The Most Popular Hike in Banff - Without the Crowds

I've said before that there must be photos of Banff's Johnston Canyon hiking trail on billboards across the world advertising the Canadian Rockies.  Come summer, you'd be hard pressed to get a photo on this popular trail without at least two dozen tourists in the shot, and you could be parking a mile down  the road in order to get near the place.

Hike Johnston Canyon in winter, spring or fall though and you'll find solitude in abundance, you'll get your quiet moments on the trail, and you might even have the whole place to yourself as we did last winter.  (of course it was -30C at the time, but we still had the trail to ourselves.)

I don't need to write much about Banff's number one hiking trail and a quick Google search will honestly tell you absolutely everything you need to know anyway.  I just want to share some photos, show you why this hike is awesome at this time of year, and maybe encourage you to hike the canyon NOW before the tourists and crowds arrive in another few months.

Catwalks, a Cave, and the Lower Waterfalls of Johnston Canyon

 

Hiking on the Johnston Canyon Catwalks

Hiking through the canyon en route to the Lower Falls

The Cave and the Lower Falls

Popular shot for photos on the bridge in front of the Lower Falls

 

Hiking to the Upper Falls

 

Ice appears everywhere as you reach the Upper Falls

The Upper Falls and ice climbers on them (photo taken from the canyon below the trail)

The BEST Part of the hike (going off trail into the canyon before the Upper Falls)

This one needs a disclaimer:  Do not walk on thin ice, do not go try to climb the falls without proper equipment, stick to official or at least unofficial trails that take you into the canyon, etc.  We found a lovely little side trail that took us down into the canyon right before the Upper Falls.  We played for a bit, enjoyed the view, and left again on the main trail.  We did not try to descend or hike down the canyon because that would be too dangerous (and dumb.)

Down in the canyon near the Upper Falls

The kids had a lot of fun playing down in the canyon

I love the Upper Falls as seen from down in the canyon

This was as far as we descended in the canyon - before returning on the main trail

This part of the trail was the highlight for us

The Hike Out

Another disclaimer:  Bring ice cleats or something for grip.  You'll notice them on our feet in the photo above.  I swear by micro spikes but my son wears yak trax which are much cheaper.  A small pair of yak trax is supposed to fit ladies with feet sized 6.5 - 10, but my son fits them and he isn't even a size 1 yet.   XS micro spikes are designed for kids with feet size 1 and bigger and that will be what my son gets for next winter.

This is what the trail looks like in spring when it's icy

This is how you'll descend the trail if you don't have ice cleats (be warned)

Looking down on the Lower Falls and the cave

And a fun video to end things off

 

For more information:

Visit the Town of Banff's website for detailed information on the trail.   It is 2.7 km one way to the Upper Falls but much shorter to the Lower Falls.  Most children aged 3+ should be able to make it to at least the Lower Falls and the cave with no difficulty.  

The Top 10 Spring Family Hikes in Kananaskis

I got the following email message a couple weeks ago:

"I am a mom of 4 kids. I really want to start family hiking - but am a complete novice.  Scared I might be eaten by a bear or fall into ice!!!  Have you written a post about getting kids and families started - best hikes to start with?"

Then last week I received this following message:

"I would like to take my 18 month old daughter out to the mountains this weekend and was hoping that you might have a trail suggestion or two.  Ideally within 1 hour or hour and a half drive."

While I did respond to both moms, I figure there are at least a few more of you with the same questions.  And since it's spring in the Rockies, I'm going to start with Spring Hiking.  I'm also going to focus on Kananaskis because it's close to Calgary with trails that lose their snow quickly in the warm spring sun.

Spring Hiking in the Bow Valley on the Flowing Water Trail

The Top Ten Spring Family Hikes in Kananaskis 

The First Five Hikes for Young Children

In my story, Spring Hiking with your Family in Kananaskis, I write about the following five hikes that are awesome for families with young children.

• Beaver Flats Interpretive Trail, Elbow Valley
  
  
• Paddy's Flat Interpretive Trail, Elbow Valley
  
  
• Troll Falls, Kananaskis Valley 
  
  
• Heart Creek, Kananaskis Valley
  
  
• Widow Maker Trail, Kananaskis Valley 

Information on  those the trails can be found in the story above.

Playing on the Beaver Flats Trail, Elbow Valley

More Hikes in the Elbow Valley

The Fullerton Loop is the next little hike that comes to mind and it's the perfect next step for children that are able to hike a 5km loop.  The trailhead has a brand new start post-flood so if you've done this one before, you'll find the new trail starts across the highway from the Allen Bill Day Use Area.  Also, there is no more pond at this day use area.  The river has reclaimed the whole area.  It's still a fun little spot though for the kids to play by the river and for the family to have a picnic.

Resting on the Fullerton Loop, Elbow Valley

 
The next hike in the Elbow Valley that I LOVE in spring is the Prairie Mountain trail.  This one is great for the older kids because you'll be climbing 700 m to get to the summit.  There's no cute little creek on this one but the feeling of reaching a summit is incomparable.

Note the trail always has a lot of snow on the upper part of it until mid-May so be prepared with ice cleats if going early season.

Standing on the summit of Prairie Mountain, March 8th

For more information on this trail, please read the story I wrote last September, More First Summits:  Prairie Mountain, Kananaskis.   

