Banff, Canada - In the Snow
Touring a beautiful, snowy Banff National Park.
A snowy Lake Louise
Banff is one of those places where describing it in words is probably doing it a disservice. It’s a place that you just have to see for yourself.
Visiting in May 2017, the weather in Banff National Park was still quite cool - mountains were covered in snow and the lakes were at the beginning stages of melting. I would love to see those lakes painted in crystal blue during the summertime, but seeing it coated in fluffy white probably made for a completely different experience.
Entering Banff with the morning sunlight shining through
Right away, even before seeing much of anything, I knew it was someplace that I wanted to come back to someday.
Lake Louise covered in white snow
Staying in Calgary, we took a day trip with a tour we booked from Viator who picked us up from the city and took us on a tour with main stops at Lake Louise, Johnston Canyon's lower waterfall and the Kicking Horse Pass. Lake Moraine was on the list as well but we unfortunately had to skip it due to unsafe conditions.
Johnston Canyon's lower waterfall
Our tour guide was one of those people who do their job because they love it. What had started out as just a short term gig, he apparently grew a passion for it and decided to stay, which ended up in him giving us not only a knowledgeable tour, but one where you could tell he wanted to give us the best experience possible.
Kicking Horse Pass
Blue waters at Kicking Horse Pass
Besides the incredible sights on our tour list, some of the highlights included random, wild animal sightings.
We saw a couple of black bears recently out of hibernation, one roaming and another digging through a log for food, as well as a moose. Our guide seemed genuinely surprised to see them at this time of year and he was just as into watching them as we were, pulling the bus to a halt on the road so we could observe and be in awe.
A wild moose hanging out in Banff
Banff Town was our final stop before heading back to Calgary. A lot of people stay at lodges here being that it’s more convenient, something I’d probably consider doing next time. It’s a small town that somewhat resembles ski villages like Whistler, and there’s quite a bit of shopping there as it’s geared to tourists.
Mountains near Banff Town
In Banff, it's all about the nature. Even the town is surrounded by tall mountain tops, humbling us and reminding us how small we really are. There are incredible natural landscapes to see in the world, and North America definitely has an abundance. Banff has to be one of the ones at the top.
I'm looking forward to being back.
Flying over the Canadian Rockies on Air Canada
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Calgary, Canada
The “Midwest” of Canada, Calgary was a nice short stay while heading to Banff.
Calgary Tower
Calgary was our hub for a day trip to Banff National Park.
Before arriving, I had only known the city for two things: The hometown of the twin music duo Tegan and Sara, and the Winter Olympic spot that Cool Runnings happened.
Downtown Calgary
We caught a cab from the airport to our Airbnb with a driver who was full of stories. He told us about how he immigrated in the footsteps of his dad from Bangladesh (I believe), started a business and ended up calling Calgary his home despite its conservative background that he didn’t really agree with. The low key feel and the opportunities that Calgary could offer him were reasons enough for him to call it home.
Our Airbnb was in The Guardian Towers, a tall pair of residential towers near the Calgary Stampede, an area that seemed to be on its way to being developed.
The Guardian Towers, Airbnb location
Calgary is a small city of about 1.3 million with a very different feel from Vancouver or Montreal. You immediately sense it. It makes Vancouver look extremely hippie and Montreal seem like some city on the other side of the Atlantic altogether. It’s probably akin to a typical American Midwest city, and although I’ve only been to Omaha and Chicago, I’d imagine this comparison to be pretty accurate.
Afternoon in downtown Calgary
The city blocks are big and destinations are further away than you’d think. There’s a streetcar, the CTrain, that runs through the central downtown area, but outside it things are pretty spread apart with not a whole lot in between. It’s definitely more of a driving city. Despite this, we spent our time exploring on foot, mostly south of Downtown on 17th Ave SW and then Downtown itself.
The CTrain going through downtown Calgary
During the rodeo season, the city apparently gets lively as it’s the main event of the year. Otherwise, it seems to be pretty quiet with stores closing early around 6PM. We were there in May and it’s still very lit at that hour, so it was a strange sight to see the city basically shut down in the daylight. Calgary happens to be the sunniest part of Canada actually, and days during that time went until around 8PM.
The Calgary sunrise was incredible.
People in Calgary seemed pretty nice, which fits the stereotypical mold for Canadians in general. The vibe was very laid back - no rushing around, no nonsense - it was a conversations with shop staff type of place.
While I wouldn’t necessarily put it as the main destination of an international trip, it’d be interesting to see it really come to life during the rodeo season.
Calgary, south of downtown, with the Canadian Rockies in the distance
One thing that took me by surprise was that there were some delicious places to eat, including seafood in this city despite it being far from the ocean. Here’s some great places that we ate at:
Village Ice Cream
First stop of Calgary after checking in was Village Ice Cream, a dessert shop that we found nearby that had good reviews. while I forgot to take a pic of the ice cream iteself (I know...), those reviews were right. Village Ice Cream has 3 locations, the one that we went to was somewhat like a popup in an empty garage. The ice cream was amazing, creamy and with an assortment of flavors. Maple Pean, Salted Caramel, Cardamom... and seasonal flavors like Guava Coconut Milk. Simply amazing.
Ten Foot Henry
Searching for places to eat in town, we came across Ten Foot Henry, drawn in by its name. It became apparent that having a reservation would be the best as it's popular, but we got in after an hour or so. The location is hip, probably an old building gutted and renovated. The dishes always seemed to have a mix of flavors from around the world, like the hanger steak with truffle mustard and gai choy. Their white win sangria is also pretty delicious.
Rodney’s Oyster House
We randomly walked into Rodney's after discovering that it was a well-reviewed restaurant only a couple blocks away. Calgary is in the middle of Canada but their seafood was quite good, both the oysters as well as the shrimp cocktail. Their Alberta beef tartare came recommended by the staff, who I'll add was friendly and helpful at giving us recommendations, and that was delicious as well. Worth a stop.
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Touring a beautiful, snowy Banff National Park.