Banff · With kids
WITH KIDS
A gondola, a canyon on catwalks and a hot pool — plus elk that must be given room.
Banff Gondola
Eight minutes to the Sulphur Mountain ridge, then a boardwalk along the crest to a weather station. An interpretive centre and restaurant at the top; windy always.
Johnston Canyon catwalks
Steel walkways bolted into the canyon walls lead 1.1 kilometres to the Lower Falls and a tunnel through rock. Icy in winter, when cleats are rented at the trailhead.
Lake Louise lakeshore
Two flat kilometres along the water to the glacier end, canoes for hire in summer and a skating rink with an ice castle on the frozen lake in winter.
Banff Upper Hot Springs
A hot mineral pool at 1,585 metres, open year-round and at its most striking in snow, when the steam takes over. Costumes rent at the door.
Xplorers, elk and cold lakes
Parks Canada's Xplorers booklet earns children a badge much like a junior ranger scheme. Give elk wide berth in the autumn rut, and expect glacial water everywhere.