Johnston Canyon may be a bit of a hike but it truly is magical. The trails are accessible for most…read morehikers and lead you to the canyon, over bridges with rushing turquoise water underneath. The Upper Falls is worth the extra kms of trail and the sounds of the powerful falls enraptures you. I love that it's challenging enough to feel like an accomplishment but still manageable for a casual day trip. It's busy during peak summer, but the views are worth it.

Just stopped here while on a tour with Vancouver Journey. We only hiked to the lower falls and in…read morethe snow/ice it takes about an hour to walk there and back. ~350 ft of elevation gain per my Apple Watch. Beautiful icy sights in late March. Definitely wear crampons! Wish we had more time to see the upper falls.

I was visiting Banff, Alberta in June 2025 and we took the opportunity to drive out to Golden, BC…read moreto see Boo! SCHEDULE Due to the gondolas being down for repairs since last year, transportation up is using the ski lift. As a result, they are only open Friday through Sunday! So check their website before you head out! BOO THE BEAR Boo is an adorable 24 years old grizzly bear. On the day that we visited, he came out for breakfast at 09:00 AM, then promptly went to take a nap until about 2:00 PM! If you are not fortunate enough to see Boo on your visit, Kicking Horse is wonderful and will issue you a return ticket to come back (at no further charges). We were fortunate enough to see Boo, follow him around, and stayed to chat with the rangers about him. We were only able to stay about an hour, as the Refuge closes to the public at 3:00 PM!

Ohhhh Boo, I love you!…read more Boo is the resident grizzly in a 12 acre natural habitat on the kicking horse resort property in conjunction with the resort and the non-profit Kicking Horse Country Grizzly Bear Society. I think he's probably got the best digs of any captive bear I can think of. Not that I think bears should be captive but in this case, Boo and his sister were orphaned very young by a jerky poacher and wild survival was unlikely for them so this really was their best shot at a good life. One of the cool things about this set up is they can find out what grizzlies learned from mom and what's instinct. The actual process of building a den is instinct but the skills required to do it are learned they believe as Boo and his sister (no longer with us) struggled to build a den in their early years and people had to help make sure they have a safe place to hibernate. It's pretty reasonable to just get a chairlift ticket up to Boo and listen to the tour. We did the Ranger assist which cost $55 or so and gave us an extra private hour with the ranger while Boo was getting dinner. The regular tour is great but I LOVED the ranger assist. We watched him shell peanuts and schuck corn. He eats apples whole. We also learned a ton of extra stuff about him as the Ranger was just a wealth of information about him, bears, conservation and biology. Hubby liked the extra opportunity for photos because he got quite close at this time for an extending period compared to only a brief sighting on the regular tour when he went for a bit of a tub time in his little self dug pond he has which is quite deep into his habitat for viewing. If you love animals this is a must do detour when you're around Golden. Kicking Horse Resort has a few packages that include Boo time so you might want to think about making a day out at the resort. I believe Boo is only accepting visitors from the end of June to early September in any given year so please check before making the trip just to visit him.

Same thought with Peyto Lake; too many tourons that only want an Instagram picture and climbing…read moreover railings and acting a fool. 3rd world country stuff here. If you take the trail off the beaten path, you can hike for miles without another person and get some peace and quiet to yourself! The overlook is a 2/5 for me, the trail is a 5/5!

This is a scenic and attractive lake with an entrancing deep turquoise color. It is conveniently…read morelocated right off of the Icefields Parkway about halfway between Banff and the Columbia Icefield, so there's really no excuse for not stopping for a view. There are actually two parking levels and only tour buses are allowed on the top level closer to the Kodak viewing lookout. Private cars need to park on the lower level and folks need to do a modest hike upward to the lookout. This lake is fed by a receding Peyto glacier that is in view also. We saw quite a few lakes on this trip, but they are all worth seeing and all spectacular in their own individual way, and this one was no different in that regards.

this is one of the most beautiful lakes that I have ever been to and it probably remain one of the…read moremost beautiful lakes that I have ever seen for a very long time.

