We frequently travel halfway around the world to see magnificent sights, yet it is remarkable how we sometimes take the treasures in our own backyard for granted. Banff, Alberta is one of those places where the breathtaking beauty leaves me awestruck- my jaw drops at the splendor each time I visit. Perhaps this is why we return again and again, including two visits in 2024.  Needless to say, we have mountains of memories from our visits to one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

Banff National Park, established in 1885 shortly after becoming accessible by the national railroad, holds the distinction of being Canada’s first national park. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it attracts over 4 million visitors annually. The park’s stunning 6,641 square kilometre landscape features ancient glaciers and mountains formed over millions of years. Within the park, Lake Louise stands as Canada’s highest town at 5,200 feet elevation, while the town of Banff sits at 4,537 feet. The mesmerizing turquoise waters of the Bow River flow from the Canadian Rocky Mountains through the park and continue to Calgary, where they serve as a vital water source. Throughout the park, specially designed wildlife overpasses, underpasses, and corridors protect the diverse inhabitants, including bears, elk, moose, deer, cougars, and numerous other species that call this magnificent wilderness home.

Skiing in the park traces its origins to the 1920s with the establishment of Norquay Ski Resort, followed by Sunshine Resort in the 1930s and Lake Louise Ski Resort in the 1950s. A pivotal moment came in 1968 when the iconic Banff Springs Hotel was winterized, creating year-round accommodation for winter sports enthusiasts. During winter months, the region transforms into a magical snow globe, with skiers and snowboarders eagerly anticipating the coveted “Champagne powder” days—when the snow is exceptionally light, dry, and smooth, creating perfect conditions on the slopes.

My first visit to Banff was in 1979, when I was 13 years old, with my family, on a cross-country trip visiting Burger King restaurants, along the way. My Dad was Vice-President of Burger King Canada and combined a work trip of visiting restaurants with a family summer road trip. We had made our way on planes, trains and an overnight boat trip to Port Hardy, on Vancouver Island. There we met our car, driven west by an associate of Dad’s, and began our long journey across Canada, to our home in Toronto, stopping at Burger Kings and tourist sites along the way.

This was my first time in the mountains and the drive through the Canadian Rockies was incredible. I sat in the backseat of Dad’s company car, a Caprice Classic, getting used to wearing a seatbelt, as seatbelts had only become mandatory in Canada a few years before. My siblings and I were getting on each other’s nerves, one week into our 2-week holiday, Mom had had enough of our bickering and was “sick and tired” of reminding us to put on our seatbelts. As we entered Banff National Park, we visited Moraine Lake, tucked in the Valley of the Ten Peaks and admired the dazzling azure-coloured water. We were so impressed to be visiting the lake pictured on the back of the Canadian $20 bill. The next year, this image would be replaced with a more modern look. 

We visited Lake Louise and took the quintessential picture in front of the lake—a photo I would pose for many more times in the years to come. When we finally reached the town of Banff, to my parents’ annoyance, my teenage priorities revealed themselves as I focused primarily on whether our hotel had a pool. We spilled out of our car, admiring the delightful town of Banff while standing in awe of the majestic mountains that surrounded us. Though we didn’t stay at the famous Banff Springs Hotel—cozied-up in the mountains, resembling a castle where only royalty would reside—we did capture a group photo from the Banff Springs patio, all of us proudly dressed in our Burger King jackets. My Mom, after one glance at the packed Banff Hot Springs pools nestled on Sulphur Mountain with a parking lot full of campervans, concluded that everyone was there for “their first bath in a long time” and promptly declared that we would not be “bathing” in these mineral-rich pools during this visit. I moaned in disappointment because our hotel did not have a pool.

Our stay in Banff lasted just one night before we continued to Calgary, yet the mountains left an indelible impression. At age 13, I made a solemn vow to return again and again to that breathtaking place. Unfortunately, our cross-country road trip came to an abrupt and tragic end in Northern Ontario when an oncoming car on the Trans-Canada Highway crossed into our lane, resulting in a head-on collision. Thankfully, we were all wearing our seatbelts (thanks Mom, you really did know best) and survived with numerous bruises. Tragically, the driver of the other car did not—a devastating story and a shattering conclusion to what had otherwise been a fantastic family holiday.

