1 Month in Banff, Canada | A Travel Guide
In February to March 2021, I spent 5 weeks in Canmore, Banff, Revelstoke, and Jasper. It was a winter wonderland.
I had only been to Banff in the summer before - I would say it’s even more beautiful in the winter. Most of the hikes are open and on top of hiking, you can play in the snow by skiing, skating, sledding, tubing, and ice climbing.
Since I am a digital nomad, I did spend most of the time working. However, whenever the weather was nice (i.e. sunny and above -20 celsius) we would take the day off to do activities and spend the weekends working. Would highly recommend staying longer in the area so you can enjoy all the activities I did!
Week by Week Itinerary
Canmore, Week 1: There was a polar vortex where the weather was under -40 celsius. By the weekend, it was slightly warmer and we ended up hiking Troll Falls and skiing Sunshine Village twice.
Lake Louise and Revelstoke Week 2: At the start of Week 2 we moved accommodations from Canmore to Lake Louise Inn. Lake Louise Inn was a 2-minute drive from Lake Louise Ski Resort and 5 minutes to Lake Louise. We spent 3 nights there and skied Lake Louise Ski Resort and skated at Lake Louise every day. On Thursday, we drove to Revelstoke to ski there Friday and Saturday then drove back to Canmore on Sunday.
Canmore Weeks 3 and 4: The next two weeks we skied Sunshine Village two more times, Lake Louise once more, went dog sledding, and went for several short hikes in Canmore and Banff.
Jasper Last weekend: We drove up to Jasper to ski Marmot Basin, skate on Pyramid Lake, and hike Malign Canyon
From Jasper, we drove back to Calgary for a one-night stay before flying out.
Where to Stay
Canmore
Canmore Airbnbs are much cheaper than those in Banff town. Canmore is also much more residential instead of touristy. It also had many grocery stores, a sports expert to rent gear, a Canadian Tire for any supplies, and plenty of liquor shops. Most of all, the restaurants were amazing.
We stayed at this Airbnb for about $1200 USD for the 3 weeks we were there. However, the internet was not fully reliable and the kitchen table + chair was not made for working remotely. In the future, I would check with the host on internet speeds as well ask workspace before booking.
Lake Louise
At Lake Louise we stayed at Lake Louise Inn in a Junior Suite so that we would have a kitchen. It’s important to note that Lake Louise is not a village - it’s mostly a tourism stop, therefore there are not grocery stores. Make sure you pick up groceries in Canmore or Banff before the 1-hour drive. We loved staying so central to skiing, skating, and hikes so would highly recommend this place.
One thing to note is that I’m a very light sleeper and the heating system rumbles loudly through the day and night inconsistently which kept me up quite a bit.
Revelstoke
We stayed at Basecamp Resorts Revelstoke and it was amazing. We booked a one-bedroom with pull-out couch with another couple with who we’re good friends. The kitchen was well stocked and the beds were really comfortable. The views outside were also A++.
Jasper
We stayed at Sawridge Inn. Unfortunately, I cannot give them a good review. The rooms were stuffy and at least half of the rooms faced inwards into the hotel lobby, restaurant, and pool instead of outside and the internet did not work at all.
What to do
Skiing
There is world-class skiing in the Rockies. It’s expensive and time-consuming to rent gear at the mountain. We rented from Sports Experts in Canmore, sometimes on a daily sometimes on a weekly rental based on how many days we planned to ski that week. It’s about $10 cheaper per ski or snowboard package but most of all saves you 1-2 hours of time getting rentals.
For passes you have a few options:
Seasons pass at one resort
The Sunshine Card or Lake Louise Card that gives you discounts and free ski days as well as usage on partner mountains (we went with the Sunshine Card)
Costco discount days (buy in advance in Calgary)
Day passes or afternoon passes
Sunshine Village (30 minutes from Canmore, 20 minutes from Banff)
Sunshine Village is the closest to Calgary, with the best snow and views for the Big 3 in the Banff area. Once you get to the parking lot, there is one gondola up to get to the ski area. There are 3 mountains to ski and the lifts are far apart. People from Calgary complain that sometimes you have to wait 2 hours to get up that first gondola - but once you’re up there are virtually no lines.
Make sure you get there before or right when the resort opens. Once the parking lot fills up, they start turning away people!
5/6 times we went there were no lines for the gondola up. This is because most days we went were weekdays or the long weekend after an extremely cold week that may have turned the regulars away. One time we went we did wait 2 hours for the gondola but it flew by since we were with friends!
