Peak happiness in Banff National Park

A four day itinerary exploring Banff’s best trails and vistas

Banff National Park is Canada’s oldest national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains, Banff is a hiker’s paradise, with more than 2,500 square miles of glaciers, ice fields, forest, and stunning landscapes. We spent four days exploring Banff, and it wasn’t nearly enough time! However, we did hit many of the highlights that make for a great first trip.

Helpful Tips

Planning ahead can make all the difference for your visit to Banff, especially during the high season from May to October. We learned some valuable lessons on our trip:

First, don’t forget to book your shuttles to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake well in advance — they sell out quickly! If you miss out (like I did…whoops), there’s still hope: Parks Canada releases some tickets 48 hours before your desired departure date. Keep in mind that Moraine Lake is completely off-limits to personal vehicles, so shuttles are your only option for hikes in that area. Find information about shuttle reservations here.

We also nearly overlooked an important detail: during grizzly bear season, some trails have group size restrictions. If you find yourself short on numbers, don’t worry — just make some new friends at the trailhead! Check out grizzly restrictions here.

Lastly, for short visits, save yourself the hassle and buy your park pass at the gate (prices are the same online and in person). However, if you’re planning a longer stay or visiting multiple parks, look into the Discovery Pass for better value.

Day 1: Bow Glacier Falls (Icefields Parkway)

We arrived in Calgary late the night before and spent the night in a hotel near the airport. Bright and early the next morning, we picked up our rental car and hit the road for the two-hour drive to Banff. With time to kill before our AirBnb check-in, we went straight to our first hike: Bow Glacier Falls.

• Length: 5.5 miles
• Elevation Gain: 787 feet
• Trail Type: Out and back
• Difficulty: Easy to moderate

If you’re cruising along the Icefields Parkway and looking for a perfect leg-stretcher, this trail is an great out-and-back that won’t eat up your whole day. The best part? It’s just far enough off the beaten path to dodge the worst of the tourist crowds.

The hike is stunning (…as are all hikes in Banff, let’s be real). The first two miles hug the shores of Bow Lake. Then comes a bit of a climb that rewarded us with up-close views of the falls.

After our hike, we finally checked into our AirBnb in Dead Man’s Flats, about ten minutes from Canmore and just under an hour from Banff. The place was brand new and the owners were SO attentive. In hindsight, staying in downtown Canmore would’ve put us within walking distance of restaurants and groceries, but venturing a little further out helped us stretch our budget. I’d actually advise against staying in the town of Banff. It’s congested, SO expensive, and you get far better restaurants and accommodations in Canmore.

Dinner at Crazyweed Kitchen: Crazyweed Kitchen in Canmore is a must-visit for foodies, with their pickle-brined fried chicken stealing the show (trust me, you’ll thank me later). Don’t miss out on their chipotle crusted bavette either – chipotle hollandaise + garlic scape chimichurri + crispy buttermilk onion rings = drool.

Day 2: The Plain of the Six Glaciers + The Beehives (Lake Louise) and Moraine Lake Shoreline

This is the most popular hike in Banff for a reason – it’s breathtakingly beautiful and absolutely worth doing. The Plain of the Six Glaciers + The Beehives loop offers a little bit of everything that makes the Canadian Rockies so famous: turquoise lakes, towering glaciers, and panoramic mountain views. Be warned though: it’s incredibly crowded. Additionally (HOT TAKE ALERT), we enjoyed the scenery from our third and fourth day hikes much more than this one! Nevertheless, this is considered the most iconic Banff hike, so it’s worth setting aside one day to cross it off the list.

First, the stats:

• Length: 12.5 miles
• Elevation Gain: ~3,300ish feet
• Trail Type: Loop
• Difficulty: All Trails says hard…I say moderate

Starting early is key to beating the crowds at Lake Louise. Our Parks Canada shuttle reservation was in the 7 – 8 AM window, which helped us get ahead of most of the traffic. I will say, while it’s great to get there early, you do risk missing that famous blue color if you get there before the sun has risen (like we did!). We ended our day of hiking at the lake shore, so we still got to see it before we departed.

As we ascended the Lake Agnes trail, we hit some hidden gem spots like Mirror Lake…

…and the Little Beehive lookout. Don’t miss the detour to Little Beehive – it offers a gorgeous view of Lake Louise that, in my opinion, is better than the official Little Beehive lookout point.

After seeing Little Beehive, I had very high hopes for Big Beehive. We picked up the Big Beehive trail, which took us along Lake Agnes before testing our legs with a never-ending switchback climb. Another hot take: the lookout at Big Beehive was nice, but not as spectacular as I was expecting for the pain-in-the-butt ascent. Lake Agnes, however, was so serene.

