Banff Without a Car!

Hey everyone, welcome back to my blog! 

I spent two years in Banff, Alberta, Canada, from 2018 and 2020, on a working holiday visa, as you may have read from some of my earlier blogs. For the first nine months of living there, I didn't own a car. If you've lived there, travelled, or are from Canada, you know how convenient it is to have a car, however, it's not necessarily required depending on where you live! Although public transport is available in Canada's larger cities and tourist destinations, living in more "off grid" areas makes it a bit more difficult to explore, particularly during the winter. Because I got to see and do so much in Banff even without a car, I found it really interesting and incredibly accommodating. If you are thinking of moving to Banff, this is the perfect read! Hopefully you can take something away from this and use it for your future travels. This blog covers all that can be seen and done in Banff without a car. I hope you enjoy…

Around Banff, there are several incredibly breathtaking and thrilling hikes to choose from. The five major peaks that encircle the townsite are Tunnel Mountain, Sulphur Mountain, Cascade Mountain, Norquay Mountain, and Rundle Mountain. If you are visiting or residing in Banff, you may easily reach them by foot, bus, or bicycle (in the summer time). The mountains provide a wide range of hiking trails and draw hikers of all ability levels each year. Cascade and Rundle are trails for hikers who are more comfortable and competent, while the pathways up Tunnel and Sulphur Mountain are excellent for beginners. 

It's very easy to take the local buses from Banff to Lake Louise or Banff to Canmore. The local bus service is called Roam Transit. It's amazing and saved my life during my first winter in Banff. Just by taking all the different routes, it allowed me to see a great deal. The three features of Roam Transit that caught my attention were their affordable bus tickets, frequent daytime and evening service, and consistent dependability. You can also hop on Parks Canada Shuttle buses which are another great way to make the most of your time in Banff. You’ll most certainly need to reserve a ticket if you want to visit Lake Louise or Moraine Lake in the summer time as due to high demand and popularity, visiting these Lakes requires some planning. 

The TransCanada Trail, Three Sisters Lookout, South Canmore River Trails and even Lady MacDonald are a few local treks that I would suggest doing in the Canmore area. Nowadays, Roam Transit offers bus lines that can transport you to places such as Quarry Lake, Canmore Nordic Centre and Grassi Lakes. In addition, Little and Big Beehive, Lake Agnes, Plain of Six Glaciers and of course the Lake Louise Lakeshore Trail are a few brilliant hiking destinations in the Lake Louise area. Furthermore, The Rockpile and Moraine Lake Shorline, Larch Valley and Sentinel Pass and Eiffel Lake are some picturesque and remarkable hikes to do around Moraine Lake. 

Places to see in Banff:

- Sundance Canyon

- Johnston Canyon

- Vermillion Lake

- Lake Minnewanka

- Two Jake Lake

- Cave and Basin Historical Site

- Bow Falls

- Surprise Corner

- Hoodoo Trails

- Banff Fairmont Springs and Banff Upper Hot Springs

Activities:

Cycling: You can take your pick from a huge variety of e-bikes, hybrid, mountain and road bikes to cycle to your favourite spots around Banff, go sightseeing and explore somewhere new or to push yourself and get a good sweat on. Some awesome places to cycle would include, The Legacy Trail, to Lake Minnewanka or Two Jack Lake from downtown Banff, the road to Moraine Lake, Bow Valley Parkway, Sundance Trail, Tunnel Mountain Road, Vermillion Lakes Road and Banff Golf Course Loop. 

Snowshoeing: The best time of year to visit Banff National Park and take in its magnificent scenery is during the winter. No matter your age or level of fitness, snowshoeing is a fun and unique activity that is easy to start and a great way to experience the Canadian Rockies on foot. Some great snowshoeing trails include, Johnston Canyon and the Ink Pots, Mirror Lake via the Lake Agnes Trail, Surprise corner to Hoodoo Viewpoint, and Fairview Lookout at Lake Louise. 

Cross country skiing: I loved cross country skiing and it’s such a fun activity to do by yourself or with friends! You can rent or buy gear very easily in downtown Banff. I had the pleasure of visiting the Canmore Nordic Centre with one of my great friends and it was the best day. You can also find many trails up around Tunnel Mountain, Moraine Lake road and Cascade Valley from Lake Minnewanka. 

Snowboarding/ Skiing: A classic one and a big reason as to why many people visit Banff. Canada gets some of the best snow in the world and being able to snowboard at some of the most popular and spectacular ski resorts such as Sunshine Village, Lake Louise and Norquay is an experience you’ll never forget. There are buses that can pick you up from downtown Banff at different times of the morning. Each resort offers a massive variety of tracks from green to double black diamond. 

Banff Local markets: Banff has some gorgeous farmers markets in the fall, spring and summer times and Christmas markets in the winter time. The markets showcases many amazing, local businesses that have beautiful handmade products and designs from jewellery, artworks, photography and apparel as well as locally grown fruit and vegetables stalls, coffee and artisan food and live music! There’s something for everyone and the atmosphere is always welcoming and friendly. It’s definitely worth the visit. 

