5 Days in Banff and Jasper

Wild Flour Bakery on Bear Street, a short walk from Banff Avenue, bakes sourdough and croissants and serves breakfast and sandwiches daily from 7am (5pm close in 2026), which beats the hotel breakfast queues on the main street. Walk back up Banff Avenue afterwards: Cascade Mountain fills the end of the street, which is the whole point of the town.

Cave and Basin is about 2 km west of Banff Avenue, a 25-30 minute walk or a short drive, and it opens at 9:30am in summer.

This is the reason Banff exists. In 1883 three railway workers, Frank McCabe and brothers Tom and William McCardell, found steaming water and lowered themselves through a hole in the roof of a cave on the side of Sulphur Mountain by a felled tree. Parks Canada says the springs have been important to Indigenous peoples for over ten thousand years. The government reserved the area two years later, and that became the start of the national park system.

Walk down the tunnel into the cave, then out to the open-air basin and the boardwalks. It is a modest museum, not a spectacle, and the half hour in the cave is the point. The soak you came for is later today at the Upper Hot Springs.

Drive back across town (a few minutes) to the south side of the Bow River, where the river drops over a wide ledge at Bow Falls. It is more a broad cascade than a tall fall, and a quick stop. Follow the path up to Surprise Corner, the viewpoint across the valley to the Banff Springs Hotel, the Fairmont Banff Springs, which Canadian Pacific Railway opened in 1888 as one of Canada's early grand railway hotels.

The castle shape against the valley is the view on every Banff postcard, and this corner is where it is taken from. You do not need to go inside the hotel unless you want a drink.

The Banff Gondola climbs Sulphur Mountain in about 8 minutes to a summit ridge with views over six mountain ranges and the Bow Valley, plus a boardwalk of about 2 km to Sanson's Peak (2,256 m) and the Cosmic Ray Station, a national historic site. The summit has restaurants and a visitor centre. It is the easiest big view in the park, and it is worth the money on a clear day.

Go in the late afternoon, not at midday, when queues are longest and the light is flat. If you want to earn the view, there is a 5.4 km switchback trail under the gondola from the Hot Springs parking lot. The gondola runs year-round.

Banff Avenue is the tourist strip, with a pub on nearly every block. Park Distillery, at 219 Banff Avenue, makes its own spirits and serves wood-fired and spit-roasted dishes, so the drink in your glass was made in town.

If you want something louder, Banff Avenue Brewing Co serves its own beer upstairs on the avenue; confirm it is open before you go. Book ahead in July and August, when tables are scarce, and eat by about 7pm so the soak comes after 8pm.

The springs are on the same mountain as the gondola, a few minutes from it. The Upper Hot Springs pool is a public mineral hot spring with changing rooms, a locker token included in the price and a view of the mountains from the water. After a day on your feet, the soak is exactly right.

It is also busy, and not a secluded spring. Go after 8pm, when day-trippers leave and the light turns pink. The pool is open daily 10am-10pm with the last entry at 9:30pm. The water has a faint sulphur smell, which is normal.

The Bow Valley Parkway was the original highway between Banff and Lake Louise, and it runs parallel to the Trans-Canada Highway at a speed limit of 60 km/h. It is the better road: slower, with pullouts, and a good place to see elk, deer and sometimes bears in the early morning. Leave Banff by 6:30am to reach the canyon before 8am.

Keep wildlife rules in mind, because roadside animals draw crowds. Parks Canada asks you to stay at least 30 m from elk, deer and sheep and 100 m from bears, wolves and cougars, to stay in your vehicle, and to move on if a jam forms. Feeding or disturbing wildlife can bring fines up to 25,000 CAD.

Johnston Creek has cut a deep limestone slot here, and the first part of the trail is a walkway with railings and bridges that clings to the canyon wall. The Lower Falls are about 1.2 km from the trailhead, and the Upper Falls about 2.5 km, per Parks Canada. Beyond them a rougher trail leads on to the Ink Pots, six blue-green spring-fed pools in a meadow.

This is the most crowded short walk in Banff, so arrive before 8am or after 6pm. Black swifts nest here, and in 2018 some natural paths near the falls were closed to protect them; off-trail use is prohibited.

There are few places to eat between Johnston Canyon and Lake Louise, so eat the picnic you bought at Nesters Market in Banff. Castle Junction is where the parkway meets the Banff-Windermere Highway, with Castle Mountain's long ridge standing above it, and there are pullouts and picnic spots near it.

Eat in the sun; it is the last easy stop before Lake Louise.

The Lake Louise ski area runs a sightseeing gondola in summer that climbs to 2,101 m. At the top there is a Wildlife Interpretive Centre and trails, and the resort advertises it as one of the best places to see wild grizzly bears feeding on the slopes. There is no guarantee, so treat a bear as a bonus.

It is quieter than the lakes. It is also at the ski resort, where tomorrow's shuttle check-in is, so you will know the way. Check hours and price on the resort site before you go.

