The Banff Gondola or the Sulphur Mountain Hike?
One summit, four ways to do it: ride both ways, hike up and ride down for half the regular price, ride up and walk down on a full ticket, or walk both ways for the price of the park pass. Parks Canada's trail figures, Pursuit's rules, and what changes in winter.
Take the gondola if you want the summit in eight minutes; hike if you have about four hours and are happy to climb 655 m on a steady switchback trail. Both start at the end of Mountain Avenue, about 4 km south of downtown Banff: the trail from the Upper Hot Springs parking lot, the gondola from its lower terminal. Hikers who reach the top can ride down for half the regular price of admission, Pursuit says. The reverse earns no discount. To ride up and walk down, you need a full-price ticket.
Riding up
The gondola climbs 698 m to its upper terminal at 2,281 m in about eight minutes, in four-seat cabins, and it runs all year apart from a maintenance closure each November (17 to 19 November in 2026). Pursuit’s round-trip ticket was from US$54 as of October 2026, rated 4.7 from 4,900 reviews. It has no free cancellation and does not include the park pass. It is also the ticket to buy if you plan to walk down.
Pursuit sells tickets on its own website and at the base, and through booking partners including GetYourGuide. This site is not affiliated with Pursuit; the tickets here are booked through GetYourGuide.
Hiking the Sulphur Mountain Trail
Parks Canada describes a “switchback-trail with exposed roots and rocks” that “climbs steadily uphill” to a summit with 360-degree mountain views. Its figures:
- Elevation gain: 655 m.
- Distance: 4.8 km to the top of the gondola, plus 0.5 km to the peak, in its summer hiking table. Its winter-walking page says 5.5 km, and Pursuit also gives “approximately 5.5 km”.
- Time: about 4 hours for the round trip.
Pursuit, which runs the gondola at the top, calls it a “clear, well-marked switchback style trail” and puts the climb at 1.5 to 3 hours “depending on fitness and trail conditions”.
The walk costs nothing beyond the park pass: CA$12.25 an adult a day in 2026, and free for anyone 17 and under. Parks Canada’s general advice for the park applies here too: carry bear spray within reach and know how to use it. Pursuit adds that it is several degrees colder at the top than at the bottom, so carry a warm layer whatever the season.
For a different way down, Parks Canada describes the Sulphur Mountain Westside Trail, “a rocky old fire road”, 5.4 km to the Sundance Trail and then 2.6 km to the Cave and Basin National Historic Site. You would need your own transport back to the trailhead.
Hiking up and riding down
Pursuit’s rule, from its FAQ: “A one-way trip down on the Banff Gondola is available for half the regular price of admission (5 & under are free) during our Daily Operating Hours.” So reach the top while the gondola is still running. From 13 October to 16 November 2026 it closes at 9 pm, and after the November closure until 31 December at 10 pm; the ticket listing gives the last ride down as 10 minutes before closing. The FAQ doesn’t say where the one-way fare is sold, so check with Pursuit before you set off.
The four ways compared
| Ride both ways | Hike up, ride down | Ride up, walk down | Walk both ways | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ticket | Round trip, from US$54 | One way down, half the regular admission | Full-price round trip (Pursuit’s rule) | None |
| Climbing on foot | None, apart from 368 stairs each way if you walk the summit boardwalk | 655 m up | 655 m down | 655 m up and down |
| Time on the move | About 8 minutes each way | 1.5 to 3 hours up (Pursuit), 8 minutes down | 8 minutes up; no published time for the descent | About 4 hours return (Parks Canada) |
| Park pass | Needed | Needed | Needed | Needed |
In winter
The gondola keeps running through the winter apart from 17 to 19 November 2026. Its cabins are not heated, and Pursuit asks for a winter jacket, hat, mitts or gloves and warm socks, and may turn away anyone it judges dressed unsafely.
The trail is on Parks Canada’s list of winter walks around Banff, with conditions to match. Pursuit warns that “the trail will be covered in snow/ice” and that winter hiking gear is required. Parks Canada strongly recommends ice cleats when it is icy, and adds: “There is hazardous avalanche terrain adjacent to this trail. Stay on the trail at all times.” Roam’s Route 1 serves the base all year, Pursuit says, and stops at the trailhead, by Parks Canada’s account.
Questions about Sulphur Mountain
Where is Sulphur Mountain?
On the south side of the town of Banff. The gondola’s lower terminal and the trailhead are both at the end of Mountain Avenue; Parks Canada puts the trailhead 4.3 km south of downtown. The Banff Upper Hot Springs are on the same road, closed for maintenance from 13 October to early November 2026. The Banff page covers the town around it.
How hard is Sulphur Mountain?
It is a steady climb: 655 m of gain on switchbacks with exposed roots and rocks, by Parks Canada’s description, which Pursuit says takes 1.5 to 3 hours up depending on fitness and conditions. In winter, add snow, ice and the avalanche terrain beside the trail.
Can I drive up Sulphur Mountain?
Not to the top. Mountain Avenue ends at the gondola’s lower terminal and the Upper Hot Springs parking lot; from there it is the gondola or the trail. Parks Canada charges CA$17.50 a day to park there from 15 May to 12 October 2026 and says the area fills quickly; Roam’s Route 1 is the alternative.
Can I take the gondola up Sulphur Mountain?
Yes. That is what the Banff Gondola does: about eight minutes up, in four-seat cabins, every day of the year apart from the November closure. Banff Gondola hours has the opening times, and the Banff Gondola page has the ticket and the tours that include a stop there.
How long do you need on Sulphur Mountain?
By gondola, the day tours that stop there allow between an hour and 105 minutes in all. On foot, Parks Canada’s four hours for the round trip, plus whatever time you spend at the top.
What’s at the top of Sulphur Mountain?
The gondola’s upper terminal at 2,281 m holds the Above Banff interpretive centre and theatre, a 360-degree rooftop deck and restaurants, with an elevator to all four levels. From there a ridge boardwalk with 368 shallow stairs each way leads toward Sanson’s Peak, which Pursuit puts about 10 m above the upper terminal, and the Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station National Historic Site; it now ends at a viewpoint short of the 1903 Weather Observatory. What to expect at the Banff Gondola goes through the summit.
Is the Banff Gondola open year round?
Yes, apart from a short maintenance closure each November: in 2026 it closes from 17 to 19 November and reopens after the 19th. The summit’s Sky Bistro also closes from 4 to 15 January 2027.
What is the famous hike in Banff?
There is no single agreed answer. Parks Canada’s list of Banff highlights includes Johnston Canyon, where the canyon trail from the parking lot to the falls closes from 13 October 2026 for rock-slope work, with no reopening date published, and the summit of Tunnel Mountain, whose trailhead is a 15-minute walk from downtown. At Lake Louise, the trail to Lake Agnes and its tea house is 3.9 km one way by Parks Canada’s figure, though Parks Canada says the tea house hikes are not safe from November to mid-May because of avalanche hazard. Sulphur Mountain is the one with a gondola at the top. If you are still deciding whether the ride is worth paying for, see Is the Banff Gondola worth it?
Sources: Parks Canada (summer hiking and winter-walking pages, fees, parking, Banff highlights, Johnston Canyon and Lake Louise pages), Pursuit’s Banff Gondola FAQs, tickets and hours pages; the ticket’s price, rating and inclusions are from its listing. Checked October 2026.
Take the Gondola Up Sulphur Mountain
Riding up, whether you ride or walk back down, needs Pursuit's full round-trip ticket: from US$54 as of October 2026, rated 4.7 from 4,900 reviews. Park pass extra; no free cancellation.
Check Gondola Dates