Hiking down the summit ridge on Prairie Mountain

Hikes in the Bow Valley

I've written a lot about spring hiking and biking in the Bow Valley on the Flowing Water Interpretive Trail and the Many Springs Interpretive Trail.  Therefore, I refer you to those stories:

• The Best Spring Bike Rides in Kananaskis
  
  
• Spring in Bow Valley Provincial Park
  
  
• The Bow Valley Biker Gang

Hiking on the Many Springs Trail, Bow Valley Provincial Park

Biking the closed campground roads of Bow Valley Provincial Park in April

The final hike - Prairie View Trail, Kananaskis

This one isn't last for any reason other than that the link below leads you to many other hikes you can do with your family this spring.  You may not have noticed, but there is an entire page on my blog devoted to the topic of Spring/Fall Hiking. It's at the top of the website beside other tabs on best hikes, day trips, picnic sites, and city hikes.

Read more on this hike: First Summits - Yates Mountain and the Barrier Lake Lookout, Kananaskis

Barrier Lake from the Prairie View Trail, Kananaskis Valley

I hope I've given you tons of suggestions now.  There is life beyond Elbow Falls!  I promise.  So get out there and explore.  Happy Hiking!!

Rest Break on the Heart Creek Trail

Sunshine Meadows - One of Canada's Top Hikes

We've hiked through all of the national parks in the Canadian Rockies and have tackled many of the easy family-friendly trails over the past 5 years.  Hiking the "premier" trails is harder though because they tend to be longer and way too difficult for families with young kids.  This would be for good reason too because most premier hikes take you way up high in the alpine above tree line and there aren't a whole lot of  gondolas available here to ferry passengers to the mountain tops.  If you want the views, the summits, the alpine, and the gorgeous flower meadows, you typically have to climb for your reward.

Premier Hiking in the Canadian Rockies

Enter Sunshine Meadows to save the day!  Rated as one of the top hikes in all of Canada, my son first visited the meadows when he was 2 years old.  Dad carried him on one visit, and I pushed him in a MEC stroller on another visit.  And nothing says easy hiking like stroller-friendly!

Hiking with a Stroller in the High Alpine

Toddler-Friendly Sunshine Meadows

Sunshine Meadows isn't just some cutesy little toddler trail either.  It's the real deal!  It's alpine, it's flower meadows in summer and golden larch trees in fall, it's lakes and mountains, and it's premier hiking.  Premier hiking that even a small child can do!

Rock Isle Lake at Sunshine Meadows

 

Accessing Sunshine Meadows

Sunshine Meadows is located on the Continental Divide at the Sunshine Village Ski Hill in Banff and is a short walk from the Upper Gondola Terminal and Chair lifts that service the area in winter. 

For complete information on visiting Sunshine Meadows, summer gondola access, and chairlift accessible hiking please visit my newest story (published in 2017): Sunshine Village in Summer! (Premier lift Accessed Hiking in Banff National Park 

Autumn at Sunshine Meadows

From the Upper Village, it is a short 1.4km walk to the first viewpoint over Rock Isle Lake.  Beyond  this picturesque lake, it is roughly  another kilometre to the back of the lake on a pleasant little trail bordered by golden larch trees.  Benches are plentiful and there's even a bathroom near the lake so this is family-friendly hiking at its finest!  If hiking with a stroller, you can get to Rock Isle Lake but you'll have to park it here because there are a few stairs beyond the lake.

Note, you should ask about bringing your stroller in advance. We went mid-week with our chariots.

Rock Isle Lake in late September

This Year's Fall Trip to Sunshine Meadows

We love to come up to Sunshine Meadows at least once a year and this year we went at the end of September to see the golden larch trees.  The weather wasn't quite as perfect as in some of the pictures I've already shown but we finally got to do the full 8km loop to Grizzly and Larix Lakes as a family without a child carrier and it was splendid!

Hiking towards Rock Isle Lake

Reaching the first View Point for Rock Isle Lake

The rest of this story is going to be devoted to sharing this year's journey through photos.  To see the map of where we hiked, click on this link to the Sunshine Meadows Hiking Map.  We did the full loop to all three lakes and hiked back the same way.  Next time we'll do the BIG 11km loop and come back on the Meadow Park Trail.  Kids didn't quite have the energy for that this time though.

Rock Isle Lake

Resting at the View Point for Rock Isle Lake

This is a good turn around point for young kids

 

Hiking to the Back of the Lake

 

This is always my favourite part of the hike

Larch Trees aplenty

My Mini-Mountain Man

Larch Trees have very soft needles.

Always a good photo opp. at the back of the lake

 

Hiking to Grizzly Lake 

 

The Stairs down from Rock Isle Lake

This area is full of flowers in summer

Lots of bridges that the kids LOVED!

Larch Trees Everywhere

Grizzly Lake

Finally reached Grizzly Lake - with more bridges

This would make a fun place to stop and play

 Larix Lake

Hiking around Larix Lake on more little bridges

Best Kids Hike Ever with all the cute bridges

Tired kids holding hands.

Back to the Village

 

It's not a hike until we've  done a little yoga

Back at the Divide

Crossing the Continental Divide

Have You Hugged a Larch Tree yet this fall?

To make a reservation, visit the Sunshine Village website.   We took the 11am bus and had plenty of time to do the full 8km loop but families wanting to spend more time playing at the lakes may want to take an earlier bus.  You definitely don't want to miss the last bus down.

See You on the Trails! 


Disclaimer:  Our bus tickets were provided by White Mountain Adventures in partnership with Banff Lake Louise Tourism.  As always, all thoughts,  words and opinions are my own and I was not paid for this story.