The Best Banff Itinerary for Spring and Early Summer

Summer is the most favorable time to visit Banff and the Canadian Rockies for warmer temperatures, remote hiking trails, and thawed lakes.  Though, with summer comes more crowds and booked hotels.  Hiking Banff in spring or early summer can be risky. But the benefits of inexpensive flights and lodging, fewer people, and greater possibility of seeing wildlife was reason enough to book our trip. Follow this blog for the best Banff itinerary for Spring and early Summer travels.

Alltrails.com is a great resource for the current conditions of each trail.

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links so if you make a purchase or booking through one of our links we might earn a small commission (but don’t worry, it’s no extra cost to you).

Accommodations

No matter what time of year you plan to execute your Banff itinerary, book your hotel well in advance.  We booked our accommodations in December, six months ahead of time, and many Banff hotels were already at full capacity.  We opted to stay at Canalta Lodge in a room with a full kitchen.  If you have read my blogs, you know I prefer to have sandwiches prepared for hiking vacations because restaurants may not be available when exploring remote areas.  We located a grocery store to purchase bottled water, snacks, and sandwich supplies.  Canalta Lodge served a complimentary breakfast buffet complete with bagels, scrambled eggs, bacon, yogurt, pastries, coffee, and juices. 

Another perk of our hotel was the two covered hot tubs which we thoroughly enjoyed. After long days of hiking in the cold, it does not get better than warming up and relaxing in the hot tub.

Canada National Park Pass

You are required to buy a Canadian National Park Pass when visiting the Canadian Rockies.  You do not need to buy a separate pass for each park.  Park passes can be purchased online prior to arrival or at the park entrance.  If you buy your pass prior to arrival, allow ample time before you begin your Banff itinerary for the pass to be delivered to you.  Make sure your pass is clearly displayed on the windshield of your vehicle to avoid being ticketed.

Bear Safety

Anytime visiting this area, but especially in the active Spring season, take extra precautions when hiking in remote areas.  Odds are you will not use it, but it is a good idea to carry bear spray on hikes.  Bears usually only attack when they are startled or protecting their young.  If you tie bells to your pack or yell out occasionally, bears will most likely move away from the area.

Go Early! Be Early!

I cannot stress enough how important it is to start your day early.  Even in the less busy shoulder months, the parking lots can fill up and the trails become packed with people.  If that means you have to end the days early in your Banff itinerary, it will be worth it.  Trust me!

DAY 1

Johnston Canyon

Johnston Canyon was the first hike planned for the day and we arrived around 7am after a 30 minute drive from Banff.  We were the second car in the parking lot, but by the time we finished the trail, the parking lot was almost full.  Also, park rangers had a tent setup selling Park Passes (and ticketing cars who did not have their passes displayed.  This was convenient since we accidentally took the bypass around the Banff Park Entrance station instead of through it. We were able to buy our park pass here.

Immediately after entering the trailhead, you pass a bridge over Johnston Creek, then turn right to continue the trail along the flowing waters.  Sounds of the glacial blue water flowing over the riverbed rocks soothed our ears.  The path ascends as the creek falls into a canyon below.  The trail becomes a man-made catwalk with fenced barriers bolted into the canyon walls.  The entire trail boasts 7 waterfalls with the Lower and Upper Falls as the premiere highlights. 

Lower Falls

The Lower Falls are located about 0.5 mile into the trail and can be seen from a viewing bridge and close-up through a small cave to a hidden viewing area.  The spray at this viewing area can be severe so plan on getting a little damp.

Upper Falls

We continued up the trail for another mile stopping along the way for photo ops on top of a gigantic boulder.  The Upper Falls mark the beginning of the canyon and can be seen from lower and upper viewing platforms.  Watch the dramatic waterfall as it plunges 100 feet into the creek below.  From here you can continue to the Ink Pots which adds 2 miles to your hike.  We opted not to do this because we had plans to hike to Paint Pots in Kootenay National Park later in the day.

Marble Canyon

About a 20-minute drive was Marble Canyon in Kootenay National Park.  From the parking lot, you walk across the creek and begin the less than 1-mile roundtrip hike along Tokumm Creek.  The color of the water was a stunning glacier blue, and the canyon walls were a dark gray marble.  This trail was picturesque walking along the canyon wall edges with several bridges that crossed over the canyon for amazing top-down views of the creek. 

The canyon is so narrow that at times the creek was difficult to see especially as the canyon walls grow taller.  The end of the trail is the beginning of the canyon where the creek plummets into a vertical tunnel that has been carved by the powerful waters.

On the walk back down, we discovered an off-trail opening that led to the rocky banks of the creek at the mouth of the canyon.  