The Tramline Trail follows part of the route of a tramway that ran from 1912 to 1930, and it is a safe 4.3 km walk from the community of Lake Louise to the lakeshore, about 1 hour 15 minutes one way, without needing a shuttle seat. Parks Canada recommends it over walking the road. Start about three hours before sunset.

The lake is full of day-trippers until early evening and thins out by the end of the day. Sunset is around 9pm in mid-August and 8pm in mid-September. Walk back before dark, because wildlife uses the trail.

Moraine Lake sits at 1,884 m in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, and it appeared on the back of Canada's 1969 and 1979 twenty-dollar notes, which is why the view from the rockpile is called the Twenty Dollar View. It fills with glacial meltwater in mid to late June, and the color is the reason people queue. There is no cell service, Wi-Fi, running water or lighting, only pit toilets.

In 2026 the Moraine Lake shuttle ran from 1 June to 12 October, weather permitting, and 2027 dates were not out yet. Parks Canada released 40% of seats on 15 April and the rest at 8am Mountain time two days before each departure date. The first departure from the Park and Ride at the Lake Louise Ski Resort is 6:30am. The Alpine Start shuttles leave the lakeshore lot at 4am and 5am. Expect to wait 30 minutes, or an hour at peak.

The Rockpile Trail runs along the moraine that gives the lake its name, about 300 m long with 24 m of climbing, and the top of it is the famous view. It is crowded, so take your photo and move along the lakeshore. Further along the same trailhead the Consolation Lakes trail is about 3 km long with a 90 m rise.

Parks Canada restricts trails around the lake from time to time, so check the closures before you set out. Carry bear spray; Parks Canada says it has been shown to work on grizzly and black bears.

Take the Lake Connector shuttle from Moraine Lake to the Lake Louise Lakeshore, which runs every 30 minutes, with the last departure from Moraine Lake at 6pm. In 1882 Tom Wilson, led by a Stoney Nakoda guide named Edwin Hunter, reached the lake. He called it Emerald Lake, and it was renamed for Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, a daughter of Queen Victoria. The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise sits on the eastern shore.

It is a postcard and a crowd, in about equal parts. Walk a few minutes along the shore away from the hotel and the quiet comes back quickly. Do not drive to this lakeshore: Parks Canada says about 75% of vehicles were turned away in summer 2025 once the lot was full.

The hike from the lakeshore is 3.5 km each way with a 400 m gain, and it takes 1-2 hours up. The tea house sits at 2,135 m on the shore of Lake Agnes. A log refuge was built here in 1901 and began serving tea in 1905; the present building is from 1981. It serves over 100 teas and baked goods, with soup and sandwiches, made by hand because there is no electricity.

Bring a litre of water per person, because there is none at the top. Seating is first come, first served and the tea house does not take reservations. Plan on cash only, as card acceptance is not confirmed. The season runs roughly early June to early October (8am-4pm in 2025); confirm the 2027 dates.

Tomorrow is the longest day of the trip, so use this evening to prepare. Fill the car with fuel in Lake Louise, buy water, snacks and lunch for the day, and charge your phone. The Icefields Parkway has no cell coverage along it, and one gas station that runs only in summer.

Download your offline maps, check the road at 511 Alberta, and book your Icefield tour for around midday. Then go to bed early: a 7am start is realistic, and a 6am one is better.

The first big lake on the parkway is 39 km north of Lake Louise, at 1,920 m, with the Crowfoot Glacier viewpoint a few kilometers before it. Parks Canada notes that the lot gets extremely busy in summer and that the lake is reached by a short gravel path from the parking area.

Come early, before 8am, when the lot has space and the water is often still. The Lodge at Bow Lake stands on the shore. Walk to the water, take the photo, and keep moving: this is a 45-minute stop, not an hour.

Peyto Lake lies 43 km from Lake Louise, below Bow Summit, the highest point on the parkway. Its bright turquoise comes from glacial rock flour that washes in from the Peyto Glacier. It is named for Bill Peyto, an English-born guide and trapper who became a Banff park warden. Parks Canada rebuilt the viewpoint, trails and parking in 2021.

Walk up to the viewpoint from the parking lot; it is the classic view of the lake from above. Go early, because the lot fills with tour buses and cars later in the morning. If it is full, do not park on the roadside.

At 80 km from Lake Louise, this is the one place on the parkway with a gas station, and The Crossing Resort here also has a restaurant and rooms. The resort closes for winter, and its site gave April 2027 as the reopening, so call 403-761-7000 before a spring trip. Fill the tank even if it is half full: Parks Canada says there is no gas between Saskatchewan Crossing and Jasper, 154 km on.

Mistaya Canyon is a short walk from a parking area a few kilometers south of the Crossing, and worth ten minutes if you have them. Have an early lunch here or buy picnic food, so you are not hungry at the Icefield.

