What. A. Trip. I don’t think anything I write or the pictures I post will do this place justice. It’s just something you need to experience for yourself. I am beyond happy that my boyfriend and I chose a snow covered Banff over the tropic beaches of Costa Rica for this birthday vacation!
Now down to business! I did so so so so much planning and Pinterest hunting for this trip. I read so many blog posts about what do and where to eat and so on! Those posts helped us so much with the foundational elements of our trip, so here I am, returning the favor to anyone and everyone who is interested in making the flight (or drive!) up to the Canadian Rockies!
We went into this trip with a budget and expectation of everything costing around $2,000 for the entire trip, and we’re happy to say we were BELOW our budget! And tbh, Canadian costs are a littttttlleeee pricey! Keep in mind there are definitely ways to cut costs if you’re looking for a less expensive experience.
DAY 1
Breakfast- skipped (oops it was early!)
Atlanta ➡️ Chicago - 8am (ET)
Chicago ➡️ Calgary -9:35 am (CT)
Arrived to Calgary airport- 1:23pm (MST)
Picked up jeep- 2:00pm (MST)
Lunch- trusty Canadian staple, Tim Hortons (they’re everywhere!)
DRIVE TO BANFF, 1 hour 26 minutes (from Calgary)
When we arrived to Canada, I can already tell you: it was friggin’ cold! I’m talking (apologies for TMI) snot in your nose instantly frozen cold! (my northern peeps know what I mean!) Granted the temperatures were in the negatives the entire trip, and from what the locals said, it’s never been this cold. Lucky us! But hey, that certainly didn’t stop us from doing anything!
We rented a Jeep from Enterprise right in Calgary, a 15-20 min taxi/uber from the airport! (These guys were the BEST! Called to confirm and check on us with everything!) I do recommend if you rent a vehicle getting something with four-wheel drive (esp in the winter) if you plan to cruise around snow/ice covered roads! Our rental for the 4 days was $300US. We picked up the jeep, grabbed some Tim Hortons, and hit the road in search of Banff!
Holy. Mountain Views. The drive was beyond gorgeous, I can’t even put into words! Be prepared to pay a park fee that will get you into Banff National Park; essentially where you will be the entire trip! Our 4 day park pass was $80 CAN ($61.19 in US).
The entire drive into the Canadian Rockies had us “oooohing” and “ahhhing”. No exaggeration! Every turn had us more blown away than what we had just seen!
Driving into Banff!
Our first night was literally the only night we hadn’t made lodging arrangements, but luckily, once we got into town, and drove around a bit, we settled on a hotel right off the main road downtown and booked directly online. We stayed at the Elk + Avenue. Highly recommend this place! A one night, king size bed was $123 CAN ($94.09 in US) and honestly a great deal for the hotel location and room size.
Ignore the luggage mess, but the room was very spacious and modern! PS- we stopped at a grocery store out of Calgary (Safeway) to buy a few snacks, wine, champagne (for my birthday!) and a case of water just in case things were overpriced in Banff! The case of water was completely gone by the end of the trip! Gotta stay hydrated, friends!
Once we were showered, unpacked, and layered up, we ventured on foot around town! Our first day was by far the coldest, temperature ringing in at about -20 F for an evening low, so you more than likely will not need all the layers that we had on, but just in case- it’s all linked!
Most restaurants were pretty packed and needed a reservation. We tried calling Park Distillery beforehand to get a table for two, but had no luck that way! However, we ended up going on in and putting our name on the list and ended up with a 15 minute wait!
Dinner- Park Distillery Restaurant + Bar ( 4.4 on Google)
The atmosphere of this place was incredible! Plus, all the tables seated close to the door were given plaid blankets to keep warm from the door opening! We started with drinks and ended up ordering the bucatini + game (Elk meatballs) to share. (NOTE: We shared most meals between the two of us mainly for pricing and portion control! The food was def enough for both of us to share however!)
