My husband & I are looking to take a belated 3rd Anniversary trip this summer.We're very adventerous and love the outdoors.
We are considering staying in Canada at The Fairmont Banff Springs. Do you think we should wait until the winter? The scenery looks so stunning in the winter, and we love snow. Skiing, snow-shoeing,ice skating, etc.
We went there for our honeymoon! We were there at the end of May, beginning of June. There was still snow up in the mountains and the scenery was stunning! We loved it! The hotel is amazing too! We also drove to Lake Louise and stayed there a few nights and then we drove to Jasper for a few days before returning. You'll LOVE it there!
Banff is one of those amazing places that it really doesn't matter what time of year you go! In the summer you have amazing trails to hike, gorgeous lakes to see and the beautiful lush greenery of the forrest and mountains surrounding you. In the winter, it's a snow covered wonderland. So honestly....any time of the year is great! Check out the town's website for the dates of festivals going on - it's always very cool when there is something fun going on in the town square!
got married: 08/27/05
had a girl: 10/05/06 - then a boy: 12/18/08
and now another boy: 09/21/10
We have always wanted to visit there, but I always imagined being there in the winter. I'm glad to hear it is stunning no matter the season. We do like to hike and golf, which is nearby, so maybe we will just go for it this summer.
Allison---Hey lady! I had no idea you honeymooned there. Any recs of where to book online? Should we stay in one spot, since it's only 7 days? Did you like the other spots as much or more?
maplekitty---Thanks for the tip on the festivals! I will definitely look into that as well.
We also honeymooned there...though we went in winter time. We absolutely loved the trip, even though the temps dropped to -20 C while we were there! We are planning to return next year to celebrate our 5yr anniv and are planning to go in the summer.
Definitely take some time to enjoy the spa and the hot springs. The restaurants at the hotel are really good, but our favorite one was in town, a place called the Maple Leaf. We went on hikes even in the winter and the scenery was breathtaking.
I also highly recommend going over to Lake Louise and also spending a night in Calgary if you can. The Olympic park is kind of neat to see and they have a fun downtown area too.
boilermaker Thank-you so much for posting! What GORGEOUS scenery. It really is at the top of our list, but I'm wondering if some the magic will be missing in the summer, since I have this winter wonderland pictured in my head? Can you stay at Lake Louise? Any great recs for booking the trip?
Thanks for the restaurant rec as well.
Heather! You're going to LOVE it there! I think we just booked direct, through the hotel websites but I'll check with DH to be sure.
We were there for 8 days as well and had the best time. It's so amazingly beautiful up there. We flew into Calgary and immediately drove to Banff. We were there for three days and then drove to Lake Louise for 2 days. Then it was off to Jasper. We stopped a lot on the way there taking in all of the scenery including the Columbia Icefields, a must see in our book. We were only in Jasper for one night. I would have loved to have stayed longer there and go river rafting, but I still hadn't had surgery on my knee so that was out. After Jasper we drove back to Calgary, stopping in Banff for lunch. We stayed in Calgary two nights before we flew out.
We loved just driving around and seeing everything. I'm probably going to butcher this, but we loved the drive around Kananaskis Country near Banff. We also took a tour on Lake Minniwanka which is the largest lake in Banff National Park. It was there we saw a nest of bald eagles...so beautiful!
Lake Minniwanka and Two Jack Lake are both available for scuba diving in the summer.
Lake Louise was still frozed when we were there which we loved. We've never seen anything like it and I just loved it so much!!! The hotel (Chateau Lake Louise) was amazing! We also checked out Lake Moraine (sp?) which was equally stunning.
The Bow River follows along the Trans Canada Highway and we made frequent stops to check out the power of the river with it's many water falls (the falls in Banff are very cool! and you can get pretty close).
Here are a few pics from our honeymoon.
Me at Bow River Falls in Banff:
On our drive through Kananaskis Country:
Lake Moraine: (frozen)
Columbia Icefields:
And one of many bears that had just come out of hibernation. You'll see them along the highways and roads. Just don't get out of the car!
One more picture! I saw you asked about staying in Lake Louise. Chateau Lake Louise (a Fairmont hotel) sits right on the banks of the lake with the most beautiful views:
Thanks so much for posting your beautiful pics, and all that great information. I am definitely going to research a trip similar to your trip. How far are Banff and Lake Loiuse from one another? It sounds like it might be best to combine the two spots then.
I am so very excited now.Thank-you very much!
Banff and Lake Louise are not far apart at all. Maybe an hour?
I enjoyed the one night we spent at Lake Louise, but other than the hotel, there really wasn't anything to do there in the winter except ski (and we did that but you can do the same ski resorts out of Banff).
We also did the drive along the Bow River and Lake Minniwanka. We saw so much wildlife, it was amazing. I had friends that went in the summer time and they did a great horseback ride/picnic in the woods organized by the hotel. I plan to do that when we go back in the summer.
DH booked our trip directly though the hotel. And since we went at a not extremely busy time of year, we were upgraded and given some fun stuff like champagne and chocolates in the room, complimentary wine at dinner, etc for being on our honeymoon. So for us, it was worth it to book through the hotel. Then we used the hotel to book the excursions for us.
The Fairmont Banff Springs
Reply With Quote
