES
Since we were staying in a lodge that had a full kitchen, we figured we might as well stop and grab some groceries and snacks for our planned hikes. There are a couple different grocery stores in Canmore.
1500: UPPER GRASSI LAKES
First hike of the trip was about a 10 minute drive from the lodge. It is a pretty high traffic hike which has an easy trail and a moderate trail. We took the moderate as we figure it would have been more scenic! It also would not have taken that long but we stopped a lot along the way to take photos and to enjoy the crystal clear lakes along the way. About half way up we found a waterfall – it was a bit off the hiking trail but we climbed our way down to get to it. We sat there for about a half hour until we continued our way up again. This hike is great for families with young children!
2030: FIND A SUNSET
We wanted to make sure every night we saw the sunset in the mountains! We researched and found Quarry Lake. We caught it just in time! It was such a peaceful, beautiful walk. Got to see some wild life during our walk as well. This quarry is well known to locals for swimming, there is a rope swing that you can use to swing into the water.
Itinerary for Day 2
0600: WAKE UP CALL! DRIVE FROM CANMORE – LAKE LOUSIE
A great day of hiking and beautiful scenery! Make sure to pack some snacks and water, bring a backpack to store anything you may need throughout the day. We both wanted to make sure each morning we were up as early as possible to make the most of each of our days considering we were only there for a couple of days! We stopped at this cute coffee shop for some latte’s on our drive to Lake Louise. The drive was about 40 minutes and make sure to keep your eye out for some wildlife along the drive; we saw a baby cub, for my first time ever!
0630: LAKE LOUISE
The most beautiful part of the rockies with the iconic glacier fed lake, which is known for its turquoise blue water. Lake Louise is the busiest part of Banff. Get here as early as possible because the later you get there, the more people there are.. There are thousands of people that go on a regular day.
0700: BREAKFAST AND TEA AT THE FAIRMONT CHATEAU
You cannot visit Lake Louise without having a tea at the Fairmont. It is on the pricier side, but totally worth it for the experience. We did not have a reservation, which I would highly recommend. The food was absolutely delicious.
0800: PLAIN OF SIX GLACIERS HIKE
This hike took us about 6-7 hours total and that was including stopping at the Tea House to have some tea and coffee (also a bite to eat). I recommend if you do this hike to continue up the trail passed the tea house for about another 20 minutes – 30 minutes. The views at the end of the hike are breathtaking! And, you may just get to hear some ice calving’s like we did!
Note: We did this hike at the beginning of June and there was still so much snow, that the majority of the time we were walking through a foot of snow if not more.
1600: JOHNSTON CANYON
On the drive back to Canmore we decided to stop at one of the most popular attractions in Banff. It is a quick trail with gorgeous views. There are two hikes the upper and the lower falls. We only went to the upper falls. The entire walk you’re walking over the falls. It is amazing to see such power full water.
1730: DINNER TIME
When we got back to our lodge, we showered and freshened up to go out for dinner. We stayed in Canmore and found this place called The Wood Restaurant and Lounge. The view from sitting on the patio was beautiful! I had the salmon, the salmon I had is no longer on the menu but I am sure the new plated one is just as delicious!
2030: FIND A SUNSET
Once we finished dinner, we found another another sunset along the Canmore river.
Itinerary for Day 3
0530: WAKE UP CALL! DRIVE FROM CANMORE – LAKE MORAINE
Bright and early wake up call, packed our backpack with snacks and drinks and got on our way! Lake Moraine is basically right near Lake Louise, just about a 20 minute drive down a very long windy road.
0700: VISIT LAKE MORAINE
WOW. Literally all I can say about this lake. It was STUNNING! And should be on the top of your list to see. I think Lake Moraine is more beautiful then Lake Louise.. Everyone who has been here before will tell you get there SUPER early, as early as possible. And is that not ever true! We were on the road as to what we were thought to beat the rush to the stunning lake, but we arrived and there was literally 1 parking spot left.. When the lake starts to get a bit busy, they will block the entire road off. When we had left and returned to the main road they already had it blocked off.
0900: LAKE AGNES TEA HOUSE/ BIG BEEHIVE HIKE
Lake Louise has so many different hikes! On our second day we decided to head back to Lake Louise to finish a couple other hikes that we wanted to do. The trail starts at the front of Lake near the Fairmont hotel, head down the lakeshore walkway – you will see a trail off to the right hand side that will be clearly marked Lake Agnes Trail. This trail is highly trafficked and the Tea House is usually packed so try to get there early to get a seat.
The Big Bee Hive; continue past the Tea House on the right hand side and walk around the entire lake until you get to the switchbacks up the mountain. This hike is rated difficult due to the switch backs, but the views are totally worth it in the end! You can see both Lake Agnes and Lake Louise, it is stunning!
1600:RELAX AND FRESHEN UP!
The hikes that we completed this day were tiring! We went back to our lodge to rest a bit and freshen up for our last dinner night!
1800: DINNER IN BANFF
Decided to do our last night in the actual town of Banff. We had a few friends tell us we could not leave until we went for dinner at the The Grizzly House. THIS PLACE IS A MUST!! It is a fondue & exotic meats; like alligator & rattlesnake in a lodge like setting. There is a cool history of this place – it use to be a swinger bar back in the day and the new owners turned it into this restaurant. They kept all the swinger phones at each of the tables to experience the setting while having your dinner.
I know when you plan a trip you want to jam in as much as possible! But the reality is a typical person can fit about 2 activities in a single day. The activities we did each day were the perfect amount for us! Obviously we would have liked to fit in more but we did not over due ourselves which is important when you are doing activities like hiking etc.
In conclusion, Banff is one of the most beautiful places in the world and I cannot wait to go back to see more! What is a must see for you in Banff? Comment below I would love to add it on a list for the next time we go back.
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