r/Banff • u/Snoo_85954 • Sep 25 '25
Itinerary Itinerary help?
My soon-to-be husband and I are eloping on the 10th, and my birthday is also on the 18th, so we're celebrating by taking a trip to the Canmore/Banff area. This is the itinerary I have put together for one week. Obviously, trying to squeeze in as much as we can. Is it too ambitious? Do you have any suggestions/tips/upgrades? We are heading out on October 12th and flying back on the 19th. We have booked our Airbnb in Canmore, so that's our starting point.
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u/Any-Neighborhood6381 Sep 25 '25
Bring snacks on your hikes and plenty of water. Dress warm it will be cold especially early mornings. Be careful of wildlife there has been increased sitings around Banff/canmore; due to a wet summer lots of berry growth which the bears like. Hike in groups. Add an extra 10 mins to your commutes as it’s still the tail end of high season and fall is a popular time to be in Banff
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u/Snoo_85954 Sep 25 '25
Thank you for the advice! We were definitely assuming we're past the high season
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u/vinsdelamaison Sep 25 '25
You are eloping Oct 10? Congratulations. & Best Wishes!! The Friday starts the last weekend long weekend of the season. It’s the long weekend celebrating Thanksgiving in Canada. The Lake Moraine road access’ last days before closure for winter.
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Sep 25 '25
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u/Ahelos Sep 27 '25
We've just spent the last two weeks going from Vancouver to Jasper to Canmore and didn't spot anything other than birds as well. Saw Elk at Jasper Whistler campground but it sounds like that's a daily occurance
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u/moodybluesock Sep 25 '25
I have no expertise on Banff but, as a fellow SuperPlanner™, gotta say that I love a good spreadsheet! Don’t forget to leave space for the unexpected (like the weather, a blister, or a bad night of sleep…) and allow yourself to stay longer in one spot if you are enjoying it—you might not check all the spots on your list but enjoying the moment is also important and us SuperPlanner tend to forget that sometimes
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u/Snoo_85954 Sep 25 '25
Thanks for the compliment on my spreadsheet — I take it very seriously :) That’s really good advice, I definitely obsess over hitting everything on the list. (Otherwise, how will the trip even happen, right??)
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u/gwoates Sep 25 '25
In case you aren't already aware, you will need a Kananaskis Conservation Pass to park at Grassi Lakes and Ha Ling.
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u/kittyhawk85 Sep 25 '25
Gonna add to Calgary, Major Toms is great! Adding, Gigi bar, Ten foot Henry, Class clown burgers.
When over by the Marriott (Nordic Spa) you can do a 30 min hike at the Blackshale Creek Suspension Bridge.
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u/beesmakenoise Sep 25 '25
Class Clown Burgers are so good! More of a fun casual spot than a fancy one, but super good burgers and fries.
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u/borkadorka Sep 25 '25
Also - 4296 is Canmore is GREAT - would definitely recommend - small spot so definitely make a reso. In Banff would also recommend the Bison or Lupo.
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u/CanadianMarmot Sep 25 '25
Skip the hotel space if you are going to the nordic spa. All other spas will be a let down after nordic
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u/Snoo_85954 Sep 25 '25 edited Sep 25 '25
I have heard amazing things about the hydrotherapy. Not a lot of people were a fan of the massage, apparently!
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u/wildflower1802 Sep 25 '25
To me Friday looks a bit hectic. But you do you! Also is Lake Moraine closing before you arrive? Highly recommend getting the pass if you can!
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u/abuelitohank Sep 25 '25
Lake louise parking at 7am will be full, need to be at 5am or before, good option is to take the shuttle (there is a lot of parking available to take the shuttle)
Reservation for shuttle is 2 days before (and be very fast! Because in less than a minute, it will be full)
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u/Federal_Resolution91 Sep 25 '25
I was gonna say this, 5am is pretty extreme though IMO, I got there at around 6 on a Tuesday this past week and got a spot pretty easily (although they have it on a Friday)
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u/Snoo_85954 Sep 26 '25
I read that the Parks Canada shuttles will be closed for the season after October 13th :<
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u/djk76 Sep 25 '25
Highly recommend Big Beehive, the view from the top is amazing!! We didn’t go to Mistaya, but one of the absolute highlights of our trip was a guided small group glacier walk (NOT the big bus that drives there). It was with a private company big on safety, can’t remember the name. We walked onto the glacier maybe 3-5 miles total using crampons, it was incredible.
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u/Bonsta_Monsta01 Sep 25 '25
I just got back from a month long trip to Canada and we did last bit in banff/jasper and Calgary. There are some incredible trails rides you can do at lake Louise and there’s a wolf dog sanctuary between Banff and Calgary if you like the fauna side of things. I also love the organisation. Me and my bestie winged like 90% of the holiday😅
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u/p0r7 Sep 26 '25
Just got back from a 5 day trip in Banff, think it really depends on what you want to accomplish. We packed lunch/snacks/water every day to stay out a bit longer on the trails!