Paint Pots

The Paint Pots trail in Kootenay National Park is an easy 1.2-mile roundtrip hike that leads to colorful spring-fed pools.  However, the journey to the pots is much more impressive than the pots themselves.  After a short downhill walk from the parking lot, you come to the Vermilion River surrounded by snow-covered mountains.  Continue the hike over a wooden bridge and then to the left. 

The trail then becomes a flooded meadow where wooden planks are submerged as the path.  The paint pots were disappointing compared to the other sights of the day, and I was glad we did not walk the extra 2 miles to the ink pots at Johnston Canyon.  On the way back, we stopped at Vermilion River and ate sandwiches on the pebbled shore.

Banff Ranger Station

We drove back to Banff and stopped at the Ranger Station to get opinions on our Banff itinerary.  I always find the park rangers have useful information that cannot be found researching.  Plus several of the trails we had planned on doing were not yet open for the season due to high snow falls that winter.  The rangers were immensely helpful and gave us a few trail ideas including our next hike, Tunnel Mountain.  The highlight of the ranger station was the free cake they gave us because it was one of the ranger’s birthday, and they had extra.  Score!

Tunnel Mountain

The ranger advised us to do Tunnel Mountain, which is in Banff, as an easy after dinner hike.  We did the hike before dinner, however, because we had the time.  And thank goodness we did!  I would not classify this as an easy hike.  The 1.2-mile jaunt to the top of Tunnel Mountain was steep and uphill the entire way. 

Once on top of the mountain, all the effort and heavy breathing was worth it.  We got 360-degree views of the Canadian Rockies including the town of Banff below. This was a great way to finish the first day of our Banff itinerary.

DAY 2

You will start the second day of your Banff itinerary in Yoho National Park. Drive west on the Trans-Canada Highway towards Yoho National Park.  Turn right onto Emerald Lake Road which leads you to the Emerald Lake Lodge and the beginning of Emerald Lake Loop trail.  The drive is about 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Always be on the lookout for wildlife along the roads; we saw a mama grizzly bear with two cubs strolling beside the high fences of the highway.

Emerald Lake

As we arrived, the sun was just coming up over the mountains.  We began our trek clockwise around the lake for a 3.5-mile relatively level walk. 

A little more than halfway through the loop, the sun was almost overhead and shining directly into the lake giving it an emerald hue.  The lake was still giving a perfect reflection of the mountains surrounding it.

Towards the end of the trail the melting snow caused the trail to be muddy, so we had to hop, skip, and jump areas to keep our shoes from getting wet.  This is one of the perks of this Banff itinerary. The trail ended with a walk through the cabins of the Emerald Lake Lodge.  These cabins were peaceful and offered full views of the lake.  As we approached the end of the loop, we noticed the parking lot had filled up and a few people had rented canoes.

Natural Bridge over Kicking Horse River

About 10 minutes back down Emerald Lake Road is a pullout for the Natural Bridge over Kicking Horse River.  You can cross a man-made foot bridge just down river of the Natural Bridge for views of the rock formation.  This was once a waterfall, but the earth eroded just before the rock formation from the rushing waters widening the rocks and sculpting an arch.

Atop of the rock formation, you get an intimate view of the raging river crashing together and swirling down a bowl-like waterfall through the Natural Bridge.   

Wapta Falls

Next on the Banff itinerary is Wapta Falls. This waterfall is a little tricky to get to but should take you about 20 minutes from Natural Bridge.  Head back to Trans-Canada Highway and turn right.  You will drive 14.3 miles and turn left down an unnamed road for about a mile.  If you are using Google Maps, enter Wapta Falls Main Trail as your destination, not just Wapta Falls.  If you do, it will take you 10 minutes past the unnamed road; we made this mistake.

The trail is an easy 3-mile, out and back, path that is relatively flat until you approach the Wapta Falls Overlook where the trail begins to climb.  The once faint sound of a waterfall gets louder and louder until go up and over the mountain peak where you see the massive waterfall below.  A chain length fence runs alongside the edge of the cliff for safety.  A huge hill sits at the bottom of the Wapta Falls which diverts the Kicking Horse River to the left. 

Then, the path continues a steep descent to the banks of the river down from the waterfall.  Unfortunately, from this vantage point, the hill blocks half the 100-foot high, 490-foot wide falls.  You can walk along the banks towards the waterfall to the other side of the hill.  Keep in mind you will likely get wet from the spray of the waterfall.  Next, we stopped at the overlook on the way back, sat on a log bench, and ate another packed lunch before finishing the trail.

Grassi Lakes

We drove east on Trans-Canada highway passing Banff and traversed through the town of Canmore to the Grassi Lakes trailhead, which took about an hour and a half.  With the parking lot being full, we followed the lead of other hikers before us and parked on the shoulder of the main road.  The 2-mile trail is a wide path is a steep uphill walk to the setting of two lakes that look like they are straight out of a fairytale. 

