Vacation: Banff National Park, Alberta
I’ve been to Banff National Park and I can tell you that this is a great place to visit. Nestled in the Canadian Rockies, it attracts more than 4 million people per year. The largest town is called Banff and is also the town with the highest elevation in Canada (4,800 feet). It is a resort town known for its hot springs, mountains, and outdoor sports. The town is very picturesque and is surrounded by the mountains. It definitely has that resort feel to it.
Here are just some of the things you can see and do in Banff:
- Glaciers
- Castleguard Caves
- Lake Louise
- Gondola rides
- Sulfur Mountain
- Camping
- Hot springs
- Tunnel mountain
- Trail, carriage, sleigh rides
One of the most popular places to stay is the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel (”Castle in the Rockies”). It is modeled after a Scottish Baronial Castle that overlooks the Bow River Valley. It also has the Willow Stream Spa and golfing. In 2007/2008, the Banff downtown area was updated to better reflect the surroundings and to get rid of some very old infrastructure.
The only thing that threw me off on my trip was the hot springs. I had a picture in my head that this would be a natural pool of water in the wilderness of the mountains somewhere that you could take a dip in. Actually, it is a public pool into which they pump water from the hot springs. That being said, the view from the pool of the mountains is still very impressive! And the water is very hot!
This is a great place to explore, relax, and get some fresh air. I highly recommend a visit to Banff to experience the Canadian Rockies in a very unique way.
