Sign in with Facebook"The Canadian Rockies" Top 5 Page for this destination Banff National Park by Camping_Girl
Banff National Park Travel Guide: 780 reviews and 1,488 photos
I am so fortunate to live within a 2 hour drive of the town of Banff. The country here is so beautiful.
Lake Louise and Field are close enough to Banff that you can easily visit all three places from one base, there's no need to pack up and move from hotel to hotel. Its about a 45 minute drive from Banff to Lake Louise, and Field is about another 20 minutes or so past LL.
Jasper is a different story. It is about a 3 hour drive from LL to Jasper, with the Columbia Icefields about midway between the two. You should plan on a full day to travel the Icefields Parkway, there are so many things to see along the way. I would strongly urge anyone planning on visiting Jasper to spend a few nights in Jasper as well. The travelling distance is great enough that you could never do justice to Jasper on a day trip from Banff.
My suggestion would be to allow a minimum of 3 days in Banff area, 1 day to travel from Banff to Jasper, and 2 days in Jasper, if your schedule permits this.
Now that I have established the closeness of LL and Field to Banff, you will understand why all my tips for all 3 areas are being headed up under Banff. It makes it a lot simpler for everyone to see what you can easily see in a day trip from Banff or LL.
- Pros:Beautiful Scenery, Turquoise Lakes, Waterfalls
- Cons:Really crowded during July and August
- In a nutshell:Stunning Scenery and Lots to Do
Reviews (30)
Peyto Lake
Off The Beaten Path
(4)
Peyto Lake is one of the most photographed lakes in Banff National Park. As you go from lake to lake with the mountain... more travel advice
Scenic Drive - Bow Valley Parkway
Things to Do
(16)
The Bow Valley Parkway is the original #1 highway through the park. It is now the #1A highway, and is called the Bow... more travel advice
Spray Lakes Trail
Off The Beaten Path
(4)
The Spray Lakes Trail (also called the Smith Dorrien Trail) is a well-maintained gravel road that winds up out of the... more travel advice
The Hoodoos
Things to Do
(16)
The hoodoos are an interesting geologic formation created by thousands of years of erosion. The wind over the years has... more travel advice
-
Restaurants (4)
See All Friendly Little Pub -
Hotels (3)
See All *LOVE* the Executive Suites!! -
Local Customs (1)
Taxi Mike
-
Warnings and Dangers (1)
Ice Crevasses -
What to Pack (1)
What to Bring -
Been to Banff National Park?
Share your travels with the world!
Camping_Girl's Related Pages
-
Waterton Lakes National Park
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
Nanton
-
Coleman
-
Blairmore
-
Canmore
-
Nelson
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
Needles
-
Vancouver Island
-
Nanaimo
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
Vancouver
-
Hope
-
Kelowna
-
Kamloops
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
Castlegar
-
Lillooet
-
Mount Revelstoke National Park
-
Kimberley
-
Cranbrook
-
Fernie
-
Province of Saskatchewan
Banff National Park Travel Guide
Member Travel Pages
- "Banff"
- "CANADA'S FIRST NATIONAL PARK"
- "under re construction please come back"
- "The Canadian Rockies"
- "BANFF NATIONAL PARK"
- "Not Really Bashing Banff But...."
- "Banff National Park"
- See All...
Camping_Girl Visits Here Frequently!
- Member Rank:
- 0 0 7 0 7
- Forum Rank:
- 0 0 2 7 9
- 349 Reviews
- 965 Photos
- Add Friend
- Follow
- Send Message
Badges & Stats in Banff National Park
- 30 Reviews
- 80 Photos
- 37 Forum posts
- 16 Comments
- 5,038PageViews
- See All Stats
- See All Badges (22)
Have you been to Banff National Park?
Share Your TravelsLatest Activity in Banff National Park
- Posted in Travel Banff National Park Forum "Re: 4 Night Itinerary: Banff,..."
- updated a Banff National Park Travel Page "The Canadian Rockies"
- Uploaded a Photo to "Ice Crevasses"
- Wrote a Review Peyto Lake about Lakes in Banff National Park Off The Beaten Path
- Commented on one of Stargazer1's Banff National Park travel pages
Photos in Banff National Park
See All Photos (80)
Top 10 Pages
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Waterton Lakes National Park
Intro, 53 reviews, 60 photos, 1 travelogue
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Banff National Park
Intro, 30 reviews, 80 photos
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Anaheim
Intro, 44 reviews, 62 photos
-
Havana
Intro, 16 reviews, 79 photos
-
Varadero
Intro, 18 reviews, 58 photos
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Nelson
Intro, 18 reviews, 41 photos
-
Needles
Intro, 8 reviews, 39 photos
-
Vancouver Island
Intro, 10 reviews, 35 photos, 1 travelogue
-
Nanton
Intro, 11 reviews, 28 photos
-
Virginia City
Intro, 10 reviews, 28 photos, 1 travelogue
Friends
See All Friends (19)
Theme Park Trips
National/State Park
Road TripLatest Banff National Park hotel reviews
- Brewster's Kananaskis Guest Ranch
- 11 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Sep 23, 2011 - Bow Valley Motel
- 95 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Jun 2, 2013 - Patricia Lake Bungalows
- 498 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Jun 14, 2013 - The Glacier View Inn
- 85 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 24, 2013 - Banff Springs Hotel
- 122 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Jun 12, 2013 - Mt. Engadine Lodge
- 57 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Mar 25, 2013
Comments (16)
how gloriously beautiful it is there! brought back some wonderful memories. the Canadian rockies are always right at the top of my list of places i cant get enough of
See my last visit here was 2007 and you have tips with stunning views dated after this so have enjoyed another roam around lovely Banff thanks - have to come visit here for real one day!...and is your main pic the hotel that was the setting for The Shining?! Glad you liked my Como page/Italy pics - thanks for rating a tip. Enjoy your Christmas week!
Sometimes it is difficult to describe in words just how beautiful a place is, but it was easy for me after seeing some of your photos of Banff, my description was "WOW". Martin
Banff National Park is splendid - we love our national parks... coming to Yosemite in August - have done most of South Africa's ones!
Such a beautiful part of Canada. I plan on visiting my son there in June. Can't wait , its been awile.
Spray lakes, Paint Pots, Surprise Corner, Hoodoos? Boy, people need to save your tips so they can walk around safely! And thank you for writting a great tip on a bad restaurant. Too few of those are written about places we should avoid.
an excellent page and great pics, thanks for sharing ! These ice-sculptures are looking interesting as well !
Thanks for the tips on Banff. Hope to get there this summer.
I will definitely have to come back and take a look at your pages again. Went through there in 1996, as part of providing technical support for a passenger car on the Rocky Mountaineer train.
Exquisite details in those tips! Thanks so much...