The two lakes are nestled together, one lake spilling into the other by way of cascading falls.  The lakes are still and a pristine greenish-blue color that they look unreal.  On one side of the lakes stood a towering rock formation where climbers can be seen scaling the steep wall.

DAY 3

Lake Minnewanka to Stewart Canyon

Sadly, we woke up this morning to cold and rainy weather, and the weather report showed no improvements all day.  We decided to try some of the hikes that the ranger recommended around Banff; the first of which was Lake Minnewanka to Stewart Canyon.  Oh Lawd – This hike!

The ranger warned that our Spring Banff itinerary meant high bear activity.  She gave us all the tips I mentioned previously in this blog.  She began to tell us that we could walk past Stewart Canyon along the lake but if we decided to, we needed to carry bear spray.  I interrupted and assured her we would not be hiking in any areas where bear spray was necessary.  With the morning rain, we already noticed animal activity was high since we saw herds of elk and a bighorn sheep on the short drive. 

From the parking lot, we walked down a drivable road that led us by a convenient store and through a picnic area before we got to the trailhead.  Once on the trail, tensions were high for fear of seeing a bear.  We even shouted “WOOOO” and “WE’RE HERE BEAR” as jingle bells clanked against my backpack so any bear in the area would move along.  After a mile walk, we reached Stewart Canyon with no bear sightings.  A bridge connected both sides of the canyon and offered a great viewing deck of the river that flowed from the mountains into Lake Minnewanka.

On the walk back, we relaxed and could actually enjoy the views of the beautiful lake with storm clouds overhead. 

Bear Sighting!

We let our guard down as we exited the trail and passed the picnic area and convenient store.  We were almost to the parking lot when 15 feet in front of us A GIANT BLACK BEAR emerged from the tree line and crossed the street.  Once across the road, it turned back and looked at us!  Then, PANIC ENSUED!  Just before we took off running, I remembered you’re not supposed to.  So we stood there frozen in fear, not knowing what to do.  The bear wandered around a bit and then scurried up mountain and out of sight. This was not a part of our Banff itinerary!

Lake Johnson Loop

Not far from here was the Lake Johnson Loop, which was even more remote than the Lake Minnewanka trail.  Only half the loop was open, so we had to turn back instead of completing the loop.  With the bear sighting, we were on high alert.  Also, we were soaking wet from the rain that had been heavily drizzling all morning.  Johnson Lake really was beautiful even under the cloudy sky, and I imagine it is stunning with the sun shining. 

Hot Tub, Wine, and Pizza

During the Johnson Lake hike, mule deer moved in the brush in front of us.  We startled them, and they startled us.  We had had enough of nature.  Back at the hotel, we hopped in the hot tub with a couple bottles of wine to relieve all tensions from the day.  It worked.  We eventually ordered a pizza and called it a night.

DAY 4

Lake Moraine and Lake Louise are highly crowded sights in the Banff area no matter the time of year you visit.  The parking lots are not equipped to handle the number of people that visit.  To accommodate the crowds, there is a shuttle that take you from a large parking area at the bottom of the mountain to the lakes.  Luckily, we were able to find a parking spot at both locations.  However, just a couple minutes after we parked at Lake Louise, the lot was full. Parking attendants directed all traffic back down the mountain to the shuttle parking.

Lake Moraine

We arrived at the Lake Moraine and walked up the Rockpile Trail at the head of the lake.  Atop the rockpile, observe elevated views of the half-frozen lake flanked by mountains.  The lake was beautiful and was just thawing out for the summer, so we did not see the iconic green color that is typical for this lake and Lake Louise.

A giant rock sat beside the trail path at the top of the pile that we climbed for a cool photo opportunity.

At the banks of the lake, we tested the ice and walked out a bit until we heard the ice cracking beneath our feet.  We decided it was time to get back to solid ground.

Lake Louise

Walking up the path from the parking lot to the Fairmont Chateau, we saw a porcupine routing around in the grassy lawn.  We entered the grand chateau to explore the extravagant interior designs.  We sat on a bench to take in all the elaborate views of Lake Louise and the white mountains that engulfed it. 

Unfortunately, we were unable to hike the Lake Agnes Tea House trail because it has yet to open for the season.  Spring and early Summer brings avalanche warnings. We saw an avalanche fall on the mountain at the far end of the lake.

Town of Banff

The second half of our last day on our Banff itinerary was spent walking around the town exploring the shops looking for souvenirs.  The shops ranged in products from t-shirts, sophisticated art, geological rocks, fortified megalodon teeth, and more. 

Another epic trip is in the books, and I cannot wait to go back during the summer months when all the trails are open.  It will be a completely different experience!

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