Banff Canada
Banff skiing is world famous. When international folks think of Canadian ski resorts, the first that generally come to mind are Whistler and the Banff ski resort. The only problem is that there isn’t really an actual Banff ski resort, well in the town anyway, but there are three ski resorts in the majestic Banff National Park.
Banff Canada attracts millions of visitors each year, and there is more tourism during summer which is difficult for us snow lovers to understand! The town is incredibly well geared up to cater to the many tourists, yet it has maintained somewhat of a charming mountain town vibe. The town is incredibly picturesque with the backdrop of the beautiful snow-capped mountains, and in amongst nature, there’s the potential to see wildlife wandering right down the street.
Ski Banff
Banff skiing and snowboarding is fantastic, and it’s possible to ride the three Banff ski resorts on an interchangeable tri-area lift ticket.
Sunshine Village is located 15km southwest of town. The drive to the car park takes about 20 minutes and then there’s a gondola ride up to the ski area. The
Sunshine Ski Resort has lots of terrain (1,358 hectares, 3,358 acres) with slopes for rookies up to extreme slopes for pro-skiers. Sunshine has the best and most snow of the Banff ski areas due to high elevation.
Lake Louise is a little further afield, 57km from town, a drive that takes about 40 minutes. The
Lake Louise Ski Resort is also large (1,700 hectares, 4,200 acres) and there are lots of long runs. Lake Louise has a great spread of terrain for all ability levels.
Mt Norquay is the ski hill most local to the Banff township, only 6km and a 10 minute drive away. Norquay is just a little ski resort (77 hectares, 190 acres) that’s good to warm up the legs and it’s cheap and very family oriented.
Banff Skiing Pros and Cons
Pros
- The Banff skiing provides plenty of variety across three resorts and they feature phenomenal scenery.
- There are lots of tourist activities if you want a day off from the slopes, plenty of shopping opportunities, and the nightlife and dining is pretty impressive.
- The Banff ski resorts are on the Mountain Collective Pass.
Cons
- You can ski Banff with the many other skiers and snowboarders that flock there from Calgary and around the globe.
- With the exception of the Sunshine Mountain Lodge at Sunshine Village, there is no ski-in ski-out accommodation at the Banff resorts, and there’s not even any on-mountain lodging, thereby necessitating a daily commute to get to the ski resorts.
Where is Banff?
The town of Banff is located in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, 90 minutes west of Calgary (Alberta, Canada) and under 2 hours from Calgary International Airport.
It’s not essential to have a car whilst on a Banff ski holiday, but it can be very handy to provide some flexibility to get to the ski resorts and to get around to different activities.
Getting to the Banff Ski Resorts
It’s easiest to drive to the resorts, but if you don’t have a car, all the resorts are accessible via shuttle buses from various
Banff hotels. The shuttle buses are complimentary if you have a tri-area lift pass.
Banff Lodging
With the exception of the
Sunshine Mountain Lodge at Sunshine Village, there is no ski-in ski-out accommodation at the Banff resorts, and there’s not even any on-mountain lodging, thereby necessitating a daily commute to get to the ski resorts.
There are lots of
hotels in Banff to cater for various budgets, ranging from the
Banff Springs Hotel which is more like a castle, to various cheap and cheerful hotels. Other accommodations include motels, lodges, B&Bs, and hostels. See the
Banff lodging page for more information.
There are also lots of
Canmore accommodations as well as lodging in other surrounding areas.
Banff Accommodation Listings
Those who are likely to spend most of their time at the Lake Louise ski resort may prefer to stay in
Lake Louise accommodations, although this is a just little sleepy village so party animals would be better off staying in Banff.
Dining, Nightlife and Activities
This is a very vibrant tourist town and there are lots of restaurants as well as après bars and a vibrant nightlife.
Other than skiing or snowboarding, there are lots of
Banff activities for tourists. As one example, a visit to the Banff Upper Hot Springs is popular to soak the weary muscles after a big day on the slopes.
The shopping is very good. The main streets are filled with shops and arcades – a shopaholic haven. There are various ski shops and some galleries and boutiques, some of which are ridiculously expensive. These are mixed in with good value souvenir and sporting goods shops.
Banff Heli Skiing
There is no heli skiing permitted in the Banff National Park, but it’s possible to do a day trip to go heli skiing in British Columbia. One option is
RK Heliski which is based at Panorama Ski Resort, whilst another way to get guaranteed fresh tracks is to go heli skiing from Kicking Horse (135km west of Banff). Both of these heli ski operators can cater really well to first-timer heli skiers, and RK Heli Ski provides shuttle transport between the Banff hotels and their staging area.