Banff: The Gondola, the Hot Springs and the Town Without a Car

As of early October 2026, Banff is changing over from summer to winter. The Banff Gondola stays open, as it does all year apart from a maintenance closure on 17-19 November 2026, but much around it is closing:

• The Banff Upper Hot Springs close for annual maintenance from 13 October to early November 2026.
• The free gondola shuttle from downtown, and paid parking at the gondola, end on 12 October.
• Roam’s summer routes to Lake Minnewanka and the Cave and Basin ended on 4 October, and Route 9 to Johnston Canyon is suspended from 13 October, when the canyon trail closes for rock-slope work.
• The Lake Minnewanka Cruise makes its last sailings of the season on 12 October.

Park fees are back too: free admission under the Canada Strong Pass ended on 7 September.

The park and the town

Parks Canada calls Banff “Canada’s first national park and the flagship of the nation’s park system”, and dates it to 1885, when a Hot Springs Reserve was set aside around the Cave and Basin. It became Rocky Mountains Park in 1887 and Banff National Park in 1930. The park covers 6,641 km² and is one of the seven parks of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1984. Parks Canada counted 4,558,171 visits to it in fiscal 2025-26. The town had 8,305 residents at the 2021 Census.

Sulphur Mountain, by gondola or on foot

The gondola is the quick way to a summit view over the town and the Bow Valley. Pursuit, which runs it, gives the ride as about 8 minutes in a four-seat cabin, climbing 698 m to an upper terminal at 2,281 m. At the top, a boardwalk follows the ridge toward Sanson’s Peak and the Cosmic Ray Station, and now stops at a viewpoint short of the 1903 Weather Observatory. Pursuit calls the walk a 2 km stroll and Parks Canada a 0.5 km side trip; Pursuit counts 368 shallow stairs each way.

You can also walk up. Parks Canada gives the Sulphur Mountain Trail as 4.8 km to the top of the gondola, and about 4 hours for the round trip including the side trip to the peak. Gondola or hike weighs that choice in full, and the Banff Gondola page covers the tickets, prices and hours.

The hot springs, the Cave and Basin, and the Vermilion Lakes

The Banff Upper Hot Springs, on the gondola’s road and 4 km south of town on Roam Route 1, are run by Parks Canada, which calls them Canada’s highest outdoor pool. From 13 October to early November 2026 they are closed for annual maintenance. The rest of the year they open daily from 10 am to 10 pm, with last entry at 9:30 pm. Admission is sold only in person, first come first served: CA$19.75 per adult when we checked in October 2026, and the park pass does not cover it.

The Cave and Basin National Historic Site is where the park began, after three railway workers came upon its thermal springs in 1883; Parks Canada calls it “the birthplace of Canada’s national park system”. From 16 October it opens Thursday to Monday, 11 am to 5 pm, and it is closed on 22-24 October and 14-17 December 2026.

Parks Canada describes Vermilion Lakes Drive as a 4.3 km road open all year, with limited parking near the First Vermilion Lake. The lakes are among the waters where Banff’s 2026 rules allow paddling, with a self-certification permit.

Getting around without a car

Banff is 128 km west of Calgary, about an hour and a half by road according to the Town of Banff, and no passenger train runs between the two; the Calgary to Banff guide covers the coaches. In town, Roam’s buses do most of the work. Route 1 serves the gondola and the hot springs, Route 3 runs to Canmore (CA$6 per adult), and the 8X express runs to Lake Louise every day of the year (CA$12.50 per adult in 2026), with 11 departures from Banff on its fall timetable from 13 October.

If you drive, downtown parking costs CA$12 an hour until 31 October and CA$7 an hour from 1 November, 8 am to 8 pm every day. The Train Station lot has 500 free stalls for up to nine hours, an 8-minute walk from downtown.

Every visitor also needs a park pass. Since a Superintendent’s order of 8 September 2026, any travel in Banff National Park requires one, except driving straight through on Highways 1 and 93 South. A day pass costs CA$12.25 per adult or CA$24.50 for a family or group in one vehicle, youth 17 and under go free, and it is valid until 4 pm the day after purchase. It does not cover parking in the town.

Who Banff suits

Lonely Planet calls Banff “far and away the most developed and popular Canadian park”, with “an 8000-strong townsite, three ski areas, lake cruises, and an abundance of hotels and restaurants”. That is the case for staying in town: Roam’s buses to the gondola, Canmore and Lake Louise all leave from it. The same guide warns that “Banff isn’t cheap” and suggests saving on rooms in Canmore, just outside the park gates.

If Moraine Lake is the point of your trip, read the Moraine Lake page first, because no private car may drive its road. For the glaciers, see the Icefields Parkway page, and to weigh the two big parks against each other, read Banff or Jasper.

How long to stay

Banff & Lake Louise Tourism says a 3-day trip “is ideal for seeing the highlights” and a 5-day stay “offers a well-rounded mix of sightseeing and outdoor experiences”. Lonely Planet says you need at least three days to see the park beyond the townsite. For the gondola alone, the day tours that stop there allow 80 to 105 minutes. The Banff itinerary builds the days.

When to go

Parks Canada says visits peak in July and August. In autumn the elk rut runs until mid-October, and Parks Canada asks you to keep at least 30 m from all elk. Winter comes early on the mountains: Mt Norquay plans to open on 1 November 2026 (a tentative date), and Sunshine Village and Lake Louise on 6 November. The best time to visit and Banff in winter guides have the detail.

The gondola ticket, and five more tours

The ticket on this page is Pursuit Collection’s Banff Gondola admission, from US$54 as of October 2026 and rated 4.7 from 4,900 reviews. It covers the round trip, the interpretive centre, the rooftop deck and the summit trails. Food and the park pass are not included, and the listing offers no free cancellation, so settle your date before you book.

This site is not affiliated with Pursuit, which runs the Banff Gondola; tickets are booked through GetYourGuide.

If you want the view from Sulphur Mountain without a four-hour hike, on any day but 17-19 November, this is the ticket to book.

See dates for the Banff Gondola →

Discover Banff Tours’ horseback ride (US$74, 4.6 from 749 reviews) spends an hour along the Bow River from the Banff Trail Riders stables on Sundance Road, for riders aged 8 and up and under 230 lbs (104 kg). Mt Norquay’s via ferrata (US$147, 5.0 from 384) needs no experience: a free shuttle from downtown Banff, a chairlift, then 2.5 or 4 hours on steel holds and a 30 m suspension bridge, for ages 12 and up.

Banff & Canmore Tours’ stargazing walk (US$65, 4.9 from 300) meets at the Cave and Basin car park around sunset for 5 km of trail by headlamp, and is cancelled with a refund under heavy cloud. Banff Adventures’ big canoe (US$57, 4.7 from 332) paddles the Bow for an hour and a half from the Banff Canoe Club, a five-minute walk from downtown.

Banff Tour and Travels Limited’s sightseeing day (US$52, 4.5 from 267) collects in Calgary, Canmore and Banff and includes the park pass; the gondola and hot springs tickets are extra. While the springs are closed, its listing says the time goes to Lake Louise instead. The day also stops at Bow Falls, Lake Minnewanka, Two Jack Lake and Johnson Lake.