Fast-forward 15 years to the summer of 1994, when Lexi was 4 months old, and we returned to Alberta for a visit with Paul’s mom Jane and her husband Keith, who lived in Calgary at the time. Paul travelled a lot with his software job, and as a young couple with a limited budget, we were able to use his frequent flyer points to purchase airline tickets for an affordable vacation. Meanwhile I was savouring the end of my maternity leave, returning to teaching grade seven in just a few weeks. Lexi was a curious, outgoing and happy baby, which made taking our first family trip with an infant feel like a natural adventure for us.

We borrowed Paul’s mom’s car for a day-trip to beautiful Banff, while Jane and Keith headed to work. The downtown pulsed with tourists on a perfect summer day. It was on that day, when I was stunned as a Japanese tourist grabbed Lexi out of my arms for a photo, exclaiming how beautiful she was. After the tourist took the picture, she quickly handed Lexi back to me and then disappeared, while Paul and I incredulously looked at each other wondering what had just happened. Once we recovered from this startling moment, we jumped on a gondola and headed up to the top of Sulphur Mountain, with Lexi safely secured in a baby backpack on my back. This trip was the start of a lifetime of family travels to adventurous locations where athletic pursuits are an essential part of the itinerary.

In 2001, our family was living in Lakeville, Minnesota, just around the corner from Buck Hill—the very ski hill where American alpine skiing star Lindsey Vonn grew up training. Since Paul and I both grew up skiing in Southern Ontario (me at Caledon Ski Club and Paul at Mount St. Louis/Moonstone), it went without saying that our children would learn how to ski as well. When Jack was 5 and Lexi was almost 7, we purchased their first sets of ski equipment and enrolled them in lessons at Buck Hill. To our delight, they took to skiing like ducks to water.

Paul has always been the trip planner in our family (my nickname for him is “Paul the Planner”), and one day he suggested that we take the kids on our first family ski trip to Banff, Alberta. The strong American dollar made it an affordable choice compared to traveling to the American West. Easygoing Ross, age 2½, joined us on the trip and would spend time in the ski resort daycare while we skied, making it a true family holiday. We decided to go all out and booked a suite at the Banff Springs Hotel—when we arrived, the kids were absolutely thrilled to be staying in a “castle.” Dressed in matching Roots sweatshirts and sweatpants, the children raced along the long, elegant limestone hallways with ancient oak beams, enchanted by the suits of armor, towering windows, and soaring ceilings. Lexi couldn’t wait to take a bath and wrap herself in her plush child-sized robe. Jack was keen to try bowling at the hotel’s dedicated facility. Ross kept earnestly reminding us that his name was actually “Ross the Boss,” in case any of us dared to forget.

We spent our first ski day at Lake Louise, and we were lucky to experience a “blue bird day”- skier lingo for a day marked by cloudless blue skies that typically happens after a night of snowfall. We enrolled Lexi and Jack into skiing lessons with the kids’ camp, enabling Paul and I time to ski the more challenging terrain. Ross, our very cheerful and confident two-year-old, happily went to the daycare at the base lodge. It was on this trip that Ross decided that he was now a “big boy” and would no longer be wearing diapers. With a smile, I handed over a diaper bag of fresh clothes to the daycare workers, just in case. For the final run of the day, we headed to the top of the Paradise Chair, and like Mother Goose, I led the Lexi and Jack down the Saddleback Trail, a green run, all the way to the base. Paul was the sweep at the back of our line, just in case one of the kids fell off piste. The kids were natural skiers from the get-go, and they absolutely loved their first mountain skiing experience.

