Travel

The Perfect Banff Itinerary for Fall

Posted by iavogoodmeal on

Four days in Kananaskis, Banff and Lake Louise

Have you ever visited a place after seeing pictures online thinking “it could never be this beautiful in person” – I’m here to tell you that is NOT the case when it comes to the Canadian Rockies. It looks right out of a postcard, waters so blue you would think it was photoshopped.

My dad and I went to Canadian Rockies this past Fall as one of our “father daughter” bucket list items. We purposely chose the Fall to skip the crazy crowds (more on best time to visit below!) and it was a magical vacation. We scratched the surface with only 4 days there and can’t wait to go back. Read on for all my must sees and must eats!

Best Time to Visit

The Canadian Rockies are best visited in the summer for the perfect weather; however it also means dealing with swarms of people who also are looking for the perfect summer weather trip. The lines into the parks can get long and parking is essentially impossible so we made the conscious decision to go in the off-season; we visited in the third week of October and had Fall weather for 2 days and then a full on snowstorm so you have to be prepared for anything and everything with Canadian weather! While it was still a little crowded in the major cities like Banff, we had very little crowds in Lake Louise and our drive on Icefields Parkway which was really nice. I would definitely want to visit again in the summer in the future.

The one thing that is important to note, Canadian Thanksgiving (the second Monday in October) tends to be the “end of the season” in the Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper area so after that there are several roads to attractions that close down because of the threat of bad weather. As an example, the road to Lake Moraine is shut after Canadian Thanksgiving and so we weren’t able to visit.

  • Day 1: Fly into Calgary and drive to Kananaskis (30 min outside Banff)
  • Day 2: Drive to Lake Louise
  • Day 3: Icefields Parkway
  • Day 4: Yoho National Park, Johnston Canyon and drive back to Calgary

Where to Stay

We wanted to stay close to Banff but away from the hustle and bustle of the town so opted to stay the first night at the Kananaskis Mountain Lodge which one of Marriott’s Autograph Collection hotels and the remainder of the trip at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.

The Kananaskis Mountain Lodge is about a 30 min drive from Banff and located in the Kananskis Park which requires a park pass; you will pass the visitor center on the way up to the mountains that you can purchase in person. The lodge itself is in a gorgeous setting in the mountains with a Nordic Spa and well worth a stay even if it is a drive to the town of Banff.

The rest of our trip we splurged and stayed at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise which is the iconic hotel on the banks of Lake Louise and was definitely a nice treat and one of the reasons we chose to go in the off season. The hotel itself has so much history and is a gorgeous property to wander around – if you’re not staying there, I would highly recommend at least having a meal at one of the property restaurants.

Day 1: Kananaskis & Banff

We flew in from Ottawa to Calgary on a 6 am flight with WestJet – with the time difference, we were in our rental car leaving the Calgary airport before 10 am! The drive from Calgary into the Canadian Rockies is one word: stunning. The sky high snow capped mountains and the windy roads that cut through – it’s easily the most scenic drive I’ve ever done! We arrived at Kananskis and spent some time exploring the park: drive around the windy roads and stop along the scenic overlooks, don’t miss Gap Lake which is your first glimpse of the turquoise blue waters of the Rockies.

We headed to Banff town which is about a 30 min drive; Banff National Park (which encompasses Banff, Lake Louise, Yoho and parts of the Icefields Parkway) requires a pass for every day that you are there; you can buy the annual pass if you’re a regular or are spending more than a week otherwise it is more economical to buy the daily pass.

The town of Banff is nestled amongst the mountains and the Main Street has really cute shops and restaurants – we opted to do a stroll around dinner time and instead went straight to Sulphur Mountain to ride the Gondola. You MUST make advance reservations online otherwise the parking attendant will not let you into the parking lot – there is limited parking and you might be stuck parking on the side of the road that leads up to the Gondola parking lot so keep that in mind when you’re allocating how time you need to get there.

The Gondola is adjacent to the Hot Springs which are a major tourist attraction – I’m not going to lie, it looked like a regular sized swimming pool and their fine print says that in certain seasons they add public water to compensate for reduced water flowing from the hot springs, which is a sketchy way of saying you’re just sitting in a public swimming pool. Would not recommend!