Bon Appétit! Me about to chow down on the bucatini + game meatballs, which were made from elk! Eeek! Pictured below is the Beehive cocktail made from their own Park vanilla vodka, elderflower liqueur, blueberry, honey, and honey // the Observation Peak made from Park Glacier Rye, Flor de Caña 7yr, amaro montenegro, cherry liqueur, Park orange bitters, smoked cedar square (that smelled just like a campfire!) // Bucatini + game meatballs; elk, roasted garlic tomato sauce, chili vodka, parmesan! Meal total was $55 in US prices.
During our time in Banff, to our delightful surprise, the Snow Days Festival was going on so there were snow sculptures and fun winter activities happening all over town!
Below are my outfit details. Since it was freezing, and I probably should have known better, I ended up wearing two pairs of fleece lined leggings each day instead of just one pair like I thought I would be able to do.
My travel outfit: sweater // Carhartt toboggan // boots // fleece lined leggings
DAY 2
Breakfast- coffee/tea from the hotel with snacks that we purchased from grocery store
Banff ➡️ Lake Louise, 44 minute drive on highway. Longer drive on Bow Valley Parkway, but totally worth it!
We woke up around 8:30 (sunrise time for Banff) and got ready to head to Lake Louise, which is about a 44 minute drive west of Banff. Since we were still on east coast time, we were pretty early risers. On our way out of town we made a pit stop to Surprise Corner. If you’ve ever looked up any photos of Banff, you’ve probably seen it. It’s an overview that looks over the Bow River to the castle-like hotel, the Fairmont Banff. It truly is magical! Due to the early rising, we were the only ones there! Wahoo! There’s a parking lot and a designated overlook spot, so it’s very easy to get to if you just Google it!
Influencer wannabes! 😂
Co-pilot, Molly 👋
There are two options to get to Lake Louise- Highway 1 and the Bow Valley Parkway. The Parkway takes a bit longer, but is the scenic route. You’re going to want to take this route! It’s full of the most gorgeous views, spots to stop and picnic along the way, the best way to access Johnston Canyon, many trails, and the best route to see wildlife!
Entering the Parkway! Gorgeous views the entire drive!
My handsome travel buddy!
Elk spotting!
We ended up stopping to hike the Johnston Canyon (a must-do!) on our way to Lake Louise. You will need to take the Bow Valley Parkway to get to the trail head of Johnston Canyon! For some reason I thought I read it cost a small fee to hike the trail, but when we got there, there wasn’t actually a location to pay anyone, or anyone working for that matter! There is however nice washrooms in the parking lot and a gift shop/restaurant as you enter the trail (only open in summer tho!) There were a few tour buses that arrived with guides that were doing an official tour, but if you’re looking for a cheaper version where you can go at your own pace and take all the pictures you want, I suggest being your own guide- there’s signs that can guide you and give you the information you need (in short: be your own tour guide).
There’s two destination spots on the hike- the lower falls and the higher falls. The lower falls took us between 30-45 minutes to hike to, which includes stopping to take pics and getting wedged between tour groups! Since it was so cold, we only did the lower falls. The higher falls takes an additional 45 min-1 hour hike, but I hear the view is worth it, and if you go early enough, you can see ice pickers climbing up the frozen falls!
The frozen lower falls!
Banff National Park is known for their amazing turquoise water, but this is about as close as we got to seeing that!
As you can tell, it was cold! I can promise, the hike and views were all worth it!
If you look closely, you can see the snowflakes on our eyelashes and the mascara running down my face!
After our hike in the canyon, we got back to the jeep, and finally headed to Lake Louise. The scenic views weren’t lost, and we still took about a million photos the rest of the drive. As we were approaching the end of the Parkway, we came upon another scenic view point that you’ve probably already seen before- Morant’s Curve. An overlook of the Bow River that runs right beside a railroad track. We didn’t get to see any trains go by, but there were numerous photographers with tripods waiting to snap those gorgeous photos!
One final snap from the Parkway!