We continued on the Highline Trail to the Plain of Six Glaciers trail, swinging by the Plain of Six Glaciers teahouse for lunch. There are multiple teahouses around the Lake Louise area (Agnes teahouse is another) that are great for an afternoon pick-me-up! They’re all cash only and pretty bare bones, but we had the best vegetable soup and homemade bread.

After refueling at the teahouse, we pushed on to the Six Glaciers viewpoint. A word to the wise: this stretch got rocky, so hiking poles would be your friends here, especially for the descent (…and naturally, I forgot mine).

The return along the Plain of Six Glaciers trail treated us to those postcard-perfect views of Lake Louise we’d been hoping to see. By the time we made it down, the Lake Louise had transformed into that famous blue hue we’d missed in the morning.

Pro tip: don’t be like us and skip Devil’s Thumb. Apparently, it’s a major highlight that we managed to overlook!

We were pooped after a 12.5 mile hike, but we couldn’t call it a day without seeing Moraine Lake. There are no personal vehicles permitted on the road to Moraine, so a shuttle is mandatory. Parks Canada shuttle pass holders also get access to the Lake Louise-Moraine Lake Connector bus. After the bus dropped us off at Moraine Lake, we opted for the easy 2.5-mile shoreline stroll.

Another hot take: I liked Lake Moraine WAY more than Lake Louise and would have spent more time in this area if we had an additional few days. It’s quieter, more intimate, and the water is a brilliant, crystal-clear blue that puts Lake Louise’s slightly murky waters to shame.

At the end of the day, we took the shuttle back to the park and ride lot and grilled out at our AirBnb for dinner.

Day 3: Larch Valley + Sentinel Pass (Moraine Lake)

In my humble opinion, Larch Valley + Sentinel Pass offered the best views of all the hikes we did on the trip. Since it also starts at the shoreline of Moraine Lake, you’ll need a shuttle reservation to do this one as well!

• Length: 6.9 miles
• Elevation Gain: 2,457 feet
• Trail Type: Out and back
• Difficulty: Moderate (getting up the actual Sentinel Pass is a quad-burner though!)

The first 1.5 miles included about 1,000 feet of switchbacking, but once we broke the tree line, we were treated to 360-degree views of stunning peaks, lakes, and valleys that our camera didn’t do justice.

As we made our way through Larch Valley, the trail flattened out until we reached the Minnestimma Lakes.

From here, we began the climb up the trail to Sentinel Pass. I may or may not have grumbled the entire way up, but those summit views made it so worth it: Larch Valley and the iconic Ten Peaks on one side and Paradise Valley unfurling on the other side. A gorgeous view in both directions!

Dinner at änkôr: The tasting menu at änkôr was the perfect way to end the day, with standouts like the dry-aged duck breast and sous vide pork belly with scallops. I was also super impressed with their non-alcoholic cocktail pairing, which featured mocktails with a base of various local teas.

Day 4: Helen Lake Trail (Icefields Parkway)

Helen Lake Trail was another of my favorite hikes from the trip, largely for the terrain (through the woods and across massive, gorgeous valleys).

• Length: 7.2 miles
• Elevation Gain: 1,748 feet
• Trail Type: Out and back
• Difficulty: Moderate

For the first couple of miles, the trail alternates between a steep climb and a mellow walk in the woods with a few nice views over Bow Lake. There was also a section of the trail that had been impacted by a forest fire, which had an eerie feeling to it.

Right around the two mile mark, the trail broke through the tree line into a spectacular set of meadows.

We reached Helen Lake about a mile later and were struck by the jaw-dropping views of the surrounding peaks and valleys. If you’re there early enough on a calm day, you could be treated to a reflection of Cirque Peak in the surface of the lake (unfortunately for us, it was super windy and cloudy when we were there).

If you have gas left in the tank, you can continue up to Cirque Peak; the views are supposed to be excellent, but it does involve a pretty steep scramble across loose scree. Alternatively, if we had more time, we would have continued on to the Dolomite Pass which would have taken us down to Katherine Lake. Unfortunately, we needed to head back.

Crush a pizza at Bear Street Tavern: Before we started the drive back to Calgary, we decided to check out downtown Banff. We were starving and treated ourselves to pizza at Bear Street Tavern. Their Godfather pizza, featuring confit garlic, prosciutto, and truffle oil, was truly a slice of heaven.

Night cap at Proof: Once we got back to Calgary, we decided to pop into Proof for a night cap! We were pleasantly surprised to find out that Mondays offer an all day happy hour AND a hot dog special (fun fact about me: I LOVE hot dogs).