In short
Banff is a town located inside a national park, which is unusual and changes everything: building is capped, and living there requires working there or holding a recognised reason. The town cannot expand.
The park, created in 1885, is Canada's oldest. Banff is the main base, Lake Louise the second, forty minutes to the north-west. Between them, the Bow Valley Parkway is the slow, scenic road.
Arriving and getting around
Calgary is the arrival airport, about an hour and a half away by road. Regular shuttles link the airport to Banff.
A Parks Canada entry pass is compulsory for any stay in the park, including extended transit.
The decisive logistical point: the Moraine Lake road is closed to private vehicles year-round. Access is only by the Parks Canada shuttle, by Roam public transit or by a licensed commercial operator, from June to mid-October. Shuttles must be reserved, and the slots go quickly. Driving to Moraine Lake is not an option — it is the most expensive mistake in the area. Source: parks.canada.ca, verified 23/09/2026.
Lake Louise has a car park, paid and saturated early on summer mornings.
What it really costs
Banff is expensive: housing supply is physically limited by the park's status. Canmore, just outside, is cheaper and twenty minutes away.
Shuttles, park entry and car hire form a budget best settled before departure.
When to come
June–September for walking and for the colour of the lakes, which depends on the melt: the lakes are frozen or partly iced until June, and their turquoise comes from suspended glacial flour, not from a filter.
December–March for skiing. September gives the golden larches and few people.
What nobody tells you
The wildlife is not scenery. Elk, black bears and grizzlies move about right into the town. Bear spray is carried accessible, not in the pack, and some trails require groups of at least four people in season.
The Icefields Parkway towards Jasper is one of the most spectacular mountain roads in the world, with no fuel station over long stretches.
The Banff Upper Hot Springs are open all year and work best in winter, under the snow.
