3 Day Banff Itinerary: The Ultimate Weekend in Banff

Spending 3 days in Banff will never be enough time to explore this beautiful park. However, if you find yourself with just a few free days or an open weekend, here’s how we would suggest spending it. This 3-day itinerary is best for those who have never visited Banff before.

Banff Itinerary – Day 1 (Friday)

• Check into your hotel
• Stroll Banff Avenue
• Cascade Gardens
• Bow Falls
• Dinner Downtown
• Surprise Corner
• Vermilion Lakes

Check into Hotel – 4pm

Most hotel check-ins are between 3 and 4 p.m., so the first thing to do is drive to Banff and check into your hotel. This is also a great first thing to do, as most hotels in Banff provide their guests with free parking. Parking can be really tough in Banff in the summer months. Our favorite places to stay in the Downtown Banff area are The Moose Hotel, Mount Royal, and Buffalo Mountain Lodge (set away from Downtown Banff, so best for those with a car).

Stroll Banff Avenue

If it’s your first time, getting acquainted with Banff Avenue is best. Enjoy all the shops on Banff Avenue, take your photo in front of Cascade Mountain, hop into Jolenes Tea House on Bear Street, grab a poutine snack at Banff Poutine, or enjoy a drink on a lovely patio under the sun. We also love shopping at Rocky Mountain Soap Company and venturing into the All in the Wild gallery!

Walk to Cascade Gardens

Stroll all the way to the end of Banff Avenue to Cascade Gardens. These free gardens offer an ideal destination for a leisurely stroll from the town center. Whether you have a passion for flowers or are a botanist, it’s well worth heading here for at least 30 minutes for your daily dose of plant goodness.

Walk to Bow Falls

After the gardens, you can continue your walk down the Bow Falls Trail to Bow Falls. The walk will take just 20 minutes, and once at the falls, you’ll get a nice view of the most famous waterfalls near the town center. As parking is limited in this area, we highly recommend walking to Bow Falls.

Have Dinner Downtown

There are plenty of restaurants in Banff to choose from. There is truly something for every type of diet and need. We love the Fat Ox, The Prow, Brazen, and Three Bears Brewery.

Drive to Surprise Corner

Head back to your hotel and grab your car so that you can drive over to Surprise Corner for a *surprise view*. The Surprise Corner Viewpoint is right off Tunnel Mountain Drive in Banff and doesn’t require any hiking to see a beautiful view. Just a short 2-minute walk from the small parking area will give you a great view of the Castle of the Rockies.

Catch the Sunset at Vermilion Lakes

Jump back in the car and head to Vermilion Lakes. These are the closest lakes to Downtown Banff, and sit right below iconic Mount Rundle. We love to come here with a beer as there are some great docks to relax and catch sunset. Keep your eyes open; there are always curious ducks and geese on the water, and if you’re lucky, you might even spot a beaver.

Day 2 (Saturday)

• Enjoy a gondola experience
• Drive the Lake Minnewanka Scenic Road
  • Cascade Ponds
  • Johnson Lake
  • Two Jack Lake
  • Lake Minnewanka
  • Lake Minnewanka Cruise

Head up the Sunshine Gondola

The Sunshine Summer Gondola offers lift-assisted hiking in Banff National Park. The scenic gondola delivers hikers to a high alpine landscape known for its excellent mountain views, alpine lakes, and abundant wildflowers. We love the gondola because it provides hikers access to a difficult-to-reach alpine environment.

From the top of the gondola, visitors can then hop on the Standish Chairlift from the village base for the final elevation gain. Up here, you can enjoy the views, but there’s also a network of trails spread out from the chairlift. The classic option is to pass the three lakes of Rock Isle, Grizzly, and Laryx. It’s around an 8 km loop and has some exceptional views. If you’re visiting in July and August, this is one of the best wildflower hikes in the Canadian Rockies!

Keep in mind that the Sunshine Summer Gondola is open and operational from late June to mid-September.

