Banff National Park Tourism

There are two public golf courses in the area. The Banff Springs Golf Course offers 27 holes of championship golf. The course meanders along the Bow River, which is at the bases of Sulphur Mountain and Mount Rundle. Brewster's Kananaskis Ranch Golf Course is on the north end of the Brewster family's ranch, which is 45 minutes from Calgary. It is built where the foothills and the Canadian Rockies meet. Kananaskis has 18 holes that are lined with spruce trees. Horses and mule deers can often be seen grazing along the fairways.

There are many different types of accommodations available in Banff, but they fill up quickly in summer high season (June through September) and again during the ski season. You would be wise to make reservations far in advance. Choices include hotels, motels, bed & breakfasts, lodges, resorts, RV and tent campgrounds and vacation homes.

There are many ways to explore the mountains and forests of the park. Choices include hiking, backpacking, mountain climbing, guided bike tours, GPS car tours, guided car tours and bird-watching excursions. One unique choice is heli-hiking, which involves taking a helicopter to a remote location, where you go for a hike before the helicopter returns to take you back to civilization. Another interesting opportunity is a zip-line tour, in which a guide helps you descend a mountain via several treetop zip lines.

There are many ways to enjoy the water in Banff National Park, including rafting, canoeing and fishing trips. Guided tours are available for rafting and canoeing. Fly-fishing tours are also available. You can even go scuba-diving in the cold, deep waters of Lake Minnewanka. If you don't want to go exploring, you can always enjoy the Banff Upper Hot Springs. It has a bath house, a children's wading area and a day spa.

You can also see Banff National Park and other parts of Canada by taking a two-day train ride on the Rocky Mountaineer, which is run by VIA Rail. The train allows you to see all the scenery through large panoramic windows. You would spend one night in Kamloops or Quesnel, British Columbia.

One other way to explore the park is to take a guided cave tour. This is not a simple walk through the caves, so you would need to be physically fit. Canmore Caverns is a company that offers cave tours in Banff, Canmore, Lake Louise and Alberta. Banff Adventure Cave Tours offers tours through the limestone caves of Grotto Mountain. An adventure tour allows you to rappel down a 60-foot drop, while an explorer tour allows you to skip the rappel.