This is the Canada of the postcards and, unusually, the postcards undersell it. Banff and Lake Louise sit in the heart of Banff National Park, the oldest in Canada and one of the most beautiful protected landscapes on earth: a stretch of the Rocky Mountains where impossibly turquoise lakes sit beneath glaciers and sheer peaks, and where the scenery is so relentlessly spectacular that you stop being surprised by it. Banff is the lively town at the centre of it; Lake Louise, forty minutes up the valley, is the smaller hamlet beside the lake that gives the region its most famous image. Together they are the natural base for the Rockies, and for many visitors they are the reason to come to Canada in the first place.
We visited somewhere years ago for the first time and also more recently. There is really a lot of things to do here. The scenery throughout the park is amazing but you have to be prepared for the crowds in the summer months. Yes, we took the above photo – Lake Louise really is beautiful.
A Little Background
The Stoney Nakoda people and other Indigenous nations travelled and lived in this part of the Rockies for at least eleven thousand years, following the seasons across the valleys and mountains. The hot springs that would later give the park its existence were a sacred site: for some ten thousand years, people climbed down into the cave at what is now called Cave and Basin to bathe, pray, drum, and sing. The land was woven into a long tradition of seasonal use that the creation of the park would abruptly disrupt.
The modern story begins, as so much of western Canada does, with the railway. In 1883 three Canadian Pacific Railway workers stumbled into the cave and its hot spring, and the competing claims over who owned and could profit from it prompted the Canadian government to step in. On 25 November 1885 it set aside a small reserve around the springs — the seed of Banff National Park, Canada’s first and the third national park in the world. The railway built the grand Banff Springs Hotel and the Chateau Lake Louise to draw wealthy tourists, and the region has been a destination ever since. The displacement of the Stoney Nakoda from their ancestral lands was part of that founding, a history the park now acknowledges far more openly than it once did.
What to See and Do
Lake Louise itself is the headline. The glacier-fed lake, an unreal shade of turquoise beneath the Victoria Glacier, with the grand chateau at one end, is among the most photographed views in the world, and it earns the attention. Walk the easy shoreline path, hire a canoe in summer, or climb the trail to the Lake Agnes Tea House for a cup of tea and a view back down over the lake. Be warned that it is extremely popular: parking fills early and is restricted, and the sensible approach is the Parks Canada shuttle (running roughly June to mid-October, reservations essential and released in advance) rather than driving.
Moraine Lake, fifteen minutes further on in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, is by many accounts even more beautiful — a smaller, deeper blue lake hemmed by jagged summits. The road to it is now closed to private vehicles year-round, so the only way in is by shuttle or commercial tour; book the Parks Canada shuttle well ahead, as it sells out. Both lakes are at their best from late June, once the ice has gone and the colour is at its most intense.
In and around the town of Banff, the Banff Gondola carries you up Sulphur Mountain to a ridgetop boardwalk with a panorama over the whole valley. The Banff Upper Hot Springs let you soak in naturally heated mineral water with the mountains around you — best of all in winter, steam rising into the cold. The Cave and Basin National Historic Site, the birthplace of the entire national park system, is worth visiting both for the original spring and for its account of the area’s Indigenous and natural history. Beyond the headline sights, the area is laced with hiking trails for every level, wildlife is genuinely abundant (elk, bighorn sheep, and — with luck and caution — bears), and the Icefields Parkway north towards Jasper is one of the great drives on the planet.
Getting There
The gateway is Calgary International Airport, about 90 minutes east by road. There is no passenger rail into Banff, so the options are a hire car — the most flexible choice, and recommended if you intend to range beyond the towns — or one of the regular shuttle and coach services that run from Calgary airport directly to Banff and Lake Louise. Within the area, Roam Transit runs local and regional buses, and a Super Pass connects to the Parks Canada shuttles for Lake Louise and Moraine Lake; for the car-free lakes, these shuttles are the only practical access.
A note on park passes: entry to the national park normally requires a Parks Canada day or annual pass, bought at the gate or online — though for the summer of 2026 admission is free under the Canada Strong Pass initiative (roughly mid-June to early September; confirm current dates before you travel). Shuttle reservations are separate and book out fast.
Weather
The mountains have a short, glorious summer and a long, cold winter. July and August are warm, the trails are clear, the lakes are at their bluest, and everything is open — it is also the busiest and most expensive time. September is quieter and often lovely. Winter (December–March) is cold and snowy and turns the region into a world-class ski destination, with the resorts of Lake Louise, Sunshine Village, and Mt Norquay close at hand. The shoulder seasons can see snow on the high trails well into June and again from October. For lakes and hiking, aim for late June to September; for skiing, the depths of winter.
The Bottom Line
This is the most expensive corner of Canada to stay in, and the best lodges book out months ahead — the historic Fairmont properties at Banff Springs and Lake Louise command premium rates, while mid-range hotels in Banff town run roughly CAD$250–450 a night in summer, with cheaper options in nearby Canmore. Allow at least three or four days to do the region justice; a week lets you add the drive to Jasper and the quieter corners of the park. Of everywhere in this guide, this is the place that most reliably leaves people lost for words — book early, come in the warm months, and give it more time than you think you need.