Lake Louise Ski Resort (1 hour from Canmore, we stayed nearby)
Lake Louise Ski Resort is 1 hour further from Calgary than Sunshine Village. Locals we spoke to said they would rather drive that extra hour to avoid lines. However, I went to Lake Louise three times, two of the times were on weekdays and once on a Sunday - both times I felt like I was in lines longer. There are 2 lifts/gondolas going up the mountain with 40min-1 hour lines each. The mountain is also not as spread out with a lot of the runs needing to go to the bottom and therefore taking another long wait to get back up. The conditions were also icier.
Revelstoke (3.5 hours from Canmore, we did a weekend)
People go to Revelstoke for the powder. It was indeed SUCH DEEP POWDER. Skiing in powder definitely makes you a better skiier. I even hiked up to ski the North Bowl because who cares if it’s steep if falling means falling on fluffly clouds?
Jasper Marmot Basin (4 hours from Canmore, we did a weekend)
Marmot Basin has the highest altitude and beautiful views. There are also quite a few lines at the bottom but the top mountain offers a wide range of options to ski. It’s pretty small so going just for one day was fine for me!
Resorts I didn’t go to are Kicking Horse in Golden, BC, and Mt. Noroquay. Kicking Horse is also known for amazing powder but I heard that you have to hike in order to get really good runs and Mt. Noroquay which I heard was a small mountain but has tubing for those that don’t want to ski!
Skating
What a dream it was to skate at mountain lakes! The best times to go are December and March - either before the snow comes or after the snow melts in order to skate on pristine lakes.
Unfortunately, we missed the best time but skating on Lake Louise is not overrated at all any time in the winter. The best time is to ask the staff when the ice is getting maintained or zamboni’d so that you can skate on well-groomed ice!
I also skated at Pyramid Lake in Jasper. The rink was quite small and right outside Pyramid Lake Resort. However, the views were stunning!
I did not get to skate at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge because the ice was already melting! They have a 1km oval track to skate!
Dog Sledding
It was my first-time dog sledding and I’m so glad I got to do it in Banff! At first I was hesitant on whether it was ethical. However, I did my research online and after reading multiple blog posts, the excellent reviews of all companies run in Banff and Canmore - I bit the bullet.
It is quite expensive, a 90-minute run with tax and tip was $570 CAD. But if you look at how the dogs are treated, you’ll understand that the price is justified.
Most of the concerns around ethics of dog sledding is the conditions the dogs live in. The dogs of Kingmik Dog Sled Tours, the company we went with, spend winters working and summers on a property in BC running free. They are fed raw chicken cubes of up to 10,000 calories per day. We can see that the owners really cared about each dog, understood their personalities, and gave them each attention as they were strapped to the dog sled.
These Alaskan Huskies are bred to run. Because of COVID, the tour company had to put a third of their dogs up for adoption, many with marathon runners because there just aren’t enough tourists booking tours to get the dogs the running they needed. We saw the dogs waiting their turn in their crates with their heads pressing on the crate doors begging to be let out to participate in the pulling.
We went out to the Great Divide on a cross country trail and then on the way back we went through woods and saw clear views of mountains! Would highly recommend the experience!
Hiking
Just walk around Canmore or Banff. Enjoy winter wonderland town views with mountains on every side!
Every lake you see will probably have a hiking route around it. We enjoyed walking around Lake Minnewanka and Two Jack Lake
We loved Troll Falls and Malgine Canyon! When else do you get to climb and slide around frozen waterfalls?
Get on All Trails! If you’re ready for a challenge, Ha Ling Peak is a popular hike near Canmore.
Eating
Our favorite spots that we would go back to are:
Tapas Canmore
There’s a chef’s menu that was Michelin star quality here.
Communitea
Yummy vegan and vegetarian food as well as teas, hot chocolate, and cafe.
Ramen Arashi
Run by authentic Japanese! Their specials were cheap and so good.
Waldhaus (Fairmont Banff Springs)
Make sure you go there starving and pace yourself. Cheese fondue + main + chocolate fondue dessert will not disappoint.
Trailhead Cafe in Lake Louise
Not touristy at all and much better than eating at any of the hotels. This cafe is right next to the vistor’’s center and well worth a stop.
Bow Valley Garden Center and the Teahouse inside
On the outskirts of Canmore, this garden center sells plants and fresh produce. The Japanese teahouse inside has amazing seafood, oysters, authentic Japanese tea, and great bubble tea. Their produce arrives on Fridays so go on the weekend!