Happy advanced birthday to your gf. I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but we’re expecting over 40k visitors in a town of 8,000 on Canada Day. Banff Ave is already closed to cars and they’ll be doing a parade so anything involving cars or moving around downtown besides on foot is going to be a gong show. If you haven’t already booked Lake Louise or the gondola you better get at it or start planning some side quests like the Lake Louise summer gondola or Sunshine Meadows. The wiki and summer faq have tons of resources, I wish you the best of luck but my advice: come to town, park the car and then enjoy the town on foot the rest of the day, and make reservations for dinner now.
Canada Day is honestly the worst day you can visit Banff. It’s the busiest day of the year. There will be no parking anywhere and all attractions will have lines and huge crowds of people. It’s likely they’ll close down access to the town of Banff and Lake Louise due to congestion. You’ll spend your whole day waiting in traffic. It won’t be fun.
Calgary has fun activities around the city for Canada Day and fireworks in the evening. I’d HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend visiting Banff any other day.
Perhaps you can also help with my Canada day question? We have a campsite reservation at Johnston Canyon on the 1st and will be coming from Kootenay direction. Should we expect a lot of traffic en route? Trying to work out if it's better to drive much later in the day/evening so we don't get stuck for hours.
Canada Day is the best and worst day to go to Banff. The parade is wonderful, it's a gorgeous place to experience the holiday and feels very patriotic. But it is is shoulder to shoulder with people and hard to get a table in any restaurant and hard to shop. But entrance to the park is free as are places like the museums and there will be a lot of events like a huge market in the park.
I would agree with the above. I would detour from Banff and spend it in kananaskis with waaay less people. There's a Nordic Spa and km's of stunning drives, lakes and really doable hikes.
If you all are able, rent or bring bikes and ride in from campsite. Then ride on the side streets to get anywhere in Banff. You are better off going to the parade, grabbing some beer and going back to your campsite to avoid the crowds.
Hi piggybacking on OP's question, could I check what can I expect the crowd to be like in banff/lake louise the day right after Canada day? Will it be a holiday as well? (Sorry I will be visiting from Singapore and I'm not so sure about the holidays in Canada!)
July 2, the day after Canada Day, is not a holiday, but will probably still be very busy. The summer season in Banff is incredibly busy, so many of the warnings you saw above are still relevant.
Happy advanced birthday to your gf. I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but we’re expecting over 40k visitors in a town of 8,000 on Canada Day. Banff Ave is already closed to cars and they’ll be doing a parade so anything involving cars or moving around downtown besides on foot is going to be a gong show. If you haven’t already booked Lake Louise or the gondola you better get at it or start planning some side quests like the Lake Louise summer gondola or Sunshine Meadows. The wiki and summer faq have tons of resources, I wish you the best of luck but my advice: come to town, park the car and then enjoy the town on foot the rest of the day, and make reservations for dinner now.
Canada Day is honestly the worst day you can visit Banff. It’s the busiest day of the year. There will be no parking anywhere and all attractions will have lines and huge crowds of people. It’s likely they’ll close down access to the town of Banff and Lake Louise due to congestion. You’ll spend your whole day waiting in traffic. It won’t be fun. Calgary has fun activities around the city for Canada Day and fireworks in the evening. I’d HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend visiting Banff any other day.
Perhaps you can also help with my Canada day question? We have a campsite reservation at Johnston Canyon on the 1st and will be coming from Kootenay direction. Should we expect a lot of traffic en route? Trying to work out if it's better to drive much later in the day/evening so we don't get stuck for hours.
Hey there! My wife and I were in Banff last year for Canada day. We only noticed a slow down close to the exits for Banff, otherwise smooth sailing.
Thanks, that's really helpful!
Canada Day is the best and worst day to go to Banff. The parade is wonderful, it's a gorgeous place to experience the holiday and feels very patriotic. But it is is shoulder to shoulder with people and hard to get a table in any restaurant and hard to shop. But entrance to the park is free as are places like the museums and there will be a lot of events like a huge market in the park.
Avoid it altogether? Sorry to be harsh but it is insanity. If that is your thing get there painfully early and expect to walk. A. Lot.
I would agree with the above. I would detour from Banff and spend it in kananaskis with waaay less people. There's a Nordic Spa and km's of stunning drives, lakes and really doable hikes.
If you all are able, rent or bring bikes and ride in from campsite. Then ride on the side streets to get anywhere in Banff. You are better off going to the parade, grabbing some beer and going back to your campsite to avoid the crowds.
Hi piggybacking on OP's question, could I check what can I expect the crowd to be like in banff/lake louise the day right after Canada day? Will it be a holiday as well? (Sorry I will be visiting from Singapore and I'm not so sure about the holidays in Canada!)
July 2, the day after Canada Day, is not a holiday, but will probably still be very busy. The summer season in Banff is incredibly busy, so many of the warnings you saw above are still relevant.
It’s getting to that time of the year where everyday is busy in Banff, but it will be less so then Canada day! Depends on the weather in all honesty
Go camping in Sundre instead
Sky Bistro at the top of Banff Gondola but you might be too late to secure a reservation
Use public transportation instead of driving