Banff had been on my bucket list for SO long. I had seen countless pictures of the gorgeous blue lakes, magnificent mountains and picturesque mountain towns, each photo making me want to visit even more than before. I just had to go. I had to! So I decided to make it happen.
My husband and I love to take trips for our anniversary in October every year. If you have read my Colorado blog post, you’ll know that we found our love for nature and the mountains during our honeymoon in the Rockies in 2017. We went to California for our first anniversary last year and had the best time exploring! So Banff would be perfect for our second anniversary, right? Well that’s what I thought until I started researching and realized that all of these photos I have seen all over the internet and in magazines were all taken in the summer. Great. I was reading that October in Alberta is pretty much already winter. A lot of the attractions close in the fall and there is usually snow EVERYWHERE. So the ideas I had in my mind of seeing blue lakes and fall colors and hiking the mountain trails may or may not happen in the fall. Bummer.
Well we decided to chance it anyway and booked our trip, and let me tell you- it was the BEST DECISION EVER!
We were there the very first week of October, and I honestly don’t think we could have picked a better time if we tried! Everything about our trip was perfection and I would go back and relive it over and over if I could.
Here are 5 reasons why visiting Banff in the fall is a must!
1. It’s way less crowded than summer.
Millions of visitors from all over the world flock to Banff and Lake Louise during the summer to take in the views, and I don’t blame them. However, I don’t necessarily want to spend my vacation trying to push my way through crowds of tourists to see these pristine views I traveled so far to see. Now don’t get me wrong, there were definitely still crowds when we visited especially at the more touristy areas (Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, the town of Banff, etc.). But it was definitely much less crowded than in the summer and we had no issues seeing anything, finding parking, grabbing a table for dinner, any of those sorts of things. We never felt overwhelmed by the crowds and if we had started our days a little earlier, I don’t think we would have seen half the people we did see. I would not say that the crowds ruined our experience in any way, and we are definitely not people people!
2. It’s more affordable than peak season.
It doesn’t matter where you travel to in the world, if it’s peak season it’s going to cost a you pretty penny (or looney if you’re in Canada)! I’m not saying our trip to Banff was super cheap (because it wasn’t), but I am saying that we were able to splurge on awesome once in a lifetime experiences like Glacier tours, walking with wolves, gondola rides, and eating out everyday all because we were able to save a good bit on lodging and flights. We stayed most of our nights at the cutest Airbnb which costed HALF the amount per night than it does in the summer. This means more money for fun and memory making!
3. You get to experience two seasons at once.
I am a huge fan of fall! It has always been my favorite season, but living in Louisiana, I feel like I get gypped every year. We seem to have never ending summers every single year until winter decides to show up. So I was really hoping to experience some true fall weather and see some fall colors while in Canada. I knew there was a big chance we would be getting snow during our stay and that it may be too late in the season to experience fall. The week before we arrived Alberta was hit by a snow storm, the earliest one in history. That was it, forget fall. We were heading straight into winter. I was sort of disappointed and I started checking the weather every day to see what we would end up with. Once again, I don’t think we could have planned our trip during a better week. Most days were SO gorgeous! We had some of the prettiest sunny days with temperatures in the upper 40’s, we had a few foggy, moody days with a bit colder temps, and on our last day we got hit with a winter storm which made for the prettiest winter wonderland I’ve ever seen! We had to keep multiple layers with us at all times because we never knew that the weather was going to do.
4. Summer attractions are still open.
Even though some days felt and looked like Christmas, visiting Banff in early October means that the summer attractions are still open. I was worried that we would be going during that awkward “in between” time where the summer activities weren’t available, but it would be too early for the winter activities. But, yes you guessed it, we could not have picked a better time to go! We had access to every single activity that we would have if we had gone in June or July. From hiking trails and teahouses, to gondola rides and hot springs, it didn’t matter what we wanted to do, we were able to do it. It may have been a bit colder and icier than it would be in the summer, but we have no regrets and thoroughly enjoyed every single thing we did while there!
5. The colors are amazing.
I can’t even count the amount of times I was completely speechless during this trip. I am always amazed by nature no matter where I am, but this was something totally different. Everywhere we went the sights left me completely in awe. The yellow aspen trees, the orange larches, the blue glacier fed rivers and lakes, the green pines, the mountain sunsets and sunrises- so many beautiful colors! I feel like Alberta is nature’s canvas and nature was hard at work painting the most beautiful mural the whole time we were there.
In case you didn’t catch on, early October was definitely the BEST time to visit Banff, in my opinion. Everything we did was absolutely incredible and if I ever get the chance to go back to Banff, I will most definitely go back the first week of October!