Banff

Yesterday, I made a trip to Banff. I've stopped in Banff, but not spent the day there for better than 5 years.

I'm not a fan of tourist traps, but I can't help but like this place. Yes, it's crowded & very busy and some of the shops are sort of tacky (in a high class way) but overall it's a pretty nice day out.

Banff has a regular population of 9000 people. You'd never know it, it feels like your in a busy city with a million people. There are also some great places to eat including more ethnic food than I remember in the past. I stopped at a place called Wild Bill's where I had...of all things, an Elk Burger & a pitcher of Traditional Big Rock Ale. What surprised me was that the prices were no higher than in Calgary...and in many cases, cheaper. Something seems rather odd that a remote mountain town can have lower prices than a giant city like Calgary. Wonder who is getting scammed ?

One problem in Banff is parking. Obviously, there are alot of day trippers there & it's hell to find parking. A better way to get to Banff is to take the Greyhound from Calgary....it drops you off a few minutes walk to downtown. No headaches, but of course, it's not as convenient as a car. If you do go to Banff in a car, be prepared to walk alot & park at the edge of town. Don't waste your time in the gridlock trying to find a space downtown.

Banff also has a transit system, so use it. You can get to any point in town on the bus & it's pretty decent looking. You can walk downtown but places like The Falls & Sulpher Mountain are a touch far on foot. Bring a mountain bike, that'll give you great choice to get around

Places you wanna see

Sulpher Mountain: Home of a pretty cool Gondola ride to the top. It's 25 bucks per person, but you go way up and can see the entire Bow River valley. Go later in the day, the line is less
Golf Course Road: Follow this road past the Golf Course. I went out that way and not a soul was on it. Walking around, I saw numerous Elk. There are places to park and you can wander down to the river. I saw a whopping 6 people out that way....on a long weekend. Just follow the road, it's a giant circle.
Downtown Banff: This place has a shopping centre, but you'd never know it. It's build in downtown and looks like a typical downtown. They really maximize the space in this city...so be prepared to look in every corner. They should model all cities on Banff. Talk about walkability.

Banff Springs Hotel: I don't much care for hotels, but this place is unreal. Incredible architecture & the inside is beautiful. It's more amazing that they built this place over 100 years ago before cars, trucks and power tools. You can take the bus there and I'd strongly advise you do this

Bow Falls : Not far from the hotel, and a nice walk in the woods along the river to downtown. It'll take you about 30 minutes and while actually in town, it doesn't feel like it.

The other thing I noticed about Banff was the number of jobs there. They number in the hundreds and the pay is as good as Calgary. Often times, if you work in the hotel business, they give you food & accommodation. Not a bad deal if you want to experience mountain life for a summer.

All in all, a pretty damn nice place to go. There are hundreds of km's of bike trails and walking paths. I could live here.