The following day we went to Sunshine Village for a day of skiing, and true to its name, the sun was indeed shining. Something we hadn’t considered was the logistical challenge of accessing the ski resort, which required taking a gondola from the base parking lot. There we were, with two young kids, a toddler in my arms, four sets of skis and poles, and a bulging diaper bag. Thankfully, we were able to put our ski boots on at the base. Paul and I were in a complete lather by the time we reached the top as we juggled all of the equipment and corralled the excited children. Despite the initial challenges, our day at Sunshine Village exceeded our expectations—we experienced brilliant sunshine, exceptional snow conditions, and outstanding programming for the kids. We had officially become a skiing family, and somehow, despite the complex logistics, we managed to create a memorable and fantastic first family ski adventure.

Fast-forward to March Break 2010 when we headed to Western Canada, this time without Ross. He was traveling to Thailand with Nana, Poppa (Mom and her husband John), and Cousin Darcy for a grand adventure. It was during Mom’s first trip to Africa, many years earlier, that she had proclaimed her legacy would be taking her grandchildren traveling—and this declaration came before she had any grandchildren. Meanwhile, the four of us spent time in Fernie, including a spectacular day of cat-skiing at Island Lake Lodge. We then headed to Lake Louise for a few more days of skiing in Banff National Park. In recent years, Panorama Ski Resort in Invermere, British Columbia, had been our family ski destination. I was thrilled to be back in Banff National Park, skiing at Lake Louise Ski Resort, walking across frozen Lake Louise and viewing the majestic Chateau Lake Louise from the middle of the lake. I captured a photo of Jack and Paul that we would recreate 15 years later. Once again, we had excellent ski conditions with abundant sunshine. And once again, I found myself in constant awe of the breathtaking beauty of Banff National Park.

Over the next many March Break holidays, we alternated between hot and cold destinations and travelled to other western ski areas. Once Lexi started university, family travel became more complicated with different breaks in the winter. In 2017 and 2018, over the Christmas holidays, we wanted an easy ski destination, with guaranteed snow and a direct flight, for a shorter family trip to ring in the New Year together.  Imagining the magic of Banff at Christmas, for two years in a row, we booked a suite at the Banff Springs Hotel and returned to the location of our very first family ski trip. The kids did not remember their first time staying here yet were equally enchanted upon arrival.

The hotel was magnificently decorated for the Christmas holidays, inside and out. It was a bone-chilling -30 c when we arrived from the Calgary airport, drove our enormous SUV rental onto the driveway by the front doors of the hotel and were welcome by welcoming doormen.  We quickly unloaded our huge duffel bags and deposited our skis at the ski concierge desk off of the front lobby. Paul and I were thrilled to be spending vacation time with the kids before they all dispersed back to university and life downtown following the holidays.

Travelling with three young adults sure was different from when they were young kids. Strong opinions were voiced about sleeping arrangements, where we were eating meals and the timing of our activities. They were all of legal drinking age, so our restaurant bills hit new heights. We tried to keep things simple by booking a suite on the Gold Level, where breakfast, light snacks and pre-dinner drinks were included and there was space to gather to play board games before dinner.  We were able to spread out in three-bedroom suite that included two bathrooms for five of us. Paul and I shut the door to our side of the suite when bickering ensued, no longer interested in being the referees in minor sibling disputes. It didn’t take long for us to fall into a smooth rhythm of close quarters and togetherness.

With the two-hour time difference working in our favour, we left the hotel each morning at 8 am, aiming to arrive at the ski resort when it opened, seeking the first tracks of the day. First tracks meant being the first people to glide down a ski run in untouched powder or freshly groomed corduroy. It was only one week since the Winter Solstice, so the sky remained dark as we made our way to the highway that would take us to Lake Louise Ski Resort, a 40-minute drive from the town of Banff. Signs at the bottom of the gondola indicated which runs had been groomed overnight. We quickly strategized where we would start our day and hopped on the gondola. In late December, temperatures in Banff are extremely cold, so we were bundled up in our best ski gear, with no skin exposed. Paul and I had recently invested in battery-operated ski-boot heaters, a wonderful luxury we felt we had earned as lifelong skiers.