Curling: The Fenlands Recreation Centre in Banff is used by the non-profit Banff Curling Club to host league nights, bonspiels (the term for curling competitions), and public drop-ins. Curling is a surprisingly complex game of strategy and a great way to get involved in a team, or practice with friends. 

Ice Skating: Ice Skating in Banff is a magical way to soak up the fresh mountain air and take part in a classic Canadian pastime. Some places to ice skate that I’d recommend would be the downtown rink at Banff High school, Banff Recreation Grounds Outdoor Rink, Fenlands Recreation indoor rinks, Lake Louise, Lake Minnewanka, Vermillion Lakes and Two Jack Lake. 

Thanks so much for reading and I hope this has inspired you to visit Banff. If you have enjoyed this blog or any other of my posts, I’d appreciate if you left a comment below! I’d love to make this blog a place for like minded people to be able to relate and share travel stories, thoughts and experiences with each other. If you have any other questions, feel free to check out my instagram the_runawayredhead and send me a DM! Stay tuned for my next post…

Talk soon, 

The Runaway Redhead 

Limbo in Lake Louise

I felt like I was in limbo. I was torn between continuing to have the best time of my life whilst frequently and silently freaking out by trying to search for jobs in Banff. I tossed around the two main questions that crossed my mind everyday, “should I stay or should I go?” 

Lake Louise had the most magnificent scenery I’d ever laid my eyes upon. Everything about it was stunning. The Fairmont was the most amazing and grand hotel I’d seen, lying at the front of one of the most breathtaking and famous lakes in the world. I really didn’t want this to be the end. I thought about the possibilities of moving to some of the cities such as Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto or some of the ski resorts such as Revelstoke, Big White and Whistler. Nothing seemed or sat right with me though besides staying in Banff. I just had a feeling that this was where I was meant to be… but, I was always grateful to have options. If worse came to worse and I had to leave, I was at peace with that part of my journey. 

Being a solo traveller, trying your absolute best to move into a new country with no job taught me so much, and even with no job, I was still in a very privileged position. As someone that’s relied on having a “job/s” and “work,” I felt shame and embarrassment for the fact I’d lost my job for no reason. For a lot of the population, if you loose a job, it’s the end of the world. Yet I didn’t realise how normal this is for many backpackers, travellers and immigrants. People loose jobs, quit their jobs and go through periods of life without working all the time. It’s just a part of life and nothing to feel negative about. Seeing other people from Banff and Lake Louise winging it like I was and having no job made me feel more at ease and allowed me to look on the positive side! Going through something this would hopefully open up new possibilities and create more opportunities. 

With that I decided to search for jobs on indeed, any Facebook Backpacker groups and at the job centre in Banff. I wanted to give it my best shot. There were jobs going and I applied to just about anything in Banff. In the meantime, I spent my time walking around Lake Louise often and taking in the gorgeous views. I hiked all the way up to the back of Lake Louise as far as my boots would take me as I did not own crampons and they were much needed in snow and ice that deep and slippery. I also hiked up to the Little Beehive Lookout which I immediately added to the list of ‘ My favourite hikes in Canada.’

I got to know Lauren’s friends at The Fairmont and got on with all of them really well, they were awesome and hilarious people. Even when we were lounging around in the little apartment, we were always laughing about something, dancing or chilling on the balcony chatting. Lauren and I also met up with Ally down in Banff quite a few times, whether that was to party or to hang out and explore around Banff. The banter was never ending and I was so appreciative for their presence. Having people like that around me, took me away from my worries and anxiety. They all made me feel so welcomed and so at home and that is a feeling I still cherish to this day. 

After about two weeks in Lake Louise, I was down in Banff one day and got a ring from a random number. I picked up, it was a man, clearly Canadian, letting my know that he was the owner and manager of the little grocery store on Tunnel Mountain I had applied too and asked if I was free to check out the place and meet some of the team. Tunnel Mountain, also known as Sleeping Buffalo, is an iconic and very popular mountain in Banff, only a short walk, drive or bus out of downtown. 

Never would I usually get in a random man’s car, but this was an exception, I got good vibes, he was incredibly friendly, polite and I trusted my instincts. He kindly drove me up and we had a chat in the car about Banff, Australia and the job, he told me his wife was from Brisbane which also made me feel comfortable. We got out in the car park, opposite the HI Hostel, Banff and in front of me faced a little grocery shop, laundromat and liquor store. He took me inside where I met a girl with tanned skin and blonde hair, from Australia called Ellen. She was so nice and I was relieved instantly. Next he took me over to the liquor store where I met a tall Canadian guy, with brown hair and a beard, called Dylan. He was also very friendly and I relaxed even more. I had a good feeling about this spot but didn’t want to get too ahead of myself. 

After being dropped back off in Banff, my mind was stirring, the job situation was looking positive. It wasn’t the end! 

Happy November and I hope you enjoyed reading and continuing on with my travel story. If you read or like any of my blog posts I’d appreciate it if you wrote a comment below! I’d love to make this blog a place for like-minded people to be able to relate and share travel stories, thoughts and experiences with each other. If you have any other questions feel free to check out my instagram the_runawayredhead and send me a DM! Stay tuned for my next post… 

Talk soon 

The Runaway Redhead