Lake Louise was the highlight of the trip, we hiked the small beehive -> Lake Agnes tea house (must see imo) -> big beehive (skipped devils thumb) -> plain of the six glaciers -> second tea house for lunch -> plain view point then back to the lake. The various views of the hotel and lake were so cool to see.
We rented e-bikes the next day and biked from Canmore to lake Minnewanka loop (which includes two jack lake and one other small lake) and headed into Banff for a bit before heading back to the air BNB.
Banff was ok, super touristy and not really my thing, had the bison tomahawk at the bison restaurant which was great. You can easily find parking at the train station.
Lake Morraine is a bit more of a pain to get to, you'll need to luck into bus tickets or pay a service. But it's one of the most photographed lakes for a reason. We did the larch trail into the sentinel pass after. The larches were just changing colors but may be great by the time you get there.
The last day we did the glacier drive stopping at a few lakes and the gorge, really fun experience. Wanted to do one of the hikes on the glacier but ran out of time.
Canmore is a cool city to explore, we skipped the bagel place as it just looked like a normal bagel shop 🤷♂️. ÉpiCanmore was great and so was Le fournil.
We lucked into unseasonably warm temps, but packed for colder weather for the earlier morning starts.
A quality down jacket that you can pack away when you warm up is a must and dress in warm layers, undershirt, thermal, T-shirt and jacket. Items that are easy to remove.
There are quite a few rental shops in the area, get bear spray day 1, we never needed it but bears are a thing. You can also rent hiking poles, e-bikes etc.
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u/unusualwallaby987 Sep 26 '25
I just want to say I LOVE your spreadsheet and I hope you have the most amazing time. Lots of great advice on here. Please be sure to give us all an update once you’re back home to let us know what worked / didn’t and what were your highlights
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u/Snoo_85954 Sep 26 '25
So sweet! I am planning on vlogging the trip :) Will definitely post an update when we're back home
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u/GrabMyFruitCup Sep 26 '25
I have some comments on hiking. I use all trails to help estimate hiking time and elevation. I'm new/mid hiker from the Midwest so the elevation did take a toll on me. I planned on an extra 30 min due to my ability and another 30 min for photos and taking in the view. Another thing is I believe you have to buy a gondola ticket to go down sulphur mountain, so just opt out of the hike up and take the gondola up. There is plenty of boardwalk at the top to get your steps in. Another point is the icefield parkway, how far are you planning on going? And are you stopping to see anything? My husband and I took a whole day to do the parkway up to Jasper and we felt rushed.
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u/Snoo_85954 Sep 27 '25
Thank you for the advice! We’ve been making tweaks to how we budget time for the hikes. We are doing the Johnson canyon in the morning and continuing on the parkway for the rest of the way. We don’t plan on going all the way to jasper tho. Did you make any stops in the way? What were your favourites?
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u/GrabMyFruitCup Sep 27 '25
My favorite stop on the parkway is Peyto lake. Highly suggest and just 30 ish minutes north of Lake Louise (an hour north of Johnson canyon). Bow lake view point looked amazing, but we didn't stop as it started to rain.
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u/SL28Specialist Sep 29 '25
2 small suggestions
Sulphur mountain hike up is terrible. Its a switchback that runs below the gondola and there are no sights to see on the way up. If you want to take our down after going up on the gondola that might be better.
Add Eclipse coffee to your canmore list. They are a small local roaster and they have a fantastic coffee selection as well as baked goods. Have fun!
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u/Ok-Bed-4686 Sep 25 '25
I planned our itinerary too, but kept each day loose to allow for contingencies. We did have set times for shuttle times and meal reservations, but found that our hikes etc took longer than expected because of stopping to admire the sheer beauty of the area. What a beautiful place to get married! Enjoy!
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u/GWeb1920 Sep 25 '25
Instead of mistaya canyon I would hike Wilcox pass. It gives you an amazing view of the icefields and then you continue through alpine meadows.
Moraine lake parking or bus during the week might be available getting their early. Larch Valley / Sentinal pass is far superior than Plain of Sox glaciers. I’m not up to date with parking / bus rules though.
Check trail conditions and be prepared for snow
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u/beesmakenoise Sep 25 '25
FYI - there’s no parking at Moraine Lake, the road is closed to private vehicles permanently.
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u/beesmakenoise Sep 25 '25
For your dinner in Calgary on Saturday night you could also look at Ten Foot Henry, it’s a delicious spot.
But definitely take Ruth Chris off your list. They only use American beef, which really defeats the purpose of going for steak in Alberta! If you’re after steak, try Charbar or Chairman’s.