Banff Explorer

An early start to beat the rush. We got a great parking space at the usually packed gondola parking. The Banff gondola climbs to the summit of Sulphur Mountain at around 2200m. The views were great but impacted by the growing smoke haze. We headed back to the village which was still very busy with tourists, especially retired Americans travelling outside of school holidays. The farmers market was exceptional and had great varieties of food to choose for lunch, which we enjoyed at a picnic table on the banks of the very impressive Bow River (while chatting to a young couple from Quebec). The market is very environmentally aware so were given proper crockery and cutlery which you return for them to wash and reuse. We behaved like tourists ambling down the busy and very popular shopping strip. On our way back to Canmore we stopped at the info for the wildlife bridges in the area. When building the trans Canada freeway, they wanted to still allow the animals to safely cross from one side to the other and built what looked like bridges especially for them. They are about 40m wide and and covered with natural vegetation and trees. There is also a tunnel under the bridge for an alternative route for smaller creatures.Read more