Banff with Kids in the Fall: A Family Trip to the Canadian Rockies
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Why we skipped Thanksgiving this year
We went to Banff National Park over Canadian Thanksgiving, which surprised a lot of people when I told them.
Thanksgiving, like many know, can feel like a lot. There’s a lot of cooking, a lot of hosting, and a lot of pressure to make it a big, memorable weekend. While both my mom and my mother-in-law genuinely love hosting—and usually take on most of that work—I’ve started to feel like, as the kids get older, they actually have less opportunity to connect with their family during those weekends.
Everything revolves around the event.
So we decided to do something different.
We chose to skip Thanksgiving—or at least postpone it—and have that traditional dinner later in the fall, and use the long weekend to take the kids, my mom, and my brother on a trip instead.
The idea wasn’t to have an action-packed weekend. It was really just to remove the distraction of what Thanksgiving has become—the cooking, the hosting, the expectations—and give ourselves the time to slow down, be outside, and actually spend time together.
The parts that actually feel meaningful aren’t usually the big holidays themselves.
It’s the smaller moments leading up to them—baking cookies with grandma, wrapping gifts on the living room floor together.
Those are the moments that feel like connection.
The actual holidays can feel chaotic. There are more people, more expectations, more noise, and less space for that kind of quality time together.
So this trip felt like a way to shift that, or at least shift the balance a little.
For a more practical, day-by-day version of our trip, I’ve also written a 5-day Banff itinerary with kids.
Traveling to Banff: Flying from the East Coast to Calgary
We left on the Thursday morning before Thanksgiving and flew from the East Coast into Calgary.
Even just being on the plane together—having the kids split up between seats with grandma and their uncle—felt like the start of what we were actually trying to do, which was just spend time together in a way that didn’t feel rushed or structured.
We landed around lunchtime, picked up our rental cars, and started the drive into Canmore, where we were staying.
I had originally wanted to stop in Kananaskis on the way in for a short hike, but we didn’t end up doing that.
My youngest always gets anxious about what our “new home” is going to look like when we travel, and he was being pretty difficult in the car.
In hindsight, I probably should have shown him photos of where we were staying ahead of time—what the rental looked like, what Canmore looked like—just to give him something concrete.
Because in his mind, there’s a very real concern that we’re going to arrive somewhere and not actually have a place to stay.
I had a clear picture of what this trip was going to look like.
They didn’t.
So that’s something I would do differently next time—not just for him, but for all my kids. Giving them those visuals ahead of time probably would have made that transition a lot easier.
Arriving in Canmore: First impressions and settling in
By the time we got into Canmore, our place still wasn’t ready, so we parked close to the Bow River and went for a walk.
We did the Bow River Loop Trail, which is about a 2-kilometer loop. It takes you across the river at the Canmore Pedestrian Bridge and then back across at the Canmore Engine Bridge.
It’s flat, on a gravel trail, and there are different points along the way where you can get down to the riverbed.
It ended up being a really easy way to stretch our legs without turning it into a full hike, while still being outside, enjoying the sunshine, and getting those mountain views of the Three Sisters.
The kids immediately went to the water.
There’s something about being near water that just works, especially after a flight and a drive. They were throwing rocks, racing sticks under the bridge, going back and forth between the path and the river, and it gave them a chance to just move and reset.
For us, it was the same thing. It was a way to pause before getting into check-in, groceries, unpacking—all the things that usually come with arriving somewhere new.
By the time we were done at the river, it was closer to late afternoon local time, which for us already felt like dinner.
We headed over to our place, checked in, and let the kids do what they always do when we arrive somewhere new—run through every room, claim beds, figure out where everything is.
It’s always a bit chaotic at first, but it helps them settle in.
Having my mom and my brother with us made this part a lot easier. I was able to go out and grab groceries on my own while they stayed back with the kids, which is not something we usually have the option to do.
The grocery store was close by, so I kept it simple—rotisserie chicken, a baguette, salad, and a few things for breakfast and the next day.
Looking back, I probably would have done a grocery pickup instead. It’s something we’ve done on other trips, and even though you sometimes still need to go in for a couple of things, it takes a lot of the pressure off that first night.
