---
title: "Banff"
description: "Banff travel guide — Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Johnston Canyon, and the Canadian Rockies national park where every viewpoint earns its own postcard."
url: "https://viatravelers.com/destinations/banff/"
published_at: "2025-02-12T02:54:06-06:00"
updated_at: "2026-06-16T01:41:26-06:00"
author: "Kyle Kroeger"
categories:
  - "Canada"
  - "North America"
---

Canada’s first national park (1885) encompassing 6,641 square kilometers of UNESCO World Heritage Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks featuring glaciers, ice fields, dense coniferous forests, and alpine landscapes anchored by world-renowned Lake Louise’s Mount Victoria Glacier frame and Moraine Lake’s turquoise Valley of Ten Peaks (featured on Canadian $20 bills 1969-1979). Chalky rock flour from millennia of glacial erosion creating distinctive turquoise lake colors, while extensive hiking trails wrap bright blue waters providing breathtaking vistas at every turn across this most-visited Canadian destination. Big 3 world-class ski resorts—Mt. Norquay, Banff Sunshine Village, and Lake Louise—delivering North America’s longest ski seasons from Banff Town’s main hub, drawing global winter sports enthusiasts to Rocky Mountain peaks and picture-perfect mountain town settings. Icefields Parkway’s 232-kilometer scenic highway rated among the world’s most beautiful drives by Condé Nast Traveller, cutting through jagged peaks and sweeping valleys. Johnston Canyon’s picturesque waterfalls accessible via man-made bridges, Banff Gondola’s six mountain chain bird’s-eye views, and wildlife viewing requiring safe distances across this priceless natural beauty UNESCO recognition where turquoise glacial lakes meet world-class outdoor recreation.