Banff Upper Hot Springs
A thirty-nine-degree pool facing the Rockies, open year-round.
Duration
1 hr 30 min – 2 hrs 30 min
Best time
In the evening
Open
Every day
Entry price
19.75 CAD
The springs were found by railway workers in 1883, and the dispute over who owned them led to the creation of Canada's first national park two years later: Banff was born of the springs, not the other way round.
The water comes out at about forty-seven degrees from a fault in Sulphur Mountain, carrying sulphate, calcium and magnesium, and is brought down to thirty-nine in the pool. The pool is outdoors and open all year: in winter you bathe at minus twenty, with your hair frozen.
Getting there
Mountain Avenue, five minutes by car from Banff town centre, at the foot of the Sulphur Mountain gondola. Roam bus route 1 from town.
What the price covers
paid entry, rate to confirm; swimsuit and towel for hire
What to bring
- Swimsuit
- Dry bag
Rules on site
The pool is small and fills up late in the afternoon and at weekends: evening slots are the quietest. Swimwear and towels can be hired on site, but stock runs short in high season.
Checked on 29 August 2026 at Parks Canada — Banff Upper Hot Springs rates
Other places in Banff
Lake LouiseMilky turquoise water under a glacier, with a castle hotel on the shore.
Moraine LakeTen peaks above impossibly blue water — the view that was printed on Canadian banknotes.
National park passIt opens the whole park: lakes, trails, viewpoints and scenic drives.
Icefields ParkwayTwo hundred and thirty kilometres between Banff and Jasper, past a hundred glaciers.