We visited Banff at the end of the month of September which I can’t really tell if it was a good or bad idea. Visiting this part of the Canadian rockies during off season has its pros and cons. Trying to avoid the crowds you might catch bad weather which will limit your options of things to do. As you will see in this post we didn’t do much of a hiking. Got to see Moraine lake and lake Louise as they were on top of our bucket list. We also did a 11.6 mile hike starting from Moraine lake with 2500 feet of elevation gain – Sentinel pass. Then we had few pretty cold and rainy days. But after all I realized there are many reasons to visit Banff during the fall.
Outdoor activities, less crowds, less waiting, more fun. You don’t need to worry about summer activities availability, most of them are at your disposal until mid-October. September visitors still can enjoy whitewater rafting, horseback riding or canoeing at gorgeous Moraine lake.
Another good thing about low season visiting are the prices of accommodation and actually not just the accommodation is cheaper, there are restaurants that offer special fall menu with special prices.
Even if you get rained out like us you will still find pretty nice things to do besides hiking or other outdoor adventures. For example you could get lazy for a little bit soaking in the Banff Upper Hot Springs without the usual crowds and just for $8 per person.
During one of the rainy days we explored Cave and Basin National Historic Site, pretty cool place where you could spend an hour or two. Then we just walked around the Banff town shopping and just checking out its good restaurants, bakeries, coffee and ice cream shops.
Well, there is one thing I need to say at the end. If this national park doesn’t exist in your bucket list you should definitely add it. Banff is so majestic, so glorious, it's just an incredible, unbelievably beautiful thing that nature created.
