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Across the Border: Canadian Rockies – Banff National Park
Posted on Sep 06, 2010 in Canadian Rockies
We love Montana, clearly, but if you’ve got a little extra time on your vacation, and don’t mind driving a little, you’ll want to check out the Canadian Rockies.
Banff National Park offers some of the best sightseeing and vacation activities in all of the Canadian Rockies. In Banff, about 6 hours from Whitefish, Montana, you’ll find amazing vistas with majestic mountains, glaciers, waterfalls and lots of wildlife.
Get a great view of Banff National Park on the Banff gondola.
The town of Banff is actually located in the park, and is surrounded by amazing landscape. It’s also well known for its great restaurants, pubs, shops and friendly people.
You can get a preview of Banff by visiting the Banff webcam. Below you’ll find 5 suggestions for things to do in Banff National Park.
- Canada Place: The view of Banff from the historic Cascade Gardens is probably one of the most recognized photographs of main street and Cascade Mountain, one of the most prominent peaks in the area at 2,998 m (9836 ft.) Canada Place, located in the building that has housed the Parks Canada administration office since 1963, is a free family-friendly attraction. It offers touch-screen technology to help visitors discover Canada, including a simulated birch bark canoe ride to shoot the rapids of the Bow Falls as well as displays which highlight Canadian inventors and artists. Test your knowledge of Canadian trivia with the “Canucklehead” computer game.
- Sunshine Meadows: The Sunshine Meadows are known by many as the most stunning alpine setting in the Canadian Rockies. Situated at about 2220m (7,300′), the meadows straddle the Continental Divide and the boundary between Alberta and British Columbia. Some of the Canadian Rockies’ highest peaks, surround Sunshine, including Mt. Assiniboine, Banff National Park’s highest peak, known as “the Matterhorn of the Canadian Rockies.” Wildlife abound in the meadows, and the brilliance of the summer flowers and autumn larches guarantees spectacular scenery on every visit.
- The Hoodoos: They are giant freestanding pillars several metres tall that are made of silt, gravel and rocks cemented together by dissolved limestone. Sculpted over time by wind and water erosion and protected by a solid cap of rock, the Hoodoos can be found standing guard along the top of Tunnel Mountain. It’s the smallest peak in the Rockies to be called a mountain, at 1,692 m (5551 ft) and originally it was known as “Sleeping Buffalo” among the local Stoney Indians, for its bulky contours. Tunnel Mountain almost had a hole blasted through its middle in 1882 when railroad surveyors were devising a route through the Rockies. Luckily it was easier to go around.
- Banff Gondola: Catch the eight-minute gondola ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain and you’ll get an unsurpassed panoramic perspective of Banff. At an elevation of 2,285m (7,495 ft) high Sulphur Mountain provides 360° views of the surrounding peaks, Lake Minnewanka, the Town of Banff and the Bow Valley stretching from east to west. It’s easy to see why early inhabitants – carbon dating science has shown that to be more than 10,000 years ago – chose the valley bottom to travel through and establish summer camps. And the same goes for wildlife, which use the valley as a migration corridor to pass through Banff National Park.
- The Castle: The discovery of natural hot springs in 1883 eventually led to the establishment of Banff National Park, a vast wilderness that now encompasses 6,641 sq kms (2,564 sq mi). The Banff Springs Hotel opened its doors in 1888 and wealthy European train travelers came for months at a time to “take the waters”. Designed in the Scottish baronial style, in a nod to the town’s namesake Banffshire, Scotland, the hotel was designated a National Historic Site in 1992. The best view of this landmark hotel is from “Surprise Corner” on Tunnel Mountain.
Related posts:
- Across the Border: Canadian Rockies – Jasper National Park
- Across the Border: Canadian Rockies – Lake Louise
- Across the Border: Canadian Rockies-Canmore
- Hiking Glacier National Park in the Montana Rockies
- Get back to nature in Glacier National Park