Alternative Option: Banff Gondola

If you don’t want to hike much or it’s not the season for the Sunshine Gondola, a great alternative is the Banff Gondola. A ride up the Banff Gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain is a classic Banff experience. This eight-minute journey whisks visitors away to a panoramic ridge and visitor center that affords many the luxury of standing atop a mountain in the Canadian Rockies without hiking up.

The views from the top of Cascade Mountain and the town of Banff are exceptional. Once up here the best thing to do is walk the boardwalk that stretches along the ridge to the historic Cosmic Ray Station.

Pack a Lunch

While you can eat out in Downtown Banff or even on top of the Banff Gondola at the Northern Lights Kitchen, we recommend packing a lunch. You can get a great take-away sandwich at Wildflour Cafe.

Drive the Lake Minnewanka Loop Road

After your morning gondola activity, hop in the car and hit Lake Minnewanka Scenic Road. It’s one of the most scenic drives in Western Canada. Following this itinerary, you will pass four stunning bodies of water.

Cascade Ponds

Cascade Ponds is a fantastic place to head if you want to enjoy nature and the beautiful surroundings below Cascade Mountain. What I love about Cascade Ponds is that there are plenty of picnic benches and fire pits to enjoy with friends. So if you have that packed lunch I mentioned earlier, this is a fantastic place to have it. Please remember to Leave No Trace.

Johnson Lake

Continue on the scenic drive and look for the turnoff for Johnson Lake. Johnson Lake is one of our favorites because it’s often overlooked by the more popular Two Jack Lake and Lake Minnewanka. Head here for a pleasant stroll around the lake and enjoy the mountain scenery. If you don’t get enough walking in the morning, you can enjoy a leisurely afternoon walking around the lakeshore.

Two Jack Lake

Once you’re done at Johnson Lake, continue to Two Jack Lake. Two Jack is one of my favorite lakes in Banff, mainly because it has gorgeous views of Mount Rundle. If you are a bit more of a novice paddler, this is a great lake to get out on the water. There are no paddleboard rentals here, so you’ll have to bring your own, which can be rented from Banff Canoe Club.

Lake Minnewanka

Last but not least is Lake Minnewanka, which is just a few km past Two Jack. Lake Minnewanka is the largest lake in Banff, at 21 km long! In the summer, you can rent a motorboat here with friends, as it’s one of the only lakes in Banff that allows motorboats. However, the most popular thing here is a cruise on the lake. If you’re only in Banff for just a few days in the summer and follow this itinerary, this is your only chance to enjoy a cruise on the waters of Banff.

Keep in mind that if you plan to bring your own watercraft or rent a stand-up paddleboard to these lakes, you can only put it in one body of water every 48 hours. More information is here.

Day 3 (Sunday)

• Go to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake
  • Moraine Lake Potential Activities
    • Canoe
    • Hike to Consolation Lakes
    • See the view from the Rockpile Trail
    • Hike to Larch Valley
  • Lake Louise Potential Activities
    • Canoe
    • Hike to Lake Agnes
    • Hike to Plain of Six Glaciers
    • Hike the Beehives
• Drive to Bow Lake
• Drive to Peyto Lake
• Head back on the Bow Valley Parkway

Lake Louise and Moraine Lake Day

Nearly every first-time visitor to Banff has Moraine Lake and Lake Louise on their Banff itinerary. However, accessing them requires advanced planning because they are so busy and popular. If you’re reading this itinerary well before your trip, it’s time to start thinking about how to get to Moraine Lake and Lake Louise. You can no longer park at Moraine Lake, and parking is extremely limited at Lake Louise.

Moraine Lake

Many visitors have Moraine Lake at sunrise high on their list. To do this, you can either book the Parks Canada Alpine Start Shuttle in advance, look into a private full-day tour, like this one offered by Radventures, or book the private Moraine Lake Bus Company.

