Banff National Park is home to the Banff Centre, a conference center which houses, along with many other things, an international mathematics research center. The sole purpose of this center is to host week-long mathematics conferences and workshops in one of the most beautiful places in the world. My advisor organized a conference there and was kind enough to invite me! I stayed at the Banff Centre from Monday September 12th to Friday September 16th. Tim joined me on Friday afternoon so we could explore the region together, and we flew back to Seattle on Tuesday night.
Flights:
We flew direct from Seattle to Calgary on Alaska (operated by Horizon Air). My flight was funded by math, while Tim used 15,000 Avios to book a roundtrip flight with Alaska through British Airways. To get from Calgary to Banff, you can take a reasonably priced shuttle that takes you directly from the airport to different areas of downtown as well as the Banff Centre. The trip takes about 1.5 hours by car, and 2 hours by shuttle. I took the shuttle, and Tim rented a car at Calgary Airport and drove to Banff.
Hotels:
During the conference I stayed in lodging at the Banff Centre. The room setup for math conference participants was interesting. Each conference participant is given a single room, but the bathroom is shared between two rooms. It was a new experience for me to share my bathroom with a male professor, but he was perfectly nice and we got along well.
After the conference ended, Tim and I stayed at the Mountain View Inn in Canmore. At the time we booked it, it was pretty cheap – 121 CAD per night including taxes. The hotel was not the fanciest, but it was clean and worked for our purposes. If you rent a car (which I highly recommend), I would advise staying in Canmore instead of in the city center if you’re trying to save money, because the food and lodging is so much cheaper than in Banff. Canmore is only a 15 minute drive from the Banff park entrance. We didn’t encounter any traffic entering or exiting the park, though keep in mind we traveled during the shoulder season. Canmore is well developed and has lots of restaurant options, fast food, and well-stocked grocery stores.
Hiking in Banff:
There are many bears in Banff, and it is strongly recommended to carry bear spray as a precaution. We also wore bear bells to alert the bears to our presence. I didn’t see any bears while hiking, but there were bear sightings the day after I hiked Sulphur Mountain. We did see a bear while driving on the freeway. For certain hikes, due to increased bear presence, you must have at least 4 hikers in your group. If it is a popular hike you may be able to join with other groups of hikers at the trailhead. Keep this in mind and research hikes before you go. For most hikes in this area (perhaps with the exception of Tunnel or Sulphur Mountain), I would strongly advise using proper hiking boots.
Cory Pass Hike:
Cory Pass was our favorite hike. This might even be my favorite day hike ever. I love this hike because you get to experience many different mountain environments at the same time, and the trail is so beautiful.
Cory Pass is a 8.1 mile strenuous loop hike with 3832 total feet of elevation gain starting at the Fireside trailhead. Don’t let the total elevation gain fool you – you climb 1500 feet in the first 0.75 miles. I don’t remember how long it took us, but it was somewhere in the realm of 5 to 7 hours. The best way to go is clockwise (follow signs to Cory Pass at the start), because you will hit the steepest elevation gain while traveling uphill. It will save your knees and prevent you from falling. The trail starts out at a moderate incline. Then you hit a long stretch of unreasonably steep hiking. I dug the toes of my boots into the hillside while climbing instead of putting my foot flat on the trail – that’s how steep it was. Luckily, this extremely steep portion does not last forever. Along the way you can stop and take in the amazing views. Eventually you halt your extreme elevation gain and follow the trail until you reach Cory Pass.
From here you enter a protected gap between the mountains. The trail at this point is basically rock scree. You’re walking along a slope consisting of slippery gravel and trying not to slide. It was a little nerve-wracking, but I don’t think it was that dangerous, and this was definitely my favorite part of the hike. I felt so protected and nestled in between the mountains, like I was hiding in some secret pocket of nature. Be prepared for inclement weather – for us, it started to snow while crossing the pass. After you go through the pass, the trail returns to normal. Towards the end of the trail you enter a quiet mossy forest with a gentle decline, and eventually make your way back to the trailhead.
Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse Hike:
This 9.4 mile hike with 1517 feet of elevation gain starts at the Lake Louise trailhead by the Chateau Fairmont. The reason we wanted to do this hike is because the hike ends at a remote teahouse called the Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse. Helicopters fly in supplies at the beginning of the season, and for the rest of the season workers and pack mules supply the rest. It’s a unique experience and I highly recommend it. In fact, there are actually two teahouse hikes at Lake Louise. The other one is the Lake Agnes Teahouse hike, which starts at the same trailhead and is only 4.4 miles roundtrip. So if you don’t want to hike 9.4 miles, you can do the Lake Agnes hike – just keep in mind that it will be more crowded.
The trail starts along the edge of Lake Louise, which can be pretty crowded due to all the tourists taking photos. Luckily as you head further down the lake the crowd thins out. It’s a nice hike through the woods with some beautiful views of Lake Louise. The turnoff to the teahouse is only 3.7 miles from the trailhead, so if you don’t feel like continuing all the way to the Plain of Six Glaciers you can turn around here. If you want to continue to the end, you get a better view of the glaciers.
The teahouse takes cash only. It is fairly expensive, so make sure to bring a generous amount of cash. Their chocolate cake is to die for. They also have their own mountain tea blends, which are very good. I don’t remember much about the other food, but we enjoyed the experience a lot. The only thing is that the teahouse was cold and not well-heated.
