Banff

14^thSeptember 2019

Not much driving to do today, we only need to get to Banff, which is only 140 km away. Rather than backtrack along the main highway 1, we decide to take the slower highway 1A, which used to be the main highway. It follows the Bow River on the opposite side to the new highway and is a bit more scenic.

Leaving Calgary at 8.45 am, we had a bit of a struggle getting on to the road we wanted due to local road closures around our hotel, but we sorted it out and soon after found highway 1A. 

Driving along Highway 1A we can see the Rockies in the distance

The first town we pass through is Cochrane, which a pretty little town reflecting a bit of its Wild West Past. For us it was a good place to stop for breakfast, and the Rocky View Hotel seemed the perfect place. The building is well over 100 years old and fitted out to reflect its past. Breakfast was very good, and it was very popular. There were only a few guests when we arrived but it was almost full when we departed.

The drive along the Bow River and through its valley is very scenic, and sadly, in no time, we appear to be at the entrance to the Banff National Park. We stopped at the town just before the entrance and bought our National Park Passes, which allowed us to bypass the long line of cars lined up to buy passes at the entry gates.

Just before turning into Banff the scenery is already impressive

Finding our accommodation was a breeze. We are on the main road, Banff Ave, on the way in to the town centre. Whilst we were well ahead of check in time, they managed to find us a room. We unpacked the car, and by 11.30m, were ready to go exploring. The staff at reception were very helpful in guiding us to the must see things if you are only going to be in Banff for a day.

Our home for the night, Rundlestone Lodge

Our first stop was the Gondola ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain. Spectacular views are promised and as we approach the car park, we can see it is quite popular. We ended up parking on the roadside back down the hill a bit as all carparks were full.

It didn’t take long to work out there are a lot of young Aussies working up here. Firstly, it was the guy we bought our tickets from, then pretty much all of the staff loading and unloading people from the gondolas at both ends. It is not a cheap ride, and you can hike up if you wish (it is around 5.5km), but the climb is very steep and we didn’t have hours to waste. We tried to buy a ticket up and walk back, but the only option they offer other than a return ticket is walk up and ride back down.

It is a long ride up, with great views and it is very steep, particularly for the last few hundred metres. It was also quite windy at the summit, and there was a fairly icy bite in the wind. Once you at the arrival station, you can then climb to the summit on a boardwalk. It was worth it as the views really are quite astounding, despite the now increasing wind.

Gondola top station and viewing area

This additional boardwalk takes you to the summit of Sulphur Mountain

The view of Banff and surrounds 

Bow River  Valley

This little ground squirrel came right up to my feet and stood up on it's hind legs looking for food

After a good look around, we caught the gondola back down, and walked back to our car.

We have two other items on our list to see, and the closest one is the Bow River Falls, so we made a quick diversion into the viewing area there only to find that no car parks were available. So we double parked took our photos and moved on.

Next destination is Lake Minnewanka, a short drive out of town, and an area where families can go for picnics, there are lake cruises and canoe hire for tourists etc. There is a loop road that runs off the main highway which encompasses, Lake Minnewanka, the cascade river and Lake Two Jack.

Lake Minnewanka, originally a glacial lake, was greatly enlarged by building a dam wall and adding  a small hydroelectric power station where the Cascade River flows into the lake. The dam wall was finally built during WW2 when the government of the day used their wartime executive powers to build the dam and power station, after 21 years of battles with environmentalists.

Along the loop drive we passed the hydro station and stopped briefly at the lookout there before proceeding on to Lake Minnewanka park area.

Cascade River Feeding to Lake Minnewanka

Small hydro electric plant

Outflow into Lake Minnewanka

 Lake Minnewanka is the second longest lake in the Canadian rockies National Park Zones. It has great picnic and camping facilities, as well as some organized activities like boat and canoe hire, and lake cruises in not real flash boats.

Main jetty where boating activities are organised from

We grabbed a snack at the snack bar there and went for a short hike to Stewart Canyon. Once we reached the bridge there we were confronted with a sign which stated that we were not permitted to go past that point unless we were carrying bear spray. Apparently they are busy eating berries at the moment and don’t like to be disturbed.

Stewart Canyon and the wooden bridge built across it

End of the road for us, Bear Spray needed past this point

Back at the hotel by 4 pm, we had a cup of coffee and a rest before heading into the town centre at 5.30pm. The public transport system here is very good and it only cost a dollar each to get to the town centre, or anywhere else for that matter.

Banff town centre is very busy, with lots of up market shops, heaps of souvenir shops and more bars and restaurants than you could imagine.

We had a nice dinner at the Maple Leaf Restaurant in town, managing to get the last 2 seats in the restaurant without a reservation. Lots of people got turned away after us.