Alberta, Canada
In September 2018, nine of my friends and I went to Alberta, Canada to visit Banff National Park.
FIRST DAY: THURSDAY, September 6
Our group all flew in on Thursday between 11:30AM & 1:00PM MST. There were no direct flights from Washington, DC (DCA) to Calgary (YCC) - I flew in with Air Canada, with a layover in Toronto. Once in Calgary, I went to Avis to pick up the van I rented, and Nora picked up another rental car (at Dollar) when she landed - we had a large group and wanted to have flexibility with our own vehicles.
We stayed in Canmore, which is right outside the Banff National Park. This was the exact apartment we rented with AirBnb .
Our first day was spent getting settled into our Airbnb, getting any groceries we needed for our trip (snacks are super important when you have hikes planned), and exploring the town nearby. Our Airbnb also had a gym and multiple rooftop hot tubs (which we enjoyed as a group!).
The view from our Airbnb in Canmore, Canada
SECOND DAY: Friday, September 7
For our first day of adventure , we went to Lake Louise. We got there as early as possible in the morning knowing the crowds would be at a minimum. At that time, there were no boats on the water, and luckily it was not windy. The water was so still and undisturbed that it perfectly reflected the landscape around it.
Our group hiked to the Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House, which was 8.6 miles out & back (there is another possible hike called The Lake Agnes Tea House Trail, but we did not proceed further once we reached the first tea house). On our descent to the tea house, we paused at an overlook of Lake Louise with a spectacular view of the Fairmont Chateau. At this time, our friend, Kelly, asked all the girls of the group if we would be her bridesmaids for her upcoming wedding. What an honor and special moment it was for all of us. She created an individual scrapbook of photos of her friendship with each of the girls over the years (many of which she has had in life since she was a child). We took some photos and then proceeded to the tea house where we enjoyed some tea and snacks. On our way up we saw an avalanche occur in one of the mountain peaks (that was certainly a first for me)!
This night, we grabbed dinner at Distillery Park Restaurant & Bar - service was good and we all enjoyed our food and drinks.
THIRD DAY: Saturday, September 8
Our second adventure-filled day was a trip to Moraine Lake – another stunning lake in the national park. Since we went later in the day, it was SO busy when we first arrived, they weren't letting people in to the parking lots. When they finally did start letting people go, we almost had to fight to get a spot - aggressive, but semi-accurate. Once we approached the trails, it was windy and boats were on the water, so it was a different experience than Lake Louise, but everything was still beautiful.
We hiked to Larch Valley, which gave us a beautiful view of the Ten Peaks. If I recall correctly, it was about 4 miles Out & Back, but you could continue past the valley to the Sentinel Pass (we did not do this part). This hike is particularly steep and exhausting, but worth the views.
On our way out, we stopped at the Rockpile Trail - you can't miss it, as it’s right next to the parking lot, and a super easy climb. This is where most people get their iconic setup of Moraine Lake, with the mountain peaks behind it.
Yes, our whole group got matching shirts for this trip.
FOURTH DAY: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
Our last day was spent outside of Banff National Park in Canmore, where we hiked the West Wind Pass Trail (3 miles Out & Back), a great hike in the Kananaskis region. This trail was not well marked, and was another particularly steep hike. A few of us fell a couple times – but the view from the top was spectacular, and worth every almost broken/sprained limb on my body!
Banff itself is a cute, fun town – with lots of restaurants, but other than that, we didn’t spend too much time in town.
Since my flight out of Calgary was later in the evening, I was able to get dinner at the Sky 360 Restaurant & Lounge. I’ll be honest, as much as I wanted to enjoy dinner here, I was having some vertigo from the height of the establishment and the fact it rotates. I couldn’t wait to get dinner to get out of there. If you don’t struggle with heights, I think it’s worth the experience.
Some things to keep in mind if you ever plan on visiting Banff National Park - Banff/Canmore are about 1+ hours away from the Calgary Airport. I rented a car, which I highly recommend because you have more control over your time. Also, you will need a park pass to get into Banff National Park. Our AirBnb was so nice and provided us a pass (one per vehicle) - so I'm not exactly sure how much that costs, but it's definitely worth looking out for when looking at places to stay. This is another great resource for scoping out trails ahead of time.