In addition to the lake, there is a Lake Louise Village with multiple hotels and dining options! For our hotel stay, my boyfriend surprised me by splurging and booking us a room at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. I don’t think pictures or anything will really do it justice! Room with a view cost a little more than a room facing the trees, but hey, it was my birthday, right? (Another way to cut costs would be to stay at a less expensive lodge in town. We passed some cute cabin lodging on the way to the lake, but unfortunately, in the winter offseason, they were all closed!)
The drive up the mountain to Lake Louise. Like what?
Above is the view from our room. As you can tell it was super foggy the day we arrived! There’s actually another mountain peak right in the middle that we didn’t even know was there until the next morning! In addition to the Snow Days Festival in Banff, the Banff & Lake Louise tourism center also hosts the Ice Magic Festival at the Fairmont of Lake Louise! If you take a look in the photo, you can see the ice castle and ice sculpture contest happening! (more to come on that!)
Since we were starving, we started to explore the hotel for their dining options. They have five different in-house options, and we settled on the beautiful Lakeview Lounge! Dining with views overlooking the lake- what more could you ask for? We shared the boar bacon burger with fries and it was the perfect portion of food. Meal cost (with beer and water) was around $25 and added to our hotel bill. The sign says dining for guests only, but I overheard two people in front of us say they weren’t guests (rebels) but still got seated!
Our waitress actually surprised me with a glass of champagne since we were in town celebrating my birthday! So thoughtful!
Now onto the Ice Magic! I can’t even describe how insane and talented these crews creating thee sculptures were! It was a three day contest, crew members of only two people, and teams were from all over the world! The hotel also had an ICE BAR outside! All the wondrous winter activities you could ever ask for! As we checked in, they gave us two complimentary drink vouchers with it being my birthday! (Y’all def need to go here if you’re celebrating something, they treat you right!) We used the tickets at the outdoor ice bar for some hot chocolate and coffee spiked with Baileys, my favorite!
Me boozin in the cut out bench of the ice bar!
A little blurry, but with the evening lake skaters! Also- the only timed it SNOWED! 🌨️
We walked around the grounds admiring all the beauty! Since the lake was frozen over, you’re able to rent ice skates and cross country ski from the hotel! There’s also a horse drawn sleigh that takes you around the lake. The path is also walkable, but keep in mind it only goes halfway around the lake. We started to walk it a bit, but it got dark and it’s not exactly a lit path!
A beautiful cross-country ski cabin we spotted on the Fairmont grounds. How cool? Hello photo ops.
How magical are these trees covered in lights AND snow!?
I actually Facetimed my mom shortly after this photo was taken. I didn’t think it was that cold, so I didn’t wear any gloves. About two hours later it turned out I had Frostnip on my pointer finger- the early stages of Frostbite. Stay covered at all times! 😬
The Ice Bar at night :)
We were about to head to dinner when we got a knock on our door- a bottle of champagne was being delivered in honor of my birthday. Like y’all, this place LOVES celebrating you! We chose another in-house restaurant for dinner so we didn’t have to leave the hotel and drive in the dark. We had a reservation for two at Walliser Stube. Turns out this restaurant is in what used to be the hotel’s former library. It was such a cozy atmosphere and turns out we got the ‘best table in the house’, which was right by a window looking over the lake and ice sculptures!
We opted for sharing the fondue appetizer- melted cheeses topped with mushrooms. Our options for dipping were green apples (my boyfriend’s favorite), pickled veggies, and sourdough bread (my fave hehe!) Since it was so frigid outside, they were offering specialty ‘warm you up’ cocktails- I got the spiced apple cider! The fondue appetizer for two was around $40-$50 and drinks about $15-25 in CAN prices. Our dinner for that evening was about $100 in CAN and was charged to our room.
For day exploring: red sweater // gray toboggan // thermal (I wore one under my sweaters) // red winter coat // black Carhartt toboggan // black fleece leggings (wore two pairs) // Sorel snow boots
DAY 3
What I woke up to that morning was unbelievable. The view of the sun peaking over the mountains was so amazing, so clear! Looks a little foggy in these pictures and it quickly turned that way!
Notice the little snow plow clearing the lake for an ice skating session!