Most evenings we dined at one of the many hotel restaurants. One night we ventured into town to experience The Grizzly House (affectionately known as “The Grizz”), a popular Banff institution famous for its assorted meats cooked over hot rocks then dipped in fondue. The atmosphere was boisterous, welcoming, and notably smoky from the cooking. Later that evening, while Paul and I were purchasing a few items at a shop in the hotel lobby, the salesperson, without any prompting, inquired how we had enjoyed our dinner at The Grizz. We realized that after just a few hours at the restaurant, our coats and clothing had thoroughly absorbed the distinctive aroma of smoky grilled meat and fondue.

As Ontario skiers, we always looked forward to our ski trips in the mountains. Our kids had grown up skiing at Caledon Ski Club in Ontario, progressing through the youth racing programs until they all became ski race coaches themselves, mentoring young racers on weekends during their high school years. Gone were the days when Paul or I would lead the family down the mountain. The kids all skied with aggressive, fearless, and beautiful technique. Paul and I joined the Adult Race Training Program at Caledon once we were no longer shuttling the kids to and from their ski races. Every March, I sign-up for the Club Championships and compete against other women in my age category—often, to my delight, I find myself on the podium at the end of the day. We cherish our beloved Caledon Ski Club, where I’ve been a dedicated member since 1970, yet we still thoroughly embrace the exhilarating challenge of true mountain skiing whenever the opportunity arises.

The next few days, we chose to ski at Sunshine Village Ski Resort, mainly because it is much closer to the town of Banff. Our family usually stays together when skiing, often tackling different terrains while meeting at the bottom of a set of runs to ride the chairlift together back up the mountain. Paul and I mostly stick to the groomed runs, while the kids choose the steeper slopes, disappearing into the forest to ski in the glades. One of the many things we love about this resort is the 5 km long ski run out from the Creekside Lodge to the parking lot. Groomed and winding, I always take my time and practice my turns, while the rest of the family fearlessly races to the parking lot. There is a lodge-hotel located mid-mountain at Sunshine Village, and we often wondered how awesome it would be to stay overnight right on the mountain… several years later we would find out!

In March 2024, the mountains were calling out to us.  We had not been on a ski trip since the beginning of the pandemic, when Paul and I skied at Whistler, just weeks before the world shut down. We posed a last-minute invitation to the kids- who would like to join us on a trip to Banff, our treat? Jack was quick to say yes, while Lexi and Ross had other vacation plans already set-up. Paul booked a week-long trip to Banff National Park, with 3 nights at the Chateau Lake Louise and 3 nights at Sunshine Village Ski Resort.

We were treated to three consecutive days of brilliant sunshine at Lake Louise. The weather was so magnificent that each day, even after a full day of skiing, we couldn’t resist venturing out for additional time in the glorious sunshine to stroll along the frozen surface of Lake Louise. Paul and I indulged in rejuvenating massages at the end of one particularly demanding day, hoping to keep our muscles in good condition so we could maintain pace with the swift Jack on the mountain. We took all our meals at the hotel, though we were somewhat disappointed by the limited selection, inconsistent quality, and steep pricing. Nevertheless, we greatly appreciated the convenient shuttle bus service to and from the ski resort, which meant our rental car remained unused throughout our three-night stay at the hotel.

With a substantial snowfall in the forecast, we made our way to Sunshine Village, where we enjoyed three epic ski days in knee-deep powder. At last, we experienced staying atop the mountain in the lodge after the lifts closed and the crowds departed. Our accommodations were dated and clearly needed renovation—a stark contrast to the luxurious Chateau Lake Louise. But we hit the jackpot with fresh snow! For three consecutive days, we positioned ourselves at the front of the line for the chairlifts to open, securing first tracks down our favourite runs. The heavy snowfall brought poor visibility, with clouds obscuring the top third of the mountain. Always the cautious skier, I seized the opportunity to make even more turns than usual, finding my rhythm in the sumptuous powdery conditions. By day’s end, my legs were completely exhausted, my cheeks were flushed with exhilaration, and we were absolutely thrilled to share this precious time with Jack!

Six months later, following an emotionally draining summer caring for my dying father, we desperately needed a getaway. We had often discussed visiting Banff in the summertime to golf and hike, and a trip to the Canadian Rockies seemed like the perfect opportunity to recharge, refresh, and rejuvenate. This would be our first summer visit to the area since our trip when Lexi was just 4 months old. It made perfect sense to return to Banff for the second time in less than a year.