The rest of the evening was exactly what you’d expect.
Unpacking just enough to function, figuring out who was sleeping where, showers, and getting everyone to bed early after a long travel day.
Choosing between Banff and Canmore
One of the biggest decisions for this trip was where to stay — Banff or Canmore — and we ended up choosing Canmore for a few specific reasons.
The place we rented in Canmore worked really well for this kind of trip.
It was big—multiple floors, lots of space—and having that room made a difference with a multi-generational group. Everyone had somewhere to go, which helps more than you think after a full day together.
It was a bit further out from the main downtown area, though, which is probably the one thing I would think about differently next time.
It wasn’t a problem—we had cars, parking was easy, and it was actually convenient being close to the grocery store and other essentials—but it did mean that we weren’t able to just walk out in the evening and explore.
If we had been traveling just as a family of five, or in a busier season, I think I might have chosen something a bit closer to the main part of town.
But for this trip, with the size of our group and what we needed, it worked really well.
Lake Louise and Moraine Lake
The next morning, we were all up early.
Coming from the East Coast, the time difference actually worked in our favor. We were up at what felt normal to us, but early for Banff National Park, which meant we were able to get moving without feeling rushed or like we were trying to beat crowds.
I would actually lean into that if you’re coming from a different time zone. It ends up being an advantage.
Having the rental made that easier too. There wasn’t any pressure to find breakfast somewhere or wait for things to open. We just made coffee, put something together for the kids, and eased into the morning.
It also gave the kids time to just be—spending time with grandma and their uncle, while we had a quiet minute to ourselves, which doesn’t happen very often at home.
Day 2 was our Lake Louise and Moraine Lake day.
This was definitely the day that needed the most planning.
You can’t drive your own car to Moraine Lake anymore. Because of traffic and congestion, access is limited to either the Parks Canada shuttle or a private tour.
The private tours are an option, but they’re expensive. The Parks Canada shuttle is much more reasonable, so that’s what we planned to use.
What made it a bit more complicated was timing.
Moraine Lake is only open seasonally, and the last day for access usually falls right around Canadian Thanksgiving. We were right at the end of that window, so this wasn’t something we could move around easily.
The shuttle system also isn’t as straightforward as just booking whenever you want.
The first release of tickets happens early in the season—around April—which, for us, was almost six months before our trip.
The second release happens much closer to your visit, with additional tickets made available at 8 a.m. mountain time two days before your date.
We hadn’t booked during that first release, so we were relying on the second one.
That meant setting an alarm and making sure I was available at exactly the right time to book.
We were able to get tickets before leaving for the trip, but it definitely added a bit of pressure to the planning.
One of the reasons I planned to do Moraine Lake and Lake Louise on Day 2 was that if we hadn’t been able to get tickets for that day, we still had the rest of the trip to try again and shift our itinerary.
After breakfast, we packed some snacks, and drove to the parking lot at the Lake Louise Ski Resort, which is where you pick up the shuttle—not at Lake Louise itself.
That part caught me off guard a bit.
Even early in the morning, the parking lot was already quite full. I hadn’t expected that, but we were still able to find a spot without too much trouble.
The shuttle pickup is within the parking lot itself, not at the main lodge, so it took us a minute to figure out exactly where to go, but once we did, it was straightforward.
We got on the shuttle and headed toward Moraine Lake.
The drive in is on a pretty winding road. It was completely fine on the bus, but it’s something to be aware of if you or your kids tend to get car sick.
Once we arrived, we were able to get off and explore the area at our own pace.
There wasn’t a strict return time tied to our ticket, which I really liked. There’s a designated shuttle pickup area for the return, but you can stay as long or as little as you want and just take the next available shuttle back.
Moraine Lake itself is pretty special.
When we first arrived, the sun hadn’t come over the mountains yet, and the lake was this muted gray-blue. There was a stillness to it that even the kids seemed to feel.”
We walked along the edge of the lake slowly, stopping here and there, taking it in.
There isn’t a defined, paved path along the shoreline. It’s uneven in places, with rocks, tree roots, and sections where kids can climb over boulders if they want to. You don’t have to, but it’s definitely not stroller-friendly, and it’s something to be aware of.
