5 Day Banff Hiking Itinerary

The Banff Blog - (thebanffblog)
Itinerary created by
The Banff Blog
What you’ll do

Banff National Park offers some of the best hiking in the world. While you could spend a lifetime exploring the trails, most visitors only have a few days to pack in the sights and summits.

We’ve crafted an ideal itinerary for those keen to explore Banff on foot. From alpine meadows to azure lakes to glacial vistas, this itinerary combines a selection of Banff’s most popular trails with some of its most beautiful scenes.

Given the amount of ground to cover, we recommend dedicating at least five days to your Banff explorations. While some hikes are possible year-round, this itinerary is best suited to those traveling between July and September, when most mountain trails are open and clear of snow. 

The hiking focus of this Banff itinerary means that the days are fairly strenuous, but alternatives are offered to help you adjust the intensity to suit your preferences and experience. 

For this itinerary, we'd suggest spending three nights around Lake Louise, followed by two nights in Canmore. However, you could certainly do it as a trip from Banff or Canmore.

Day Total

29.9 km (18.6 mi)

2 hr 35 min

1

Trailhead Cafe
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Our go-to spot in the Lake Louise Village
Category
Café
Est. Price
$
Direction

14.3 km (8.9 mi)

1 hr 15 min

2

Moraine Lake
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The most famous lake in Canada and possibly the world.
Category
Sightseeing
Direction

14.3 km (8.9 mi)

1 hr 15 min

3

Lake Louise
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The most famous lake in Banff
Category
Photospot
Direction

1.2 km (0.8 mi)

4 min

4

Lake Agnes
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Scenic hike to tea house
Category
Hike
Est. Duration
2-3h
Direction

12 m (0 mi)

5

Plain of Six Glaciers
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Scenic hike with glacier views
Category
Hike
Est. Duration
3-4h
Direction

12 m (0 mi)

6

The Big Beehive
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Iconic view of Lake Louise and an amazing hike.
Category
Hike
Est. Duration
3-4h
Direction

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