Whether or not you catch Moraine Lake at sunrise, there are many things to do in the area. At Moraine Lake, it’s all about hiking or canoeing on the lake. One of our favorite easy hikes is to Consolation Lakes, or for a more difficult experience, you can check out Sentinel Pass.

Lake Louise

Since Moraine Lake and Lake Louise are in the same area, you should take at least 4-5 hours to see them. Of course, you could spend days here if you plan on hiking a lot. But with just 3 days in Banff, 4-5 hours is efficient enough to enjoy the lakeshore and possibly go for a canoe. You can easily connect the two via the Parks Canada Lake Connector Bus (you must have a reservation). Nearly all private tours include both Moraine Lake and Lake Louise.

Many visitors to Lake Louise simply walk the lakeshore, but there is plenty of hiking in the area. The most popular is the Lake Agnes Teahouse Trail, but you can also get great views from the Beehives, Mount Saint Piran, and the Plain of Six Glaciers. These all take a bit of time, so you’ll need to determine if you want to spend the whole day around Lake Louise and Moraine Lake to do them.

If you’re not up for a hike, the other popular activity is to rent a canoe from the Boathouse and enjoy the lake from the water.

If you cannot get shuttle reservations or don’t want to deal with shuttles, we recommend booking the Moraine Lake Bus Company to get you to the lakes.

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Drive to Bow Lake

If you have a car and it’s summer, you still have plenty of daylight hours left to enjoy more after Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. The sun doesn’t set until 10 pm or later in June and July! If you have the energy, we recommend hopping on the famous Icefields Parkway for a little drive to a few more lakes!

Bow Lake will be the first large lake on the Parkway that you can easily stop at. It is another glacier-fed lake in Banff with bright blue colors. From the shore, you have terrific views of the Bow Glacier, which feeds the lake in the summer months and is the source of the Bow River. If you can get the right angle, you may even be able to see Bow Glacier Falls.

Go to Peyto Lake

If you’ve spent the day enjoying Moraine Lake and Lake Louise and enjoyed a hike or canoe ride, you are likely running low on time. We recommend you drive to Peyto Lake, another glacier-fed lake in Banff.

It’s a 10-minute uphill walk from the parking lot, but the view is worth the hiking effort. To make the experience even more inclusive, there is a dedicated section accessible for people with disabilities, providing everyone with the opportunity to take in the breathtaking view. If it’s getting late, we recommend turning around here and heading back to Banff.

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Look for Wildlife on the Bow Valley Parkway

Take the road less traveled as you head back to the Town of Banff. Hop on the Bow Valley Parkway at Lake Louise. Sometimes, wildlife can be seen on the road (but please remember to respect the wildlife and give them their space). The Bow Valley Parkway does have some seasonal closures on parts of the road, which you can stay updated on here.

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Things to Keep in Mind

You Need a Parks Pass

You need a National Park Pass to visit all these sights. Learn more about getting one here.

A Car is Ideal for This Itinerary

Although you can easily get around Downtown Banff (Day 1) without a vehicle, you’ll be best served by renting a car for most of this 3 day weekend itinerary for Banff. That being said, it’s possible to get to many hot spots using Roam Transit or a private tour to Moraine Lake and Lake Louise. Keep in mind that you would be subject to their bus schedule and times, meaning you may not be able to make the most of your time here.

Book a Hotel in Advance

In the summer, booking hotels in advance is imperative. It’s extremely busy here between June and September, and hotels do book out. The sooner you book, the better, and the better rates you will get! We have a great article if you’re curious about where to stay in Banff.

This is a Summer Focused Itinerary

This 3 day Banff itinerary is focused on visiting Banff in the summer, between June and October. This is when the lakes are thawed, and many attractions like the Sunshine Summer Gondola and Lake Minnewanka Cruise are running.

Weekends are Busy

This is a general 3-day itinerary for Banff that can be used during any day of the week. However, we know that many people only have the weekends free, which is why we labeled Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It’s important to note that weekends in Banff are notably busier than weekdays. This goes not just for the summer season, but throughout the year. Plan accordingly.