After spending time at Lake Louise, our shuttle took us over to Moraine Lake. Seeing both of these…read morebeautiful lakes in person was awesome. Moraine Lake is only open during the summer season and requires a park shuttle to reach. It can get really crowed here. Moraine Lake is at an elevation of 6,181 ft and is situated in the Valley of Ten Peaks. There is an info sign in the front that shows you where the ten peaks are. Moraine Lake has a beautiful torquiest blue color to it. The color comes from the sunlight bouncing off the rock sediment in the lake and the surrounding glaciers. The water comes from the snow that melts in the glaciers. Moraine Lake has no dam and has not been altered by humans. The views of the lake are incredible. Because of the crowds, I hiked up to a higher point on top of a rock pile to get a better view. It was cloudy when I was here and it added to the beauty of the photos that I took. I really enjoyed my brief time at Moraine Lake and hope to come back and explore it a little more next time.

Amazing!!! Thank you for a wonderful day. Thank you Andrew…read morefor all your digging You made are trip memorable

I booked the full day tour for Valentine's Day and it was honestly the best decision I could have…read moremade. They picked us up in front of our hotel and drove us out to BC where Dave personally guided us through the tour. I have a fear of heights and yet they patiently worked with me to make that 7000ft drive up and down. And the scenery was absolutely magical! Additionally they were very accommodating, providing ski suits and other winter gear necessary to protect us on the tour! We really enjoyed our snowmobiling tour and can't forget the delicious lunch provided At Dawns Diner! The burger was juicy and flavorful and so was the chicken and tomato bisque! Once the tour was over, they drove us right back to our hotel doors in Banff! I personally cannot wait to come back and go in this tour again!

Type 1 fun on class 3-4 rapids. Ben was a great guide. Would love to do this again. They have a…read morestrict cancellation policy so make sure you read it before booking.

Awesome! We did the 3 hour whitewater rafting tour and it's legit. Not for the faint of heart! But…read morethe guides were super knowledgeable, confident, friendly, and helpful which made me feel at ease. They are also just funny and fun to be around. Everything is run very efficiently and is well organized. Would highly recommend.

I came here on a Sunday morning, took the shuttle from the Park and Ride, parking at the lake was…read morealready full. Lots of people at the lake and ran into a ton of people coming down when we were going up. The hike wasn't too steep at the beginning to Larch Valley which was really beautiful. The hike up to Sentinel Pass was a lot steeper and there was ice and snow, which was not the most pleasant. Views at the top were amazing, especially with the larches. On the way down, the snow had mostly melted and turned into slush a bit, ran into quite a few people and it started snowing a bit closer to the lake. Really beautiful hike, definitely recommend!

As with many hikes in Banff, Larch Valley and Sentinel Pass is a must see. It begins at Moraine…read moreLake which can get quite busy at the parking lot so you'll want to go before 10 in the morning if possible. When the bears are out, it is the law to go up with a group of four or more. My wife and I were just two but we had read that it doesn't take long to find others who are going up. Many people came up to the base but mainly to take a picture of the sign stating that bears are in the area. Lame. We were beginning to doubt that other hikers were going to come but it turned out all right. We probably waited about 10-15 minutes before some nice hikers around our same age range came along. Simone, Eric, their dog Chico, along with their four friends from New Brunswick were nice enough to let us join them. Thankfully they were also about the same speed as us. We did see many groups less than four and even some solo hikers. Naughty. The hike starts with a series of switchbacks within the treed canopy. After a while you hit a fork in the trail with one route taking you to Eiffel Lake and the other to Larch Valley and then onto Sentinel Pass. Soon after you will hit an alpine meadow area which is huge, and then the larches. I did this in July so the trees were still green but if you do it in the fall, apparently everything turns yellow! When you get past Larch Valley and make your way to Sentinel Pass you see a huge 'Z' shape way off and high up in the distance. We weren't sure if we would have to climb that but yes. The 'Z' is the final switchback before you can be rewarded with the view. In July the higher elevations still had snow, which made it a bit tricky to trek through. In some parts the hike would take you through a very steep mountainside with snow. Thankfully we made it through without mishap and finally made it up the last switchback. At the top there is a 360 degree panoramic view. On one side you have the great view of Paradise Valley. On the other side is Larch Valley where you climbed up, and a view of Valley of Ten Peaks. Unfortunately the day we went was quite cloudy. Obviously it'd be better with clearer skies but it was still enjoyable. We had lunch up there as most people do before making our decent. I would budget about 5 hours round trip for this hike. Make sure to go in a group of four as they can fine you up to $2000 and carry bear spray.