After you’re done at the Gondola, take the chance to walk through the town of Banff, get a bite to eat and wander the streets!

Banff Restaurants:

Day 2: Lake Louise

We headed to Lake Louise first thing in the morning after waking up early because of jetlag! About an hour drive to the Fairmont, plan to check in your bags and wander around as they usually don’t have rooms early. While checking in, get your card access to the garage so you can park your car and not worry about public parking while you’re there!

The Fairmont has several guided tours they offer hotel guests – they typically require an advanced reservations and most are free (other than the guided hikes). We did the Lake Louise guided walk and it was a wonderful way to learn more about the history of the region and the hotel: highly recommend if you’re staying there. There are a few easier hikes that you can do including the Lake Agnes Tea House but note that the Tea House itself closes around Canadian Thanksgiving.

The hotel also books trips to Lake Moraine as private vehicles are no longer allowed due to overcrowding: once again, because we were off-season, the road to Lake Moraine was closed for the year due to the risk of avalanches/bad weather.

Pictures don’t do this place justice – take your time wandering around the lake but also make time to tour the property, it is huge and every corner has something different! For food options, the Fairmont has several restaurants, reservations are highly recommended but I will say the vegetarian options are minimal. There is a shuttle that goes to the village of Lake Louise where there are a FEW options for more vegetarians food:

On the tail end of our trip we got a huge snowstorm and got to see Lake Louise in the winter time too – not as pretty as when its sunny and dry but we warmed up with drinks indoors!

Day 3: Icefields Parkway

My focus had been Lake Louise for this trip and I feel like I was totally blown away by Icefields Parkway – it is the stretch of highway that connects Banff and Jasper and winds through the Canadian Rockies with amazing lakes and scenic spots as you drive along the way. Our main goal was to visit the Athabasca Glacier which is the most visited glacier in the North American continent. I’ve included below the main spots we stopped at – we didn’t have time to drive all the way up to Jasper but would highly recommend adding if you have the time.

Also there are very few amenities along the way, we hit ONE rest stop our entire drive with a gas station and a snack shop so plan to have a full tank of gas and maybe pick up a sandwich from Trailhead cafe when you head out for the day!

  • Bow Lake – the first spot on the drive and really pretty but avoid the urge to stop right away and hit it on the way back!
  • Peyto Canyon – While Bow Lake is right off the road, there is a short walk required for Peyto Canyon
  • Mistaya Canyon – a short downhill walk to a beautiful gorge
  • Athabasca Glacier – you can walk and see how the glacier has receded year on year; during regular season the Columbia Icefield Adventures tour company offers bus rides and a chance to walk on a skywalk overlooking the glacier, note like many others it is closed after Canadian Thanksgiving
  • Tanglewood Falls –

Day 4: Yoho National Park & Johnston Canyon

Just when you thought you couldn’t top of the beauty of Icefields Parkway, on our last day we visited the serene Yoho National Park. Here the water is a stunning emerald green and the lake is aptly named Emerald Lake. Take a hike around the lake and on your drive down stop by Natural Bridge! There is also Takkakaw Falls but the roads are closed for avalanche/snow past Canadian Thanksgiving!

On your drive back – make a stop in Field, Alberta – a once rocking railroad town that still has that old timey beauty.

Finally hit up Johnston Canyon outside of Banff – the Upper and Lower Falls are both accessible by short walks that are not super steep but beware if it has snowed because the walks do get icy!

Final Tips for your trip to Banff

  • Layers: Canadian weather can be unpredictable so take layers and everything from sunscreen to hand warmers
  • Bear Spray: We were warned over and over again to beware of bears, to the point I was fully freaked out. Now we didn’t encounter any bears when we were there BUT the guides we had at Lake Louise said they do see bears fairly often in the summer time. By the time we were there, the bears had moved to higher grounds as it was getting closer to hibernation time. Bear spray is something that is sold at all the visitor centers!
  • Public Transport: Banff actually has a great bus system so if you’re going during busy season, park in one of the larger lots just outside the city at the train station (by the “Banff” sign) and use public buses to get around
I hope this guide allows you to have a magical trip to Banff & Lake louise!