Banff to Vancouver Itinerary

Now that my brother has moved to Canada, we decided to finally check out Banff, but to also squeeze in some city time in Vancouver. In just one week, we conquered something different everyday, and with more time, would have loved to check out much more!

Day 1:
Flew into Calgary airport. Pro tip: Bring a damn pen with you on the airplane to fill out the customs cards. We asked for one from a flight attendant and I think she's still looking for one for us. Since our AirBnB wasn't going to be ready for another few hours, we decided to stop for lunch in Calgary at Big T's BBQ Steakhouse before making our trek over to Canmore. I was told by my brother that Calgary for Canada is like Texas to the US. Cattle is a big thing, as is the western feel. This was strange to me but I'm happy to report that the BBQ was actually really good!

The drive to Canmore was just a little over an hour away. We chose to stay in Canmore instead of Banff mainly because we found an awesome AirBnB that would sleep the 7 of us (plus it had a rooftop hot tub). Save n Go was right around the corner, so we made a quick trip to pick up food to grill that night. You just can't beat the view of the mountains when you wake up.



Day 2:
We decided that most of our meals were just going to be cooked in the place we stayed in since there we wanted to save $ on food until we got to Vancouver. Headed out to Grassi Lakes in two cars. Since there are some mild uphill climbs and loose gravel roads, I would suggest a 4 wheel drive instead of a boring sedan. Finding this area was a bit tricky, follow your GPS, but keep your eyes peeled for a sign that points to the left for Grassi Lakes. Instead of an actual left, it's going to be a little dirt road that takes you downwards to a parking area with an outhouse. If you miss this, that's okay because following the windy road upwards is also a really pretty lake and area but not quite Grassi Lakes (we got to experience both by trial and error). If you're at the starting point of Grassi Lakes, you can hike upwards to complete the trail in less than an hour.

What you'll see if you go past the Grassi Lakes turning side

Grassi Lakes trail

Prior to the trip, we booked a package with Canmore River Adventures for their boat float tour and combined chair lift ticket to Mt. Norquay. The boat launch location is close to the center of the town of Canmore, so we ate at The Range real quick before our scheduled tour time. Holy smokes, this place is delicious! Even though we only had 20 minutes to chow down our food, everyone enjoyed every bite of it. On the boat float, the seven us piled into those awesome rafts and Matt was our guide. Each of their staff took the time to introduce themselves to each of us, even if they weren't going to be the ones guiding is down the river - how cool is that? The entire hour was really fun, with beautiful views and plenty of chances for pictures. This is a must-do.

The family with our awesome tour guide

We were going to save the chairlift tickets for Mt. Norquay for the next day, but it was forecasted to rain and thunder. We hauled over to the Juniper Hotel where a free shuttle comes to pick you up and drive you all the way to the chairlift location. We spent a couple hours on Mt. Norquay, the chairlift takes about 8 minutes each way. Staff were awesome and more than happy to slow down the chair if someone needs it. This activity was one of my husband's favorites on the whole trip.

Day 3:
The weather cleared up a bit! We headed on over to Lake Louise, but made a quick stop in Sunshine Village on the way so someone could use the outhouse. This stop ended up being beautiful (seriously, is anything in the Banff area not?) Before getting to the actual lake, you can stop at the Lake Louise Visitor's Center for suggestions and help. Just follow the signs and in just a few minutes, you'll see a free parking lot on the left or what we did was park in the Fairmont Chateau parking garage (but this costs around $20 so just free park it). The Fairmont Chateau has some food options that were less than impressive, you can also do some souvenir shopping here! Now Lake Louise, you're phenomenal. There's two different trails you can follow, we just ended up busting out the selfie stick and took a million photos of the background. Lots of people were here.

The Town of Banff is also worth checking out. Even more shopping (pretty cheap souvenirs if that's what you're looking for), coffee, and food can be found here. Free and plentiful parking at the Visitor's Center here and then a 5-7ish minute walk to the hustle and bustle. Beaver Tails offers yummy funnel cakes in the shape of a beaver tail. Seriously, so good.

On this trip we learned that if you see a cluster of cars parked, that's probably something interesting to see. This happened with bear sightings as well as awesome views.

Oh hey, mountain goats!