We wanted to venture away from the hotel grounds, and explore what else Lake Louise had to offer, so we ventured out to the Lake Louise Ski Resort for breakfast (about a 10 min drive from the Fairmont)! We didn’t ski on our trip, but this looked like some pretty decent runs to check out! They have a a few restaurants in their main ski lodge, so we chose the Lodge of Ten Peaks Cafeteria.
French toast with blackberries, a side of bacon, and a bacon/tomato/cream cheese bagel. This meal along with orange juice and coffee was around $22 in US.
Inside the clubhouse lodge
Shredding the gnar #sendit 🤙
The drive back to Lake Louise was probably the prettiest views of the trip just because of the sun hitting the trees!
Once we got back to the Fairmont Lake Louise hotel, we spent the remainder outside admiring everything! Below are quite a few pictures taken on the actual lake! For $20 a person, you can rent ice skates from the hotel for two hours. I think it’s a must- well, if you can skate!
People with sensitive eyes, BEWARE! Sun + snow = squinting a lot during pics!
This little cabin was probably my favorite!
Hint- wear red everything if you wanna stand out in the snow!
Here’s a slide of all the ice sculptures before the end of the competition! They were all so amazing, but I feel bad because since it was such cold conditions this year, some of the fixtures were busting/breaking overnight!
After we said bye to Lake Louise, we headed back into Banff where we would be spending the remainder of our trip. We ended up taking Highway 1 back, which as I said before, is the faster route!
Back in Banff like…
For lodging the remainder of the trip, we chose the Buffalo Mountain Lodge. (4.2 review on Google) It’s sort of up the side of a mountain on Tunnel Road. (Tunnel Mountain is the main mountain you see in all Banff images!) Honestly, I feel like this place was more of an Airbnb than a hotel!
Cute living room, huge fireplace, nice bedroom, and spacious bathroom! We loved staying here! For two nights, we got this room for $300 in US.
For a late lunch we ventured in town for a burger at Eddie Burger + Bar. We split a burger with a Caesar salad side. I was mad my boyfriend made us choose a salad over fries, but in reality we needed the salad more! Plus it was delicious! Burger with side and beer was around $20 in US.
The Snow Days Festival was still happening, so we walked around to see the progress of all of the snow sculpture contests they had going on.
In the snow enjoying roasting marshmallows and grabbing some coffee from Second Cup!
On Banff Ave (the main strip) is the CUTEST bowling alley- High Rollers! I am obsessed with their branding (I’m a graphic designer if you couldn’t tell!) We wanted to check out the bowling alley and even bowl a few, but it was rented out for the entire day (I envy the wedding party that did this)! Check out their Instagram! It looked like the coolest retro place to be!
Dinner- Magpie + Stump ( 4.3 on Google)
For dinner that night, we went to Magpie + Stump, a Mexican restaurant in town. I would recommend making a reservation if you can because it was quite crowded! We absolutely loved this place! My boyfriend was worried it would be a ‘tourist trap’, but even the locals were telling us to go there!
We started with chips + salsa! So good!
We each got a quesadilla which came with rice and refried beans. My boyfriend got the BBQ chicken and I just got the chicken! I had a cherry margarita- it just sounded sooo good! 😜This meal total was around $72 in US.
We loved the western cabin vibe! 🌵
scarf (sold out) // white sweater // red toboggan // winter coat (sold out in red) // Sorel winter boots // gray fleece lined mittens
DAY 4
Woke up on day 4 another year older! 🥳We started off with a slow morning of starting up the fireplace (thanks to Spencer being a former camp counselor) and enjoying some coffee and hot tea per the hotel! Such a cozy little morning! We then realized it was our last full day and we needed to make the most of it, especially since the morning was so clear!
We bought tickets to the Banff Gondola. A gondola that takes you to the top of Sulphur Mountain, which overlooks the town of Banff and way beyond! It had been closed the week before and had just reopened the day we went, so snow was covering pretty much everything. Once you get to the top, there is a boardwalk trail that you can hike up to the top of Sanson’s Peak. The views are totally worth it! Tickets run at about $60 each in US, but I would look into the packages they offer that include a gondola ticket + a dinner special!
