A Weekend in Banff: Two Days From Sulphur Mountain to Johnston Canyon

Two days in Banff are enough for a mountain summit, a hot-spring soak, a lake cruise and a canyon of waterfalls, with dinner in town both nights. The first day is on foot around the townsite and up Sulphur Mountain; the second takes the car out to Lake Minnewanka and along the Bow Valley Parkway. It suits a first visit to the park or a quick run out from Calgary.

Start at Wild Flour Bakery on Bear Street. The sourdough and mixed-grain loaves come out of a stone hearth oven, and breakfast is built on free-range eggs, bakery bread and house-made granola.

Walk down Bear Street to The Whyte, the museum of the Canadian Rockies founded by Peter and Catharine Robb Whyte. It collects the art, archives and photography of mountain cultures, and the 25-minute Historic Homes tour goes inside the houses of the founders and of Philip and Pearl (Brewster) Moore.

Cross the river and follow Cave Avenue, a 30-minute walk southwest of downtown, to Cave and Basin National Historic Site. Three railway workers came upon these thermal springs in 1883, and the find led to Canada's first national park. Thermal water still bubbles up inside the underground cave, and the exhibits and short films tell the rest of the story.

Then head for Bow Falls Viewpoint, about a kilometre from town, where a rocky canyon gives way to falls and then a calm stretch of the Bow. Marilyn Monroe made this setting famous in the 1953 film River of No Return.

Around midday, ride the Banff Gondola: eight minutes to the summit of Sulphur Mountain, with six mountain ranges and the Bow Valley laid out below. Up top, a boardwalk runs to Sanson's Peak and the Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station, a National Historic Site. Tickets sell online.

Eat at the top at Sky Bistro, the summit dining room, where the kitchen works with Western Canadian producers and every table has a window sightline. Gondola admission is separate from the table.

Back at the bottom, Banff Upper Hot Springs sits on the same road, Mountain Avenue. The pool is kept between 37 and 40°C, the bathhouse is a federal heritage building, and the springs have drawn visitors since 1886. It is the highest-elevation operating hot spring in Canada.

Dinner is fondue on Banff Avenue at The Grizzly House, open since 1967. Swiss cheese fondue first, then bison and elk you cook on a hot rock at the table, then chocolate. Every table keeps its disco-era phone, put there so guests could call across the room.

End the night at Three Bears Brewery & Restaurant on Bear Street, a brewery with a 25-foot pine tree inside and a retractable roof for stargazing. The Pinery Pilsner is brewed on site with Alberta barley and wheat.

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Early risers can climb Tunnel Mountain Trail before breakfast. The summit trail switchbacks 2.3 km one way and 275 m up to views over the town, the Bow Valley and Mount Rundle, and the lower trailhead on St. Julien Road is a 15-minute walk east of downtown.

Then drive 10 km northeast of downtown to Lake Minnewanka, Banff's largest lake. From May to mid-October, Lake Minnewanka Cruise takes guided trips across it in heated, covered boats; buy tickets online before you go. In winter the shore belongs to snowshoers, winter walkers and cross-country skiers.

Head back west on the Bow Valley Parkway, the quieter 48 km road toward Lake Louise, to Johnston Canyon Lodge & Bungalows at the Johnston Canyon trailhead, 25 km northwest of Banff. Family-run since 1926, it has a café, a bistro and 42 heritage cabins for anyone who wants another night in the park. From the lodge, a paved trail follows narrow railed catwalks through the canyon to the Lower Falls, 1.1 km one way, and on to the 30-metre Upper Falls at 2.4 km.

On the way into town, turn onto Vermilion Lakes Drive for Vermilion Lakes, a 4.3 km road open year-round. Pull over at the docks and benches for the view of Mount Rundle, and read the panels on the area's geology and wetland ecology.

Finish on Banff Avenue at PARK Distillery Restaurant + Bar, a restaurant and working distillery. Vodka, gin, whisky and rye are distilled in-house with glacier water, and the kitchen cooks over wood fire and on the spit. Their blend-your-own-gin session lets you choose the botanicals.

• Every stop in the park, the town included, needs a Parks Canada pass. The Bow Valley Parkway needs one even if you never pull over.
• In spring and early fall, the parkway's eastern 17 km, from Fireside to Johnston Canyon, closes to cars for cyclists. Take the Trans-Canada Highway and exit at Castle Junction to reach the canyon.
• Parking at Lake Minnewanka and Johnston Canyon fills fast in summer. Roam Public Transit runs summer routes to both, and its Route 1 links downtown with the gondola and the hot springs.

Start from this plan, set your dates and swap any stop you like.

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