Wish I'd done more research before we came here. I am a sucker for a hot-springs experience and got…read morefurther "suckered" by social media reviews that made this seem so lovely. The reality is that this like a warm municipal swimming pool situated just off the highway. It's not very deep, it's definitely not hot, and it's very well attended. On the day we went there were tons of families so it felt like your average public pool experience but slightly warmer and quite a bit shallower. We hung out for maybe 15-20 minutes before leaving. The facility felt clean but you know, public swimming pool vibes so clean but not pristine. It was about -10c while we were there so maybe it's "hotter" when the temps are not quite so frigid? Wouldn't recommend or stop here again.

Water was not as hot as I expected but lots of room and easy parking! The change rooms were nice…read moreand clean , we also found some interesting shops in town but happened to hit them on a Wednesday and they were closed!

Busy stop, located just off the road with about 1mi total trail length to check out all if the…read moreviewing spots. We spent about 2hrs here, a bit longer than we initially planned. Large parking lot & plenty of restrooms. This one is definitely worth a stop.

Marble Canyon is one of the popular activity spots within Kootenay National Park. It's located 7…read morekilometers southwest from the entrance border, on the righthand side of the road. Marble Canyon is easy to navigate about. It's simply a 30 minute self-guiding roundtrip walk along a clear cut dirt pathway passing into and out of canyon ravines. There'll be a bunch of bridges and viewpoints for you to stand above the canyon floor watching the Kootenay River zigzag in between the narrow gorge passageways. I wasn't totally impressed with the sights here and looking among Marble Canyon. In fact, initially, I kind of felt like this place was a waste of time in comparison to the other wonderful sights situated around Banff...the park beside this, Kootenay NP. But...as the hiking pathway climbed higher and higher towards the top, I discovered a few cool instances where I was gazing out onto the snowcapped mountainous backdrop. It was then I realized how beautiful the setting was. Next thing, I got my camera stand out and started snapping photogenic moments from this upper portion of the trail, before finally returning back down to the start. So...I wasn't really enthused by the sights of Marble Canyon's rugged walls hovering over the Kootenay River. It was only until I ventured up to the pinnacle of the hike where I had an epiphone realization that Marble Canyon may not be so great, but taking a long term outlook and perspective made Kootenay NP marvelous in its own right. I recommend that you come to Marble Canyon and complete the entire 30-minute roundtrip trail. Make sure to be on the lookout for the snowcapped peaks standing high and mighty in the backdrop. That's the real winning aspect. It'll certainly give you a liberating sense of freedom that I was feeling in the moment. Lastly, what's great about this eastern portion of Kootenay NP is that all the worthwhile attractions are located here. Just 4 kilometers before Marble Canyon is Stanley Glacier Trail, a moderate hike good for taking in some undisturbed views. And, just 3 kilometers past Marble Canyon are the Paint Pots, a muddy walkway but terrific for arriving at colorful hot springs' pools. Reflecting back and thinking about this whole beginning area of Kootenay, it's really where you'll discover your best and most memorable moments. I enjoyed it all.