 Location: Banff National Park is about 100 km west of Calgary. Its western boundary is the continental divide, and Kicking Horse Pass, separating the waters flowing to the Pacific Ocean from those flowing to the Atlantic. The divide is also the British Columbia border, and the border between Banff and Yoho National Parks. Banff National Park is mostly drained by the Bow River which runs east through Calgary, Alberta. Two other major rivers have their headwaters within the park: the North Saskatchewan and the Red Deer. To the north of Banff National Park is Jasper National Park.
Terrain: Banff has just about everything: rugged mountains, glaciers, icefields, alpine meadows, beautiful blue cold-water lakes, mineral hot springs, deep canyons and hoodoos. Because it is east of the continental divide it has much more extensive meadows and alpine areas than any area west of the divide. These meadows are the home to elk, bighorn sheep, black and grizzly bear, and caribou. The terrain between the mountain peaks is fairly easy hiking or backcountry skiing. Because Banff is east of the continental divide, the snowfall is considerably less than areas west of the continental divide, often less than 1 meter deep. In the fall, the first deep snows often fall in late September, covering the alpine meadows. By November 1, shortly after Canadian Thanksgiving, there is sufficient snow cover to make skis the only mode of travel in the backcountry. By January, with temperatures often plunging to -30 C for a week at a time, the snow sometimes deteriorates due to internal evaporation. This depth hoar sometimes makes for "bottomless" trail breaking. The Bow River remains open all winter, sending off spectacular steaming clouds on cold days, but most of the tributaries freeze over, making excellent ski routes. By April, temperatures begin to creep above freezing during the day, and by May or early June, most snow in the valleys is gone. Climbing on rock usually starts after July 1, as do summer hiking trips through the high meadows. One of the distinctive characteristics of...more
History: Banff National Park was Canada's first and perhaps best known national park.
In 1857 the Royal Geographical Society sent the Palliser Expedition west to look for a possible railroad route. About the same time James Hector explored up the Bow Valley, over Bow Pass, and to the Lyell Icefield. There were several other significant explorations of this type. The real change in accessability of the Rockies occurred when the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was completed in 1885.
The park itself was founded in 1885, at the time the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was built to link British Columbia to eastern Canada. Before the railway was built, the main fur trade route to the Pacific Ocean went further north, through Jasper and the Athabasca River. In Banff, the CPR goes over Kicking Horse Pass in Banff park, which is 500 meters higher and steeper than the Yellowhead Pass eventually used by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway in Jasper Park. Although Kicking Horse and Rogers Pass are not as good a railway route, the CPR was built as far south as possible so as not to be cut off by a future railway further south. Once the railway was built, the area was accessible to mountaineers, and from about 1900 to 1918 a steady stream of expeditions climbed all the major peaks in Banff Park, and pushed north toward Jasper. Just before the end of the first world war, the Grand Trunk Pacific railway was completed through Jasper, and in the 1930's the Banff-Jasper highway was built. Since that time,...more
Park Information
Headquarters: Banff, AB
Permits: A vehicle parking fee of $16 per day is required which is good for up to 7 people. In addition, you need to pay a backcountry fee of $7 per night. Annual wilderness passes, good for unlimited nights in the backcountry, are $63, not including shelter, reservation or modification fees. Discounts are available for seniors and children. These permits are valid for the combined park system of Banff, Jasper, Yoho, and Kootenay. Fees are current as of 2005; an increase is planned for April 2006.Click for Peak Lister |