Here’s a LIVE CAMERA look from the top of the gondola!
Sorry for the picture overload, but how can we NOT post all of these gorgeous photos?
Since we were already up there AND it was my birthday, we decided to try to grab lunch at the Sky Bistro, which is located inside the Banff gondola’s upper terminal. If you closely, you can see it’s actually like a four floor building! If you plan to go to Sky Bistro for dinner, definitely make a reservation. We went to the gondola at 11am and they were already booked for the night for dinner. Lunch was a bit easier to get a table! We sat right along the window, so we were able to have all the views! A light snow came through, but didn’t stop us from enjoying the scenery!
For lunch I had the gourmet grilled cheese with truffle fries, my boyfriend had the seasonal soup- winter vegetable, and for dessert we ordered these little apple pie donut holes with sugar and caramel drizzled over them! I had ordered the smores drink- whiskey with chocolate + marshmallows + a graham cracker rim, but they were out of the whiskey! SOMEONE ORDER IT FOR ME AND LET ME KNOW HOW IT IS!
The big hike and cold temps had me a little tired, but since it was our last day we were still trying to take advantage of everything. We ended up parking in the visitor center parking lot right by the bridge that goes over Bow River. There’s a walking trail that runs right along the river on the outside of town that will actually take you to Bow Falls. We could tell the trail had a lot of foot traffic from locals walking home and back and just tourists like us. It was a pretty easy walk from the bridge and once you get to the falls, you can see Surprise Corner and the Fairmont Banff hotel on both sides of you!
The trail! Nothing too strenuous!
Above: overlooking Bow Falls. Below: one more photo of the Fairmont Banff in the distance!
As we were heading back towards town, we actually spotted a buck walking across the frozen river. We picked up our pace so we could run into him and hopefully snag a picture. I wouldn’t necessarily say he was friendly, we def kept our distance (as you should with wild animals!), but he was aware of us and never darted off or ran away! So we just stood close by and admired!
We went back to the hotel to do a little relaxing before we headed back into town for dinner and skating!
I was so so so happy we chose to head to Banff while the Snow Days Festival + Ice Magic Festival were both happening! My boyfriend and I are such outdoor explorers, so all the winter activities that were provided never left us short of something to do! In town, they also had an ice rink set up and offered FREE ice skating! We took up the offer on our last night and picked up some ice skates and even some hockey sticks to try out our skills! One of us was better than the other! ;)
You know when you get to that point of your trip when you’re just taking pictures of anything and everything because you know you’re leaving soon and half the pictures aren’t even good or have a good subject? Yeah that was me in the picture above. I wanted to remember everything! So here I am, in front of some Christmas lights!
carhartt toboggan // scarf (sold out) // forest sherpa // winter coat (sold out in red) // Sorel winter boots // sequin hat/mittens // black sweater
DAY 5
Day 5 was pretty much an entire of day of airports + airplanes, but before we left I was still able to snap a few last photos!
AFTER THOUGHTS
There were so many hotels, restaurants, and activities we looked into and just didn’t have time for! I will link them all below, along with additional packing cubes I used, warm clothes my boyfriend wore, and warm clothes I wore! I hope our guide helps you set the foundation of your upcoming trip to Banff + the Canadian Rockies! We loved every minute of ours, so I’m sure y’all will enjoy yours too!
Best xoxo,
Molly!
fleece leggings 1 // fleece leggings 2 (I wore both every day) // mittens // ski mask when I hiked // thermal I wore under a sweater every day
Additional dining:
Banff Ave Brewing Co. (Banff)
The Grizzly House (Banff)
Bear Street Tavern (Banff)
High Rollers Bowling + Pizza (Banff)
Alpine Social (Lake Louise)
Mountain Restaurant (Lake Louise
Lake Louise Railroad Station + Restaurant (Lake Louise)
Trailhead Cafe (Lake Louise)
TooLouLou’s (Banff)
Wild Flour Bakery (Banff)
Beavertails (Banff)
Bill Peyto’s Cafe (Lake Louise)
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