Banff is located in Alberta, Canada and is a 1.5 hr drive from the nearest airport, Calgary. We chose to travel here after attending a wedding in San Francisco. Our primary interests for the trip were hiking and birding. This trip was taken June 2025.
Trip breakdown:
Deciding where to spend your time in this region can be tough! Ultimately, our itinerary was determined by the availability of the hotel I wanted to stay at in Jasper.
Part One – Icefields Drive
Scenic drive between Banff and Jasper.
Part Two – Jasper
Jasper is a smaller, slightly less touristy town than Banff.
Part Three – Banff
The whole reason we traveled to Alberta!
Banff was established in 1885, making it the first national park in Canada and the third oldest in the world.
Day-by-day
Day 1
Icefields
-Drive from Calgary Airport in a rental car to Jasper (10 – 14 hours). The Icefields drive is not your typical point A to B highway cruise. There are more stops, hikes, and viewpoints than can be seen in one day. Be prepared for no cell service and only one rest stop mid-way.
-As of Summer 2025, the fabulous hotel we planned our trip around is still recovering from the fire. I still encourage you to check availability at Alpine Village!
Day 2
Jasper
-Drive from Maligne Canyon to Medicine Lake (eyes peeled for wildlife!) to Maligne Lake. Enjoy a walk on Mary Schaeffer Loop.
-Eat lunch at Jasper Brewing Company, rest, refuel and then head back out!
-Pop between Beauvert Lake, Lake Annette, Lake Edith and Pyramid Lake. It is possible to see them all in one afternoon! Lake Edith was our favorite.
Day 3
Jasper to Banff
-Have some good iced coffee at Sunhouse Cafe. Then, head back out onto the Icefields to hit all of the sights you skipped on your first drive. If you didn’t do the Columbia Icefields tour on the first drive, do it now. Or…don’t…
-Check into your hotel and eat dinner at the Park Distillery and Restaurant. We stayed at the Rimrock. Based on the time of year you visit, hotels can be very pricey. Canmore is a great option to save money and still be nearby.
Day 4
Banff
-Head to Canmore for breakfast and then continue on to Kananaskis. You’ll likely catch wildlife on the drive so keep an eye out! Hike Grassi Lake and then stop by Goat Creek before heading back to Banff. Don’t forget to pack lunch!
-Eat dinner at the Bison back in Banff
Day 5
Banff – Lake Louise
-Book an early tour for Lake Louise and Moraine. Do NOT leave late; by 11pm the lake starts to feel a bit like Disney World. We booked our tour with our hotel and left at 7:30am.
-Eat lunch and then head to Cave and Basin National Historic Site. Take your pick from a range of hiking trails, horse rides and mountain bike trails.
-Eat dinner at the Maple Leaf and debate if it was better than The Bison.
Day 6
Banff
-Go big today and summit! Little Lougheed is perfect for this but you may want to bring hiking poles. If you do this early in the morning, choose your own adventure for the PM.
-Eat dinner at Farm and Fire.
Day 7
Banff
-Head back to Calgary and say buh bye to your trip.
Icefields Points of Interest
Organized in order from Banff -> Jasper.
- Crowfoot Glacial viewpoint
- Bow lake – easy lakeside trail for a stroll
- Peyto Lake – 15 min walk from the parking lot. This is one of the most popular view points and the lot can get crowded. It is worth it if you want a photo for the ‘gram.
- Waterfowls lake view
- Mistaya Canyon – out and back hike, 30 minutes
- Saskatchewan River Crossing – this is your ONE chance to get gas. There are also food options. If you have dietary restrictions or are picky, bring your own.
- Weeping Wall and Big Bend – you can see from road. It might be easy to miss so mark it on your map – don’t miss it!
- Columbia Icefields tour – this is a massive time suck, but some people say it was their favorite thing. The Columbia Icefields tour and skywalk took us 3.5 hours total and I found the timeslots very restrictive and stressful to plan around. There is a Starbucks and food here. Be prepared for it to be quite busy.
- Parker Ridge – 2 hour hike
- Horseshoe lake – less crowded lake with a short hiking trail
- Beauty creek to Tangle Creek Falls – very pretty hike, 2 hours.
- Sunwapta Falls – 60 ft water fall
- Goat and Glacier – lookout with a trail
- Althabasca Falls – most impressive waterfall
- Valley of the 5 lakes – 3 mile hike. As this is close to Jasper, this is very popular.
Tips
- Hiking:
- Don’t stress about your park pass. There were not long lines to buy them there. I bought daily ones and printed them at home before we left.
- Do not hike without bear spray. Rent it at the beginning of your trip or ask your hotel concierge for assistance.
- The popular hikes/sights will be mobbed with people in the summertime. If you drive a bit further out of town you’ll have much more success getting away from the crowds.
- But keep in mind…a hard hike means a very hard, challenging hike. Canadians leaving reviews on AllTrails might be very serious hikers with high skill levels.
- Download AllTrails maps offline. You often won’t have any service at all.
- Attire and Gear:
- People do not dress up for dinner and eat on the early side.
- It was colder than we thought at the end of June. I wore a thigh length medium weight rain coat on every hike and only wore shorts one time.
- I wish I had hiking poles! I have since adopted them.
- Banff/Jasper/Canmore spit:
- Don’t skip Jasper! I wish we had opted to spend more time in Jasper vs Banff. *2025 edit – Jasper suffered a significant wildfire last year. Check to see how it’s recovered before heading out.
- While staying in Banff, we visited Kananaskis twice for hikes as it was much less crowded than areas near Banff. While the dining in Banff was great, if you aren’t concerned with that you may be just as happy staying in Canmore as Banff.
Nat + Riki 