| Banff National Park Banff National Park | |
 | |
| Area type | National Park |
|---|---|
| State | Canada |
| Territory | Alberta |
| Surface | 6,641 km² |
| Foundation year | 1885 |
| Institutional website | |
Banff National Park is a protected area located in theAlberta, Canada. Together with others national parks of Canada, is recognized World Heritage in the category Parks of the Canadian Rockies.
To know
Geographical notes
The park is located 120 km west of Calgary, inAlberta, and extends over about six and a half thousand kilometers of mountainous terrain, with many glaciers, coniferous forests and alpine landscapes.
The main center of the park is the city of Banff, in the Bow River Valley.
There Icefields Parkway extends from Lake Louise, connecting it to the north with the Jasper National Park. To the west, several forests and the Yoho National Park, south the Kootenay National Park and to the southeast the Kananaskis Country.
The park begins in the north with the 1 Sunwapta Pass, just south of the Columbia Icefield he was born in Jasper National Park, With the'2 southern entrance just north of Canmore. The city of Banff and the village of Lake Louise I'm inside the park. The other entrances to the park are to the east near the 3 Saskatchewan River Crossing and to the west ai 4 Kicking Horse Pass is 5 Vermilion Pass.
Background
Established in 1885, it was the first national park of the Canada.
How to get
By car
L'Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) bisects the park from East to West. Banff it's about an hour and a half from CalgaryAlberta and from GoldenBritish Columbia. Other ways to reach the park by car include the Icefields Parkway from Jasper, Highway 11 from Rocky Mountain House is Red Deer Alberta, and Highway 93 from Radium Hot Springs is Cranbrook British Columbia.
By bus
Greyhound is Brewster they provide a regular bus service with Banff is Lake Louise, starting from Calgary and some cities of the British Columbia. Another option is to book one of the many guided tours that visit the park. Most from Calgary or Vancouver.
There are three different companies that operate a airport shuttle from Calgary Airport to Banff and Lake Louise.
- Banff Airporter offers numerous shuttles per day.
- Brewster Banff Airport Express offers connections from the airports of Edmonton and Calgary, from downtown Calgary, and West Edmonton Mall. (connection to Edmonton is via Jasper and is offered in partnership with Sun Dog Tours. Times vary according to the season.
Permits / Rates
All tourists stopping in Banff National Park, even just to refuel in the city, require a permit. If you do not make stops, the pass is not required. Daily and annual permits are available.
All the Canadian national parks require visitors to pay an entrance fee. Your nationality or residence does not change the fee you pay: Canadian residents and foreign tourists pay the same fee. The national parks ofAlberta and of British Columbia they are very close to each other and it is common to visit more than one in a day. If you pay the entrance fee to one park, such as Banff National Park, and visit another one on the same day (for example [[Yoho National Park), you don't need to pay twice. The paid entrance fee is valid until 4pm the following day.
This tax does not go to the central government, but is used for the preservation of parks and the management of services for tourists.
As of December 2016, the prices are as follows:
- $ 9.80 per day for an adult (17-64 years)
- $ 8.30 per day for over 65s
- $ 4.90 per day for 6-16 year olds
If you enter the park in a group of 2 to 7 people in a single vehicle, you can pay the group fee of $ 19.60 per day (as if paying for two adults).
If you are planning to visit Canadian parks for 7 days or more you may want to consider purchasing theannual Discovery Pass:
- $ 67.70 for adults
- $ 57.90 for over 65s
- $ 33.30 for young people
- $ 136.40 for a family / group
A Discovery Pass also includes access to National Historic Sites managed by Parks Canada, Banff Park Museum, Cave and Basin National Historic Site, Bar U Ranch, Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site, Fort Langley National Historic Site, and others. Warning: Not all historic assets are managed by Parks Canada.
Additional fees are applied for the campsite. The list of other activities that require a surcharge can be found on the website of Parks Canada.
How to get around
- The easiest and most comfortable way to get around the park is by car. Cars are rented in Calgary, Banff is Lake Louise. Attention: the only places in the park where you can refuel are at Banff is Lake Louise.
- It is also possible to travel by bicycle, but the mountainous nature of the park makes this vehicle quite tiring. Bicycles (both city and mountain bikes) are hired in Banff and Lake Louise.
What see
About half an hour from the city of Banff there are numerous trails and walks. These pass near lakes, rivers, streams, mountains and allow you to spot the local fauna. Banff and the park are located at high altitudes and for this reason the landscapes change considerably depending on the season: if you visit the park in winter and in summer you might have the illusion of visiting two different areas.
- 1 Lake Louise. Glacial lake in a suggestive mountain panorama.
- 2 Peyto Lake. in a scenic location on the Icefields Parkway about 40 km from the town of Lake Louise. Access to the viewpoint is just off the road and is well signposted.
- 3 Moraine Lake. Lake with an incredible blue color due to the glacial rock dust). A paved walk from the road offers the opportunity to enjoy suggestive glimpses of the lake. Attention: from 8:30 am the tourist buses start to arrive.
- 4 Johnston Canyon. 11km walk in the narrow Johnston Creek leading to a spectacular waterfall, 2.7km from the car park, and at Ink Pots, six ponds with springs and blue-green water.
- 5 Sunshine Meadows. Circular hike of about 6 km through beautiful alpine meadows starting from the Sunshine Village.
- 6 Lake Minnewanka (scenic drive to the lake from Banff).
What to do
Shopping
Where to eat
Where stay
Safety
How to keep in touch
Around
Other projects
Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Banff National Park
Commons contains images or other files on Banff National Park