As we checked into our room on the Gold Floor at the Banff Springs Hotel, the concierge tactfully reminded us that this was a historic hotel—a gentle warning that we might find the bathroom and room dimensions somewhat modest. The view from our window, however, was spectacular overlooking the Bow River and golf course framed by majestic mountains, it was arguably one of the most breathtaking vistas we’d ever enjoyed from a hotel room. With such an unobstructed panorama, we kept our blinds and windows open throughout our stay. The room featured smart, elegant décor and was quite comfortable despite its somewhat limited size, and yes, the bathroom was indeed compact. Nevertheless, between the extraordinary view and our privileged location, we never considered inquiring about alternative accommodations in the fully booked hotel.

We departed for Lake Moraine and Lake Louise on the hotel tour bus early on our first morning. The knowledgeable driver shared numerous fascinating facts throughout the journey, and we appreciated being delivered directly to these iconic destinations rather than driving our own car and having to shuttle from the overflow ski resort parking lot. We opted for the extended day package, knowing we could return to Banff independently via the local bus if desired.

We tackled the short climb up to the Rockpile viewpoint at Lake Moraine and savoured the breathtaking panorama, arriving early in the morning just ahead of the tourist crowds. At Lake Louise, we embarked on the hike up to the Plains of Six Glaciers Tea House, a moderately challenging 12 km round-trip trail, where we enjoyed a delicious lunch seated on a picnic bench bathed in sunshine, surrounded by tourists from all over the world. It was refreshing to escape the throngs of visitors at Lake Louise, and the scenery along this trail was simply spectacular. We concluded that 95% of visitors to Lake Louise, in the summer, barely venture more than 500 metres from the hotel’s waterfront, many spending countless hours attempting to capture the perfect Instagram-worthy self-portrait against the picturesque backdrop.  We caught a public bus back to the town of Banff, where we leisurely explored the shops before walking back to our hotel, completing a 25 km day on foot. Needless to say, we collapsed into bed quite early that night.

We played two rounds at the prestigious Banff Springs Golf Course (ranked 9th in Canada), along with one round each at Stewart Creek and Silvertip, both located in nearby Canmore. Each course offered distinctly different experiences, yet all were breathtakingly beautiful and impeccably maintained. We were fortunate to enjoy perfect weather throughout our entire week. During dinner one evening, our waiter remarked that we were experiencing what was quite possibly the finest weather of the year in the region. We truly do seem fortunate with exceptional weather conditions whenever we travel!

Early one morning, taking advantage of the 2-hour time difference that had us naturally rising at dawn, we rode the gondola to the summit of Sulphur Mountain. At the top, we made the spontaneous decision to hike down the mountain, navigating 7 km of winding switchback trails through fragrant forests with spectacular vistas at every turn. We had forgotten how descending for extended periods can be surprisingly taxing on the legs, especially following the previous day’s hikes. Most fellow hikers we encountered were equipped with bear spray and many wore bear bells as precautions, though we didn’t spot any bears during our descent.

We enjoyed meals at The Vermillion Room, The Chop House and The Rundle Bar- all at the hotel. Some locals who we golfed with highly recommended the restaurant Lupo, located in the town. It was a fabulous casual Italian restaurant with delicious food. When Paul suggested a dinner at The Grizz, my response to him was a hard, “No!”

Banff National Park is a part of my history and it feels like home. Banff stands as a genuine Canadian treasure that rivals any international destination with its majestic peaks, glacier-fed turquoise lakes, and abundant wildlife. We needn’t travel halfway around the world to experience one of the most breathtaking places on Earth. Without a doubt, we will return to Banff, drawn back time and again by its timeless splendour. Just as Mom declared years ago about her desire to travel with her future grandchildren, I now make the same heartfelt declaration. I cannot wait to share one of my favourite places on Earth with my future grandchildren, continuing this cherished family tradition of exploration and wonder!