We made our way from one end of the lake to the other, taking our time.
There are longer hikes you can continue on from here, including the ridge hike, but we didn’t do those. We knew we were trying to fit both Moraine Lake and Lake Louise into the same day, and it already felt like a full one. With more time, I would probably separate the two.
What made this experience stand out was the timing.
As the sun started to rise and the light slowly reached the lake, the color began to change. It shifted gradually, almost from one end of the lake to the other, into that bright, almost unreal blue.
It didn’t happen all at once. You could actually watch it change.
The stillness of the morning gave way to something brighter, more alive, as the light hit the water, the trees, and the surrounding peaks.
It was a really special way to experience it.
As we made our way back toward the parking area, we stopped to walk up to the viewpoint overlooking Moraine Lake.
It’s a short climb—maybe five minutes—but it gives you that higher vantage point over the lake, the one you see in so many photos.
It was worth doing, but this was definitely the busiest part of the area.
A lot of people seem to go straight to the viewpoint, take in the view, and then head back, rather than walking the length of the lake.
By the time we got there, it felt more crowded and a bit more congested.
That said, I actually didn’t mind the trade-off.
We had already spent time walking along the shoreline earlier in the morning when it was quieter, so doing the viewpoint afterward—even with more people—felt like the right order.
After that, we walked back to the shuttle stop and took the bus from Moraine Lake over to Lake Louise.
It’s a short ride, still along those winding roads, and it drops you off right near the lake, close to the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.
This was the trade-off.
We arrived around late morning, and it was busy—really busy. There were people everywhere, lines for the canoes, and the shoreline was full.
It’s undeniably beautiful, but it didn’t have the same stillness or quiet that Moraine Lake had earlier that morning.
If I had the option, I would have split these into two separate days and gone early for both. Doing them together meant accepting that one of them was going to feel more crowded.
Instead of trying to fight the crowds, we shifted how we experienced it.
We went into the Fairmont and had lunch there, overlooking the lake.
It was definitely a splurge, but it gave us a way to enjoy the view without the chaos.
I would have liked to spend more time along the lake itself, but given how crowded it was, this felt like the better choice for us.
After lunch, we took the shuttle back to the Lake Louise Ski Resort, picked up our car, and made a quick stop at the Lake Louise Visitor Centre.
One thing that’s worth knowing, especially if you’re traveling with kids, is that because Banff National Park is a national park, it’s part of the Canada Xplorers program.
It’s something you can do at Parks Canada destinations across the country. When you arrive, you can pick up an activity booklet, and as you explore, kids complete small challenges that help them learn about the place they’re visiting. Once they’re done, they bring it back and receive a collectible dog tag specific to that park.
Since we had already explored different areas of the park, the kids were able to work through the booklet while we were at the visitor centre.
They each earned their Lake Louise dog tag, and it’s become one of those things they really look forward to.
We have tags from other places across Canada too, like Prince Edward Island and Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, and it’s a fun way for them to see all the places they’ve been.
After stopping at the Lake Louise Visitor Centre, it had been a pretty long day.
We drove back to Canmore, which took about an hour.
That evening, we went out for dinner, walked along the main strip in town, and then headed back to the townhouse for the night.
Banff Gondola and Marble Canyon
On our third day, we decided to start with the Banff Gondola.
Part of the reason was practical—you have to drive through the town of Banff to get there, so it gave us a chance to see what the town felt like without needing to plan a separate stop.
For us, that matters. We tend to prioritize being outside and spending time in nature, so sometimes just seeing a place is enough to know whether we want to come back to it later or not.
We got there around 9 in the morning, which for us felt like a relaxed start, but for Banff Gondola was actually pretty early.
Parking was easy, there wasn’t much of a crowd yet, and we were able to get on fairly quickly without feeling rushed or bottlenecked.
The ride up itself was beautiful.
You’re going up fairly quickly, but it’s smooth, and for the kids it felt a bit like a ride. Not in a rollercoaster way, but just enough to make it exciting. They really enjoyed that part.
At the top, there’s the main building with viewing decks, but you can also go outside and walk along the ridge.
