CHRISTY: Vancouver & Seattle Lifestyle, Travel, Fashion, Beauty, Business, & Food Blogger ❀

After hearing that Banff is the most beautiful place in Canada, I figured I should really go check it out. As a Canadian, I haven’t really gone around Canada besides Toronto and Victoria… so this was an amazing experience!

My husband and I went in October so there was still the fall foliage but with a hint of winter. Though we would have loved seeing Banff and Jasper in the winter time, the colourful trees made the scenery even more spectacular!

If you’re up for a 3-hour drive each time and visiting Edmonton and Calgary while you’re at it, then read on!

Quick tips: I was hearing that it is safer to bring bear spray. I purchased mine at Atmosphere and they required an ID. I was also unable to refund it even if I didn’t use it so just a heads up! You can also potentially rent bear spray from your hotel.

To visit Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, you need to take a bus and it’s best to purchase the tickets beforehand. Check here for more information. There’s also the Athabasca glacier area that is bus access only!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

If you purchased hotels through third-party websites, make sure to call and check your reservation. We had trouble with that and almost didn’t have a place to stay in Banff.

Car Rental: Hertz was the one we went with. You can pick-up and drop off the cars easily at the airport. Sadly, we didn’t get the car we wanted.

Here’s a brief summary of my itinerary:

🗓 DAY 1 – Flight, Edmonton, Jasper

We left from Vancouver to Edmonton as it was easier to head to Jasper from Edmonton. We picked up a rental car at Hertz, stayed in Edmonton for one night around Edmonton Mall, and ate at Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse. I was so full after!

Edmonton Mall was gigantic for sure! I walked around there for a few hours and finally got to see the pirate ship area. There’s also T&T Supermarket, Paris Baguette, Chick-fil-a, Uncle Tetsu, and some bubble tea chains around the mall.

During the next day, we left early in the morning to drive about three hours from Edmonton to Jasper! Our first stop was Pyramid Lake.

• Afternoon (Jasper)
  • First stop: Check-in at our hotel in Jasper. It was pouring rain so we decided to leave our luggage back at the hotel before heading to the next destination. We booked through a third-party website and was told our reservation didn’t go through! It was so scary because many of the hotels were booked up already… luckily they had one extra room freed up just for us. Remember to check your hotels.
  • Pyramid Lake: This was such a fun lake to be at! There was a bridge that led to a manmade island. There were a few people taking wedding photos there too. The lake wasn’t as turquoise of a colour as I had thought, but it was still very refreshing.
  • On the way back from the lake, we saw male and female elks! I must say the male elks’ calls were super loud and high pitched. There were also some elk calves around too and they were all very relaxed. We also walked up this hill to get a better view and it was honestly one of the best views! We got to witness a mother elk and her baby walk across the waters to get to an island.

• Evening
  • Dinner: We went back to downtown Banff and went to a Greek restaurant for steak. There was also a bubble tea cafe right beside it so I grabbed a mango coconut drink!

🗓 DAY 2 – Jasper & Banff

We only stayed one night in Jasper before making our way over to Banff.

• Morning
  • Bear’s Paw Bakery: Tried their famous bear’s paws. It had raisins in them.
  • Snowdome Coffee Bar: Visited the popular laundromat coffee shop! I got a pumpkin spice latte.

• Afternoon
  • Athabasca Falls: I wanted to see waterfalls while in Jasper and Banff. The falls here did not disappoint. There was such a clear view and I was so close to the river and falls. The water was also very clear!
  • Goats and Glaciers Lookout: We were hoping see more wildlife and was very sad that no goats showed up. It was the wrong season for them to be climbing the mountains!

• Athabasca Glaciers
  • Lunch @ Chalet: We were craving another poutine and tried the one at Chalet. The fries were good and tasted like Costco fries! We sat at the balcony area (it was super cold) and saw the view of the glacier behind us. It was breathtaking.
  • You do need to book a bus if you want to go up the glacier though.
• Peyto Lake: Next stop was Peyto Lake. This was our second time seeing a lake that had a very strong turquoise colour! It was quite crowded but it was just so amazing to see.

• Evening
  • Moraine Lake: We had to park at the parking lot to catch a bus up to Moraine Lake. We pre-booked our tickets. There is also a washroom in the area if needed. This was my second favourite lake. It also had a bold turquoise colour and you were able to get a lot closer to the lake for photos. If you’ve seen the mountain shots with the lake in the background, this is the spot!
  • Lake Louise & Fairmont Chateau: For the next stop, the bus took us to Lake Louise. I finally got to see the infamous Fairmont Hotel right beside the beautiful lake. It was so dreamy, especially as we walked into the elegant garden and looked back to see the lake behind us. We also saw a porcupine there! The lake itself had a ton of tourists taking photos so we were just walking around waiting for a good time for some more shots.
  • Check-in Banff: Finally, we wrapped up the night as we reached downtown Banff. I loved the evening atmosphere in Banff! It looked so cozy with the dangling lights and crowds.
  • The Maple Leaf: I was trying to look for a restaurant for dinner and decided on this place. It seemed to have a long history. We got steak and duck.
  • Later in the evening, we also realized how little light pollution there was here and had wanted to see the northern lights. Sadly, they did not show up again.

🗓 DAY 3 – Banff

On the second day we were in Banff, we didn’t have much planned besides going wherever we wanted. I looked on the map and saw there was the Cave and Basin National Historic Site and decided to check that out!

• Morning
  • Farm Table: We had brunch at this popular spot as well. The dishes looked very high quality.

• Afternoon
  • Cave and Basin National Historic Site: We saw a small basin for the first time, smelled sulphur water, and learned about the wildlife in Banff.

🗓 DAY 4 – Calgary

On the final day, we were driving from Banff to Calgary to catch our flight. I had down Canmore as well but we didn’t end up stopping there. If you do visit that area, people were recommending Communitea Cafe and Rocky Mountain Bagel Co.!

• Morning & Afternoon
  • Wild Flour Bakery: Grabbed a matcha for the road trip at a famous bakery in Banff before heading off to Calgary!

Banff and Jasper has been super memorable. They deserve all the recognition that they get. I’m glad I went at least once in my life!

Other Places To Go:

• Johnston Canyon
• Bow Lake
• Lake Minnewanka
• Bow Falls
• Hiking (Be Careful of Bears)
• Sulphur Mountain Gondola
• Canmore