Other things at Lake Louise:
The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise has a high tea, in case you don’t want to hike to a teahouse for tea.
Sulphur Mountain:
We had a free half day during the conference, so myself and some other conference attendees decided to hike Sulphur Mountain. You can walk to the trailhead from the Banff Centre – if I recall correctly it’s about a 2 mile walk. The trailhead is even closer to the city center, maybe a 1-1.5 mile walk. If you’re feeling lazy, you can take the bus. The bus system in Banff seemed reliable to me the few times I used it. Once you get on the trail, it’s a pretty standard hike that goes up a mountain through a forest. There were a lot of switchbacks, but constant uphill. Once you get to the top, you get beautiful 360 degree views of the mountains of Banff. There is also a visitor center with food and other things at the top, as well as a gondola station if you want to take the gondola down (you can also take it up). Sulphur Mountain seemed similar to some hikes I’ve done in the North Cascades. It was worth it, but not as unique as Cory Pass or Helen Lake. I think this would be the perfect hike to do if you have some time or transportation constraint (e.g. your shuttle to the airport leaves in the afternoon, you have a free half day at a conference, you aren’t renting a car and need a hike close to the city center). It would be fine to skip in favor of a more interesting hike. I have no idea where my pictures of this hike went.
If you want to ease your sore muscles afterwards, the trailhead is quite close to the Banff Upper Hot Springs. In my opinion, the Banff Upper Hot Springs was like a swimming pool. The water felt very nice, but I have been to nicer and less crowded hot springs. We went at night, but I’m assuming if you go during the daytime that there is a nice view. They allow you to rent swimsuits in case you forgot to bring one – they even have historic bathing suits that you can rent. I tried to get Tim to rent one of those but he wouldn’t, sadly.
Tunnel Mountain:
Tunnel Mountain trailhead starts right near the Banff Centre. This is a short 2.7 mile roundtrip hike with an elevation gain of 948 feet. This is a great hike to do if you’re staying at the Banff Centre and want your morning workout. The views are beautiful as with everything in Banff, but you don’t get much elevation gain. If you’re staying at the Banff Centre, you should do this one just because you’re there, but if you’re not staying at the Centre and want to do longer hikes, I would skip it.
Helen Lake:
This trail starts at the Helen Lake parking lot and is 7.5 miles long with 1509 feet of elevation gain. This is the only hike we did where we encountered significant snow, though microspikes or crampons were definitely unnecessary. As with everything in Banff, it was breathtakingly gorgeous and I highly recommend it. The hike starts out at a decent climb in what looks like a field of Christmas trees. There are tree roots all over the path so you have to watch your footing.
At some point, we crossed the snow line – or should I say, the slush line, and after this patches of the path were slushy, snowy, or muddy. The trail opens up after the Christmas tree field, and there are a few lakes along the way and a very unique, gorgeous landscape, almost like a meadow of some sort. We got a lot of beautiful photos in the snow, and a great view from the hillside.
Icefields Parkway Drive:
We had heard that this was an amazing drive with lots of interesting sights along the way. If you follow the parkway further north, you will hit Jasper and Yoho National Park which I hear are even more amazing than Banff. Next time I have a conference in Banff we’ll try to go there!
I think we did not allot enough time for this drive, and we aren’t the hugest fans of sightseeing while driving. In hindsight, I would have saved this drive for when we go to Jasper and Yoho, and are forced to follow this parkway north. The drive was breathtakingly gorgeous, and we stopped at several places along the way. Our destination was Athabasca Glacier. I was a little disappointed by the glacier, not because it wasn’t interesting, but we couldn’t get close to it at all. The only way you can get close to the glacier is if you book an expensive tour that takes you on to a safe part of the glacier’s surface. It could be worth it to do that, but it requires some planning in advance.
Along the way we also stopped at Lake Moraine. This is a beautiful lake with the purest turquoise water. We saw several couples taking engagement photos here. There are some hikes, but we didn’t have time to do any of them, so we just wandered around the lake and took photos.
Restaurants:
Red Rock Pizza in Canmore: We loved this place so much that we ate here twice. It’s the perfect place to go after a long day of hiking. They have a variety of local craft beers and excellent pizza, as well as other entrees. Be aware that this restaurant can be popular.
Three Ravens Restaurant at the Banff Centre: This is the official restaurant of the Banff Centre. I gained 5 pounds (no joke) in a week due to this restaurant. During conferences, they serve all you can eat lunch and dinner buffets with a variety of delicious options for all dietary restrictions. There is so much food you literally cannot try it all. There were at least 5 different desserts at every meal – hence the 5 pounds! If you are not a conference participant, you can eat at the restaurant, but I’m not sure you have access to the buffet. The prices are steep, but the food is delicious. Oh, and I forgot to mention the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, so that you can experience the most amazing view of Banff’s mountains while enjoying your dinner.
Fast food: There were several Tim Horton’s in Canmore. In particular, there is a Tim Horton’s inside a grocery store. We chose to go there every morning, so we could shop for lunch for our day hikes while enjoying Timbits and coffee. I love Tim Horton’s with a burning passion, so this made me very happy. However, by Day 4 we had had too much of a good thing, so we hit up the Canmore Mickey D’s instead.
Banff Fairmont Hotel: This hotel offers an absolutely delicious (albeit somewhat expensive) high tea with stunning views of the mountains.
WanderLiz 