Banff and Yoho National Parks Travel Guide

This travel guide on Banff / Yoho has been WIDELY requested by at least 15 people (thank you!) so it’s time to share what we did and what I would recommend, etc.

To start, I was lucky enough to travel with a group of my good pharmacist friends who really have their SH** together - my friend Caroline had already booked the Airbnb and car, so the rest of us really only had to plan the daily activities AKA fun stuff to do!

Without further ado, here is what we did. After the itinerary, there is quite an extensive logistics section, which I think is pretty important for planning as well! Please let me know if you guys end up going and using any of our recommendations. It truly is one of the most beautiful places that I’ve ever been, and I hope you all have as much fun there as we did.

Our itinerary:

Day 0: Arrival and Lake Minnewanka

We landed in the afternoon, picked up our car, drove to Harvie Heights, checked into our place, went grocery shopping in Canmore, and then spent the late afternoon / evening at Lake Minnewanka. At the lake we had a picnic, drank wine, and took a million pictures. The vibes were SO good that night - we were all so happy to be there and the weather was amazing. Highly recommend this lake for at least a few hours! Plenty of parking when we went (weekday around 5pm).

Day 1: Moraine Lake Day

We took the Moraine Lake Shuttle from Lake Louise ski area. Walked around and took a few pictures from the scenic overlook (a quick hike to the top, plenty of signs) and then started on our first hike of the trip, which was Eiffel Lake Trail hike. We were NOT prepared for how hard the first 30 minutes of the hike would be (I definitely needed my inhaler due to the steeper grade) but were rewarded with amazing views of the Ten Peaks and a beautiful meadow area. After our hike, we rented canoes (at a steep price but DEFINITELY worth it) for an hour and just relaxed in the middle of the lake eating our snacks. We walked a little bit of the Lake Moraine Shoreline hike and then headed back to the shuttle bus line, which was relatively quick. Headed back to our place to shower and get ready for dinner. We ate at BLAKE in Canmore, which had delicious drinks. I had the Char Sui Bao which came with a tasty salad as well. After dinner, we headed to grab beers at Grizzly Paw, which had awesome rooftop views - ask to sit outside upstairs! The views were so beautiful they looked fake.

Day 2: Yoho National Park Day

Yoho was one of those places that I stumbled upon after looking at some local’s favorite places to go in the area (I think I found it on Tiktok?) We left early in the morning to drive to Emerald Lake - if you get there early enough you will find parking! From there, we took pictures at a few different spots by the cabins and restaurant and then headed onward to do the Emerald Lake Loop Hike. This was only around 5km round trip and made for a relatively easy day since we knew we had to gear up for Lake Louise. We had an early picnic lunch on a giant rock on the lake, and then drove to the Meeting of the Waters. Originally our plan was to explore the other waterfalls in the area, but due to the snow melt, they do not open those roads until late June. We went back to rinse off, get changed, and then headed to Happy Hour at Hello Sunshine in downtown Banff. They had some great specials (I believe we went around 4pm but double check their website for details on timing) and then we wandered around downtown Banff to get some apparel and other touristy memorabilia.

Day 3: Lake Louise Day

This was BY FAR our longest and most active day. We woke up bright and early (around 5am I believe), headed to the parking lot by LL, and then were hiking by 7am. We did the classic Agnes Tea House hike and then Big Beehive hike. I highly recommend getting there ASAP in the morning as it just gets more crowded as the day goes on. I do not remember the name of the loop we took back down to our car, but our total hike was around 9 miles that day (was a different way down than we took up). We asked one of the locals the day prior what her favorite spot was, and she said Peyto Lake made her cry it was so beautiful. So naturally we had to go. As it turns out, it was probably my favorite part of the trip. It is a short hike from the parking lot to the overlook, where we had lunch and hung out for a while just marveling at the blue water, valley, and mountains. Also, the lake is shaped like a wolf which is super cool. It is a little further out to get to (if you take the road all the way, it eventually leads to Jasper National Park), but the drive is GORGEOUS and so worth it. After that, we went back to our apartment and then went to Canmore brewing and ordered take-out pizza for dinner.