It’s not a rugged trail—it’s more of a wooden boardwalk with stairs—but you are walking along the top of the mountain, and you can see out on both sides, which makes it feel a bit different than a typical viewpoint.
One thing I would keep in mind is the temperature.
Even though it was a warm, sunny day down below, it was cold at the top. We had layers, hats, and gloves, and we definitely needed them.
The other thing is the altitude.
We’re not used to that at all, so I had told the kids ahead of time to take it easy—no running, no racing up the stairs—just to make sure nobody felt off. The walk is a bit uphill in parts, so it’s worth taking your time.
We didn’t have any issues, but it’s something to be aware of, especially with kids.
We had made reservations for lunch at the top at Sky Bistro.
It ended up being a really nice way to slow the day down a bit. We had an early reservation, which worked well with the time change, and were able to get a table by the window.
There was something for the kids, but also more elevated options for adults, which made it feel like a bit of a treat without being complicated.
More than anything, it was just a chance to sit, warm up, and take a break before heading back out.
After lunch, we stepped back outside for one last look along the ridge before taking the gondola back down.
Marble Canyon — A Different Kind of Hike
After leaving Banff, we decided to head out to Marble Canyon.
It’s about a 45-minute drive from Banff, and for us, it felt like a good way to add something into the day without needing to go back toward Canmore and then back out again.
The drive itself was easy. Wide roads, nothing technical, nothing that felt stressful.
One thing to be aware of is that there’s no cell service as you get closer to the trailhead, and even a bit before that.
We didn’t have any issues getting there, but it’s worth knowing ahead of time—either downloading maps or just having a general sense of where you’re going, especially if you’re traveling in more than one car.
This ended up being the highlight of the day for me.
The trail is short—about 1.4 kilometers (roughly 0.9 miles) out and back, with very little elevation gain—but it feels completely different from something like Johnston Canyon.
In Johnston Canyon, you’re more inside the canyon, walking along it.
Here, you’re above it.
You’re walking along the top of the canyon, with the water rushing below you.
The bridges are a big part of it.
As you go along the trail, there are multiple bridges that cross over the canyon, connecting the path on either side. You can cross over at different points and then cross back again as you continue, which made it feel a bit like a choose-your-own-adventure.
Even with that, it’s still an out-and-back trail. You go in, you turn around, and you come back out, so it felt manageable and easy to follow the whole way.
For us, this worked really well with kids.
It’s not stroller-friendly, but it’s also not a hard hike. The trail is uneven in parts, but there’s no scrambling or steep climbs.
The kids loved walking across the bridges, stopping to look down at the water, throwing rocks where they could, and just moving at their own pace.
It kept them engaged the whole time without it feeling like a long or tiring hike.
We went in October, and it worked really well for that time of year.
There isn’t much tree coverage along the trail, so in the middle of summer, I could see it feeling quite hot, especially in the afternoon.
But in the fall, the sun actually felt nice.
It was one of those hikes that felt manageable for a first full day—especially with the time change, the travel, and just not wanting to overdo it.
We finished up in the late afternoon, and from there it was about a 50-minute drive back to Canmore.
After a hike and a full day, that drive actually felt like a bit of a break. It was quiet, scenic, and a nice way to rest your legs before getting back.
Dinner was simple.
We kept it easy, played some board games, and just spent time together without trying to do anything else.
The kids went to bed early, and it gave us a chance as adults to sit, talk, and have a bit of a slower moment at the end of the day.
It also gave us time to reset and think through the logistics for the next day.
Johnston Canyon and wildlife viewing
I had heard from a lot of people and read in a lot of places that you need to get there early, so that was the plan.
We got up, had breakfast, and headed out.
This drive felt a bit different from the one we had done the day before. As you get closer, it becomes more of a forest drive—still very easy, no concerns with the road—but narrower, a bit more winding, and less open than the highway.
It’s something to be mindful of if you have kids who get car sick. Mine do, so it was definitely on my radar.
What made it really memorable, though, was the wildlife.
We saw deer along the side of the road—multiple times—and ended up pulling over more than once to stop and watch them.
That’s not something we experience at home, so for the kids, it was a big moment.
