Founded in 1885, it is the oldest national park in Canada and one of the oldest in the world, it extends over more than 6,000 square kilometers, and is located in the Rocky Mountains of the province of Alberta, 180 km west of Calgary. In 1887, the park was expanded by more than 600 kilometers and named Rocky Mountain Park, making it the second natural park in North America, after Yellowstone National Park.
The heart of the park is located in the town of Banff, where its name comes from, crossed by the Bow River, which feeds the falls of the same name on the outskirts of the town.
A minimum of four days is considered necessary to enjoy the most important places with peace of mind, and in its surroundings we can find different accommodation options, hostels, hotels or campsites. Once in the park facilities you can carry out activities such as bird watching, cycling, walks and excursions to the most notable places, horseback riding, fishing with rods in rivers and lakes, photography, snow sports in winter or water sports. In summer, these are some of the many possibilities that the Bannf Natural Park offers us.
In any case there are many places to visit such as the town of Banff and its surroundings, bustling and crowded with visitors, where the Whyte museum is located, which tells the history of the town, and the Banff Park museum, a wooden cabin from 1915 which preserves relics of the town and the park.
From the town of Banf you can reach Tunel Mountain, from where you can enjoy a visit to the town and its surroundings, or visit the Bow River and the waterfalls of the same name.
It is also a must to visit the thermal waters of Cave and Basing or Hot Springs, the latter a pool in which you can swim in temperatures between 30 and 40º C.
In the south of Banff you can find a cable car in which you can reach the top of Mount Sulfur, and walk to Sanson Peak, the highest point from which you can enjoy the views of Lake Minnewanka and the town of Banff.
Must-sees include Vermilion Lakes, a collection of lakes that are ideal for biking, photo and video, wildlife viewing, and long hikes, or Two Jack Lake, formed by a narrowing of Lake Minnewanka, and which stands out for its postcard landscapes and a wide fauna dominated by brown bears, or Lakes Louise and Moraine, with unique landscapes with turquoise waters, along with Lake Agnes located at more than 2000 meters high, are some of the many lakes that you can find and enjoy in Bannf nature park.
But the real excursion to see the immeasurable beauty of the Bannf natural park is done by touring the Icefields Highway or “Icefields Parkway” of more than 200 km along which you will enjoy waterfalls, glaciers and canyons and considered one of the most beautiful panoramic roads in the world.
The park is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including deer, mountain goats, coyotes, mountain lions, groundhogs, beavers, mink, moose, grizzly bears, black bears, deer and wolves. Moose are the largest mammals in the park and can be seen grazing in the valleys and mountains. Grizzlies are the largest carnivores and can be found in mountains and forests.
The park is also the habitat of a large number of birds, the most emblematic being the bald eagles, which can be observed flying over the lakes and mountains, the owls and the golden eagles are the largest birds that can be observed in the park.
In the park’s lakes and rivers, fish, such as trout and salmon, are abundant, which are a source of food for the park’s animals.
Banff Park is a natural reserve for mammals, birds, fish and reptiles, being guarded by forestry agents in charge of maintaining and caring for the park’s biodiversity.
Learn more about Banff Natural Park in this video
The glaciers in Banff Park were formed during the last ice age that began about 2.6 million years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago. During this time, global temperatures were colder and snow that fell in the mountains did not completely melt in summer. Instead, it accumulated and turned into ice, which flowed downhill forming glaciers.
The glaciers of Banff National Park are part of the Columbia Ice Fields, which constitute the largest ice field on Earth outside the poles. The Columbia Icefields extend across the Canadian Rockies, covering an area of about 32,000 square kilometers.
The glaciers in Banff National Park have been receding over the last century primarily due to global warming, which is causing temperatures to rise causing ice to melt faster than it accumulates, causing the glaciers to shrink. The Athabasca Glacier, the largest in Banff National Park, has retreated about 2.5 kilometers since 1880. and the Bow Glacier, the second largest in the park, has retreated about 1.5 kilometers since 1880. The retreat of the glaciers has a significant impact on the landscape of Banff National Park and that they erode rocks, creating glacial valleys and lakes, in addition to providing fresh water to the park’s rivers and lakes.
Bannf National Park has more than 250 lakes, constituting one of the main attractions of the park, offering a variety of colors from the turquoise of Moraine Lake to the emerald green of Emeral Lake, many of them surrounded by steep mountains, glaciers and lush forests.
Knowing the secrets of Bannf National Park will require a visit of several days, in which in addition to enjoying its beauty, practice activities such as wildlife observation and hiking, activities that will transport you to a world of beauty and tranquility, that will connect you in an indescribable way with the planet we live on.
