Banff · Things to do

A gondola up Sulphur Mountain to a summit boardwalk that runs out to Sanson's Peak and the old Cosmic Ray Station, with the Bow Valley and six mountain ranges below. Hours shift by season and it is the town's busiest attraction, so book a timed ticket online.

Moraine Lake Road is closed to private vehicles: the lake is reached by Parks Canada shuttle, tour bus or commercial transit only, and shuttle seats are released in advance and sell out. Lake Louise still has a car park, but it fills before dawn in summer.

The thermal spring railway workers stumbled into in 1883, which led to Canada's first national park; now a museum built over the cave with exhibits, a film and boardwalks. Open daily 9.30am–5pm from 15 May to 15 October, and youth enter free year-round.

Mountain art, archives and climbing history at 111 Bear Street, founded by the painters Peter Whyte and Catharine Robb Whyte. Museum open daily 10am–5pm; the archives and special collections open Tuesday to Friday 1–5pm. The right hour for a day when the weather closes in.

A one-hour interpretive boat trip on the park's largest lake in heated, covered boats, running from early May to mid-October and weather dependent. Canoe, kayak and motorboat rentals work from the same dock if you would rather paddle it.