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Facts
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Area
Banff lies in the southern part of Banff National Park and is the largest and oldest
town in the Canadian Rockies. The town's surroundings belong to the front ranges of the
Rocky Mountains close to the Continental
Divide and offer lots of snow every winter. Its ski areas are world renowned.
In summer the masses of visitors make Banff more a big city than a mountain village. On its
main street gift shops invite travelers into their attractive interiors, restaurants
serve every taste and a long row of hotels at the
town entrance offers accommodation in every price range. Banff is well worth a visit, because it
offers more than the usual tourist amenities. |
ClimateIn an average year the temperatures in Banff range from -40°C in the dark and cold days of January up to + 30°C on long hot days in July.The dry mountain air cools quickly after the sun sets in this area. Hot summer nights are rare. This dry air also makes the cold winters bearable.
Humid air masses from the Pacific Ocean drop much of their humidity west of the Rocky
Mountains. That is why the average amount of precipitation in the Rockies is only between
400 and 700 mm, compared to 950 mm in the mountains around Revelstoke in the West. The
western ranges of the Rockies receive more precipitation in the form of rain or snow than
the mountains east of the Great Divide where Banff is situated. This makes for enough snow
in winter to guarantee excellent ski conditions, while also bringing sunny days for enjoying
the perfect winter surroundings. |
Ski Areas
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HistoryBanff exists because three railroad surveyors discovered hot springs on the slopes of Sulphur Mountain in 1883. They tried to get rich by registering a claim around the springs area, where they constructed primitive bath buildings. After heated controversies about the ownership of the hot springs a government agent finally decided in 1885 to put them under protection.The government believed in the healing powers of the sulphurous waters of the springs and the Cave and Basin hot springs was declared a small natural preserve. Two years later this area was increased and the first National Park of the Rocky Mountains was founded: Banff National Park. Thus the history of the Canadian National Park Service started. Cornelius van Horne, who promoted the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the new transcanadian railroad from eastern Canada through to Vancouver in the West, immediately recognized the potential of the spectacular mountain area the railroad line was leading through. His railroad company decided to build a chain of luxurious hotels in the mountains, where their train passengers could spend amazing holidays in impressive scenery. One of these was the Banff Springs Hotel, that was erected on the south banks of the Bow River and welcomed its first visitors in 1888. On the other side of the river new accommodation and other visitor amenities quickly appeared. Thus the town of Banff was founded. Its name is an abreviation of the Scottish town Banffshire, where the president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, George Stephen, was born. The town quickly became a popular destination for tourists from all over the world, who were attracted by the spectacular beauty of the surrounding mountains and the hot springs. Soon they came not only for a short visit. Many of them stayed on and built their own lives here. Outfitters started to organize packhorse trecks into the valleys deeper in the mountains. Swiss guides were brought into the country to help visitors climb the unknown mountains around Banff. A large part of the area around town was discovered this way. At the beginning of the 20th century most visitors arrived by train, an expensive luxury only the wealthy could afford. The first automobiles were allowed in the park in 1915.
Today Banff is a modern tourist town with all necessary amenities. Museums, tramways up
to the mountain tops, hiking trails, baths at the hot springs and diverse shops in town
attract lots of visitors each year. |
The museum can be found between Bear Street and Bow Avenue, half a block north of the post office.
Its main buildings contain a museum and an art gallery while old houses and historic
cabins can be found on the grounds. The museum exhibits crafts and exhibitions on
the history of Banff National Park. The Peter and Catharine Whyte Gallery displays
paintings of the region and the province. The old houses show, how the early settlers
of Banff lived.
This museum is situated in the town park on Banff Avenue at the bridge across the Bow River.
The museum was opened in 1903 and displays a collection of exhibits on the natural
history of the area. It was renovated in 1985 and reconstructed in the style of the turn of
century. Today the blockhouse cannot be mistaken.
This Indian museum looks like a fort and can be found on the other side of Bow River, to the right of the Park Administration Building.
Its displays show how the early Plains Indians lived.
To get to the hotel just follow Spray Avenue to the left at the Park Administration Building. The original blockhouse hotel was opened in 1888 by the Canadian Pacific Railway. William Cornelius Van Horne, President of the Canadian Pacific Railway, visited the hotel during its construction and realized quickly, that it was erected in the wrong direction. He designed a viewing pavilion to correct the mistake.
A fire destroyed the Banff Springs Hotel in 1926. It was rebuilt in 1928. Since
then its exterior has not been changed.
Just follow the main road through town to the other side of Bow River coming from the Transcanada Highway, turn left in front of the Administration Building and take the next street to the right up the hill to Sulphur Mountain Gondola. This street will take you the 4.2 km towards the Gondola building. The tramway transports the visitors to the summit of Sulphur Mountain at about 2300 m above sealevel, a marvellous viewpoint for the surrounding area of Banff. From the teahouse at the summit the view shows you Banff and the valley of the Bow River. You face Cascade Mountain and Mt. Norquay in the north. The long range of mountains parallel to Sulphur Mountain are the Sundance Range.
On the summit of Sulphur Mountain you can observe the typical forms of life along
the treeline. The trees are less and take on stunted forms. In this elevation you
will find mostly white pines and larches. Flowers are also influenced by the higher
elevation. Here you will find low growing flowers like asters. Animals you can
watch include the Golden Ground Squirrel, chipmunks and sometimes a group of dall sheep. And
birds can be gray jays, Clark's Nutcrackers as well as sparrows, different kinds of
thrushes and others.
You cross Bow River bridge and follow Spray Avenue to the left. Turn off the next street to the left into Glen Avenue which takes you to a viewing platform for the waterfalls. Here the Bow River flows across limestone that runs between Mount Rundle and Tunnel Mountain. Local tour guides say that the falls were used in a movie scene in "The River of No Return", starring Marylin Monroe and Robert Mitchum. They were supposed to shoot a scene going down the river on a wooden raft. The most dangerous scenes were to be shot with stuntmen. However, when the first takes were made with the two stars, they lost control of the raft and shot down the falls on their own - the shot was so good that it was included in the film.
On the side of the falls a small trails leads up to the top of the falls, where you can
imagine how the two stars have felt going down the river.
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