The Columbia Icefield is the largest ice field in the Rockies, about 325 square kilometers, and the Athabasca Glacier is its most accessible tongue. It has receded more than 1.5 km and lost over half its volume in the last 125 years, and it keeps thinning by about 5 m a year. The Discovery Centre across the road is open in summer only, and this is the one place on the parkway where Parks Canada lists limited cell coverage, from May to early October.

Walk the free Toe of the Glacier trail, 1.8 km return with a 60 m climb, which ends at the ice edge. Do not step onto the ice. Parks Canada says walking on the Athabasca Glacier is not safe: the ice at the toe is hollow, meltwater underneath is fast and extremely cold, and several people have died after falling into crevasses hidden under thin snow.

The honest way to stand on the glacier is with a guide. Pursuit runs the tour: you check in at the Glacier Discovery Centre, shuttle to a transfer bay, and ride a huge Ice Explorer onto the glacier, then walk on the ice, and, if conditions allow, fill a bottle from it. The glass-floored Skywalk, 280 m above the Sunwapta Valley, is part of the same 2.5-3 hour tour.

The tour takes 2.5-3 hours but reviewers on the operator's own page put the time on the ice at about 30-35 minutes. It is a lot of money for a short walk, and the free toe trail is the better view. Pay for it only if you want to stand on the ice. The 2027 season is 1 May to 11 October.

The last stop before Jasper, 31 km and about 20 minutes from town. The Athabasca River thunders into a narrow canyon, and the spray reaches the viewpoints. It is a powerful fall rather than a tall one, and a loud, wet end to a long day.

Parks Canada says to stay on designated trails and behind railings, because the rock beyond is slippery and dangerous. Sunwapta Falls, 54 km from Jasper and on the way, is the optional stop before it. Skip it if the Icefield tour ran long.

Medicine Lake is the first lake on Maligne Lake Road. The Maligne River flows out of it and soon vanishes into the limestone, and the water travels underground to resurface in Maligne Canyon.

Stop at a pullout and look for wildlife; animals often use roads early in the day. Keep 100 m from bears and 30 m from elk, deer, sheep and moose, stay in the car, and move on if a crowd gathers.

Maligne Lake is 22.5 km long and 97 m deep at its deepest, at 1,670 m above sea level, 44 km south of Jasper town. The lake is famed for the color of its water, three glaciers are visible from it, and Spirit Island, a small tree-covered islet, is among the most photographed spots in Canada. The Maligne Lake Cruise is run by Pursuit, and the classic cruise takes about 1.5 hours and goes to an overlook of the island.

The 2027 season runs 28 May to 10 October, with first and last tours between 9am and 6pm from 20 June to 6 September. Arrive 30-60 minutes before sailing. Pursuit describes the stop as a viewpoint overlooking the island, so plan on looking, not landing. Bear spray is not allowed on the boats, so leave it in the car. Book the first sailing of the day, which is usually the least crowded.

On 22 July 2024 two wildfires merged, forced out about 25,000 people and swept through Jasper, destroying 358 of the townsite's 1,113 structures; the fire was not declared extinguished until 1 April 2025. Most of the park is open, virtually all trails have reopened, and the federal government announced another 520 million CAD for recovery on 30 June 2026. The town's businesses depend on visitors.

Walk Connaught Drive and Patricia Street, where shops and restaurants are open and empty lots show what was lost. The Jasper Information Centre will tell you what is open this week. Be patient: there are fewer rooms and tables than before the fire, so book dinner.

Built in 1964 and now owned by Pursuit, the Jasper SkyTram is the longest and highest guided aerial tramway in Canada. It takes about 7 minutes to rise to 2,263 m on The Whistlers, 7 km south of town, with views of Jasper, the Athabasca valley and the peaks. In 2027 it runs 21 May to 11 October.

From the upper station a steep trail climbs to the Whistlers summit at 2,463 m, about 200 m higher, and it is worth doing if the weather is clear. Check the hours when you book; the early evening is the better time, not the middle of the day. Wind can stop the tram, so keep the day flexible.

Jasper Brewing Co is at 624 Connaught Drive and brews its own beer. It was damaged in the 2024 fire, closed for nine months and reopened in May 2025. It is open daily from 11:30am to late, serves the full menu until 10pm and does not take reservations, so go before 6pm or expect to wait.

Try a flight of its beers and see what the kitchen is serving that night. It is a pub, not a destination restaurant, and an easy, unfussy end to the day.

Jasper National Park was designated a Dark-Sky Preserve by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in 2011, and at over 11,000 square kilometers Parks Canada calls it the second largest in the world. Pyramid Lake is 7 km from town, a short drive away from the streetlights, with open sky over the water.

The honest limit is summer. The sun sets around 10:20pm at the June solstice, and at this latitude it never gets fully dark then, so the stars wait for August and September, when sunset is around 9:20pm in mid-August and 8:10pm in mid-September. Bring a red light, a jacket and a plan to leave when you are cold. The Jasper Dark Sky Festival, held in October (16-25 October in 2026), is the big event.