Banff is Canada’s oldest and most famous national park. The park’s beautiful mountain scenery attracts more than four million visitors a year.
Located in Alberta’s Rocky Mountain, Banff is easy to get to. Calgary International Airport is less than two hours away and the Trans-Canada Highway runs through the park.
Established in 1885, Banff National park covers 6,641square kilometers of mountains, valleys, glaciers, forests, and rivers. A variety of good roads crisscross the park. Lucky travelers may see some of the region’s wildlife: moose, bighorn sheep, elk, grizzly bears, and many other large and small animals.
People visit Banff all year round. In the summer, they enjoy activities such as hiking, climbing and camping. In the winter, there’s skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing. Banff is special because in the middle of this wild, mountain beauty, visitors can also enjoy world-class culture and comfort. The town of Banff has excellent art galleries, fine restaurants, first-rate hotels and great night life with lots of live music. A problem with Banff’s popularity is the crowds. In the summer, downtown Banff can feel more like a shopping mall than a protected wilderness area.
Many tourists also visit lovely Lake Louise, 56kilometres northwest of the town of Banff. Lake Louise is probably the most photographed lake in the country. But don’t think about swimming in it! On the hottest day of the summer, the water temperature may rise only as high as 4C. The lake is deep, cold and frozen from late November until June.
North of Banff, is Jasper National park. Jasper has 11,000km of wilderness and little commercial development. It gets fewer visitors, and it is quieter than its neighbour to the south.
sherry
2009.2.12
20:58
