Today I wanted to touch a little bit more on the local of the fall lookbook- beautiful Banff National Park. A place of gorgeous wilderness vista’s, a townsite full of history and bonus, is very close to Calgary. Banff is a great place and one I always recommend to visitors that have not yet gotten to experience it, however today I’m going to share my little secret about Banff. I highly recommend making the journey during spring or fall shoulder season to see the best the park has to offer.
Not only is it much quieter than holiday months, especially with Canada’s 150th birthday this year, but the month of October also offers hotel deals and reduced pricing or sales on services. The weather is also fairly temperate in October so walking or hiking around to explore the park is still quite pleasant.
Leading up to Christmas things become quite a bit pricier and busy with holiday travellers and parties, but the historical Banff Springs- which I love to see decorated for the holidays is usually all decked out by the end of November- so you can still sneak in a week or so before December hits and the prices go up.
The other great thing is all the warm weather attractions like, hiking, horseback riding, canoeing, rafting, fly fishing and golfing and even the boat rides on Lake Minnewanka and Maligne Lake are still operational until mid October, so you can explore in a quieter setting than peak months.
Other things I love during a shoulder season trip to Banff:
– Dinner at the Maple Leaf Lounge.
– Cocktails at Park Distillery
– A soak at Banff Hot Springs
– Sunday brunch at the Banff Springs (Reso Recommended)
-A bike ride on the Rocky Mountain Legacy Trail– Runs 22 km from Banff to Canmore.
Photos by Jennifer Masterman Photography
