WESTERN CANADA: THINGS TO DO AND SEE IN BANFF & DRUMHELLER

Hey everyone!

It’s been a loooong time since I’ve made a blog post, but at the end of August, my family and I went out west for a short trip! This was the first time I’d been out that way and it was incredible, so I thought I’d share some of what we did!

THE BADLANDS, DRUMHELLER

My parents and I landed in Calgary, Alberta at about 10:00 in the morning. After getting our rental car (and of course stopping for some Tim Hortons), we headed out for the Badlands in Drumheller, aka Dinosaur Valley. Luckily, Drumheller is only about 1.5 hours from Calgary. It was here that we visited the Hoodoos which was so cool!

 

THE HOODOOS

LAST CHANCE SALOON

Our next stop was the Last Chance Saloon, located just outside of Drumheller in a tiny ghost town called Wayne. Opened in the 1920’s, it was a very cool spot for lunch. Full of knickknacks, character and bullet holes in the wall!

 

ROYAL TYRRELL MUSEUM

You obviously can’t visit dinosaur valley without checking out a dinosaur museum! This area in Alberta is a gold-mine for dinosaur bones and fossils, and many of these local discoveries are on display in the Royal Tyrrell Museum.

BANFF

While I was very excited to see other places in Alberta, I was the most excited about Banff. We spent 2 days in Banff to be able to see and do everything that we wanted to!

BANFF GONDOLA

My Dad and I were so excited to go on the gondola up Sulphur mountain, but my mom was too scared to go on with us! I was a little nervous, but the view from the top was incredible. Tickets are around $50 CAD and I would say it was well worth it!

BOW FALLS

Located just outside the town of Banff is this picturesque scenery! One of the many things on this trip that took my breath away.

LAKE MINNEWANKA 

After Bow Falls, we headed nearby to the amazing Lake Minnewanka for a boat tour. I highly recommend doing the tour; it’s so beautiful out on the water and you’ll learn amazing things from your tour guide! (side note: if you’re wondering why it looks like I’m wearing every item of clothing that I packed, it’s because I am LOL. It was soooo cold).

 

BANFF NATIONAL PARK

The next day, we got to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the national park as we drove to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. We were really hoping to see some wildlife, but we only saw one deer unfortunately. (It was cute though)

 

LAKE LOUISE

Lake Louise was on of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. I was in awe the whole time and actually cried a little when we first saw it.

MORAINE LAKE

About 20 minutes up an incredibly windy mountain road, we arrived at Moraine Lake, which was just as beautiful as Lake Louise (although way colder!!!).

RADIUM HOT SPRINGS

We then made our journey 1.5 hours from Banff to the Radium Hot Springs in Kootenay National Park, British Columbia. At less than $10 CAD a person, it was a great, relaxing way to end our trip.

 

After this was the worst part of any trip: going home. I had an amazing time with my parents on this perfect trip right before I headed back to uni. It was so beautiful that I definitely see myself going back again! If you’d like to see more photos of my travels, or if you have any questions, follow/contact me on my Instagram: @alyssaenroute

Thank you for reading everyone! 🙂

-Alyssa

*all photos taken by me*

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