Banff Road Trip
If you don’t have western Canada on your bucket list - add it now. I personally did a road trip through the parks in Alberta and British Columbia in 2018 and it led to some of the best photos and experiences that I have ever had. Adrianne and Nicole had followed along on my Instagram and decided it was something they had to experience themselves as well. We met for coffee and started piecing together an adventure!
The girls got a great deal on tickets to Calgary so we planned a little road trip through the parks that looped from Calgary and back. I was able to find accommodations for 6 nights for less than $400 a person, including a really gorgeous hotel in Canmore. There are a ton of really affordable Airbnb options around these parks as well so definitely double check on Airbnb-type sites before going direct to hotels.
They got to explore Banff National Park, Yoho National Park, Revelstoke National Park, and Glacier National Park. Driving through the towns of Banff, Canmore, Golden, and then exploring Calgary a bit. The whole area is so beautiful that just driving through the towns is an adventure. They are true mountain villages with top-tier views everywhere. I provided a list of restaurants and places I personally loved going to while also finding new ones that adhered better to a vegetarian diet for them.
So many of the attractions revolve around the outdoors and nature - for good reason -but there were a few things that I personally loved experiencing on my trip that I highly recommended to them. The top rec was Sky Bistro at the Banff Gondola. For less than $100, you take the gondola up Sulphur Mountain, which has a gorgeous board walked walkway through the mountains then you get to enjoy a multiple course meal at Sky Bistro with views like the photo above. It was amazing!
There are so many amazing hikes - one of my favorites is the Emerald Lake Loop at Yoho National Park. Highly suggest it because it is a nice long hike but not too difficult at all. So many different types of landscapes all along the way with gorgeous green lake views. There’s also the Giant Cedars Boardwalk trail in Revelstoke National Park, which is shady, cool, and full of greenery. Takakkaw Falls in Yoho National Park is another very short trail with a huge waterfall - the second-highest in Canada! These are all easy trails with lots of opportunities for nice photos and breathing fresh air.
If you love mountains and the open, fresh air then you need to get here. It is one of the most gorgeous places to adventure so rent a car and let’s plan your Banff getaway!