Day 4: Drive Around and Explore

We did a bit of moving around of our days, since our last day was not supposed to be as nice weather-wise. Hands down the most crowded part out of trip was doing the Johnston Canyon hike, which is a walkway along the canyon but it’s pretty narrow and a lot of people do it. At the end, you are rewarded by a waterfall. I probably wouldn’t recommend it as it was super crowded, and you felt rushed trying to look at the waterfall at the end since there was a long line. After that, we took a scenic drive on 1A with a stop at Morant’s curve (highly recommend, hopefully you catch a train going by!). We then had our last picnic along the Bow River. After that, it was back to apartment to change and pack. We had our final Happy Hour in Banff at Anejo (mexican), followed by ice cream in Canmore (in an old school bus - some of the best ice cream I’ve ever had), and early bedtime for our 2am wake-up call for flight home.

Ok so for the logistics of the trip …

When / how to book: BOOK YOUR HOUSING AND CAR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE - Caroline booked our Airbnb in the fall for our June trip and even then, there weren’t a ton of options. We got our accommodations for a really good price though. We booked our car through Truro and even though our original car had to be canceled, they booked us for a new car also immediately and honored the same price.

Where we stayed: Harvie Heights (Airbnb) - highly recommend as it was super close to Canmore and not a far drive to the entrance of Banff as well as the city of Banff. There are SO many options, but Canmore also seemed like a fun option as you can walk to dinner and breweries after hiking all day.

How we got around: Rental car - honestly a must! There is no way to see everything unless you hire a tour group or something to shuttle you around since Banff and Yoho are SO BIG. We highly recommend Truro due to their great customer service (as mentioned above). Most of the cars on Truro had a National Park Pass included with them for a small fee, which was very worth it! Saves you the hassle of having to stop at the entrance each day or worry about it at all in general. Mandatory shuttles to Lake Moraine were also a new thing this year (no parking at all available), and the process was so easy. You park at Lake Louise Ski Resort and get on a bus from there. MAKE SURE TO BOOK your shuttles as soon as you know what days you want to do what - tickets went super fast. They release more tickets two days before departure as well, but I didn’t love those odds. If you get to Lake Louise early enough, you can pay to park instead of taking the shuttle, which is what we did since we wanted to be able to leave after our super long hike that day.

What we ate: We bought a ton of groceries for our breakfasts and lunches, and then ate out at restaurants for dinner. For breakfasts, we did yogurt with fruit and granola, oatmeal, bagels, and avocado toast (so everyone had options!), and then we typically did PB&J sandwiches for our hikes with chips, jerky, and candy to supplement. I wouldn’t recommend making meat sandwiches for the hike unless you are only going for a few hours (no thank you food poisoning). For drinks, we did gatorade, liquid IVs, and water but also brought some hard seltzers for our last picnic. I also brought some energy chews with me for the longer hikes. I loved going out to eat at night since it was like a reward after working hard all day. I was pretty impressed by the sheer number of good places to eat as well.

Packing list:

  • Outer layers:

    • Rain jacket

    • Rain pants

    • Hiking boots

    • Extra pair of sneakers (in case of rain)

    • Warm hat

    • Baseball hat

    • Thin gloves

    • Waterproof bag

    • Small backpack / daypack

    • Extra large plastic bag for wet clothes coming home

  • Base layers:

    • Vest

    • Long sleeve shirts

    • Short sleeve shirts

    • Sports bras and underwear

    • Quick dry pants

    • Quick dry shorts

    • Flannel or fleece

    • Socks (bring extra socks in case of rain, etc)

  • Non-hiking stuff:

    • Casual outfits (I brought a few dresses, jeans, and t shirts for dinners, etc.)

    • Casual shoes

    • Swimsuit

    • Outfit for plane ride home

  • Miscellaneous

    • BEAR SPRAY

    • Sunscreen

    • Camera + extra SD card

    • Portable charger

    • Sunglasses

    • Bug spray

    • Water bottle

    • Travel mugs

    • Liquid IV

    • Tripod

    • Blister bandaids

    • Plastic bags / tupperware for food

    • Towel for hot springs

    • First aid kit

    • Biodegradable toilet paper

Ok well I think thats all for now! Feel free to reach out via DM on Instagram or email me thewholesomerx@gmail.com if you have any other questions!

Annie Muske