It was also one of those things that made it feel very real, like we were properly in nature, not just visiting it.
The drive from Canmore to Johnston Canyon is about 40 minutes, and we got there around 9 in the morning.
We weren’t the first ones there, but it also wasn’t busy yet, which felt like a good time to arrive.
Parking at Johnston Canyon is right at the start of the trail, and the beginning feels like a typical forest walk.
It’s not rugged or difficult—more of a dirt path through the trees.
As you get closer to the canyon, that’s when it starts to change, and you move onto these catwalks that are built into the side of the canyon, walking along the lower part of it with the water running below you.
It felt very different from Marble Canyon, where you’re above the canyon.
Here, you’re inside it.
The canyon itself is a bit wider, but it still felt really beautiful to be walking through it like that.
We did the shorter trail to the Lower Falls, which is about 1.2 kilometers from the parking lot, and then you backtrack the same way.
The catwalks lead you through to a bridge at the falls, and there’s also a small tunnel you can walk through to see the waterfall from the other side, which the kids really enjoyed.
Getting there early made a difference.
On the way back, there were already more people heading in, and it felt like we had just missed the rush.
After Johnston Canyon, we decided to head into Banff to look around the town a bit.
We walked along the main strip, got lunch, went into a few shops, and explored around Banff town.
It’s not a huge area, so it didn’t take long—maybe about an hour—but it was enough to break up the day a bit.
In the afternoon, we stopped at the Bow Falls Viewpoint, just on the outskirts of Banff town.
You park and the viewpoint is right there—it’s not really a trail—but it’s easy to walk down toward the river and let the kids explore a bit.
From there, we ended up walking a little further down the road until it opened up into a clearing — and that’s when we stopped.
That’s where we saw elk.
There were maybe five or six of them, right at the edge of the trees on the other side of the clearing, just grazing.
None of us had ever seen elk before, so it was a big moment. The kids were so excited, and honestly, so was I.
We stayed back and just watched them for a while as they moved slowly along the edge of the forest before eventually disappearing into the trees.
What made it feel even more surreal was how close we were to town.
Right on the other side of that clearing is the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, so you’re not deep in the backcountry—you’re right at the edge of everything.
It was just another reminder of how present wildlife is in this area.
That ended up being one of the highlights of the day.
After that, we headed back to Canmore.
Dinner was simple, and we spent the rest of the evening at the townhouse, just relaxing and packing up for our journey home.
Grassi Lakes and a Final Reminder
On our last morning, before heading home, we got up, had breakfast, packed up the townhouse, and loaded everything into the cars.
We had a bit of time before our flight out of Calgary, so we decided to do one last thing before leaving Canmore.
We went to Grassi Lakes Trailhead.
When we arrived and looked at the trail map at the start, there was a notice about recent bear activity in the area. That definitely shifted how we approached the hike. We kept the kids close and made sure no one ran ahead.
The trail starts through the forest and gradually becomes steeper and a bit more technical in sections. There are some wet areas as well, so you do have to be a little more careful. It’s not stroller-friendly, but it was manageable and a really nice final hike to do before leaving.
We did it as an out-and-back and returned the same way. Afterward, we got back in the car and started driving out.
Maybe a couple of minutes down the road, right along the edge of one of the small lakes, we saw a bear. We didn’t stop—we just drove past—but it was right there.
And it was one of those moments where you realize… we had just been hiking in that exact area. We had joked about the kids making enough noise to scare anything away, but there actually was a bear nearby.
It felt like a bit of a reality check, and honestly, a pretty memorable way to end the trip.
Our unconventional Thanksgiving
This ended up being one of the best Thanksgivings we’ve ever had.
Yes, it took more planning. Yes, it was more work in some ways. But it also gave us something we don’t always get during those big holiday weekends.
It gave us time.
Time to slow down, to be outside, and to actually connect—with my kids, with my mom, and with my brother.
And that’s what made it feel different.
There’s still a place for the big, traditional holidays. Those moments matter too. But I think there’s just as much value in making space for this kind of time together—the kind where nothing else is competing for your attention.
We came home with memories that feel more like ours—funny moments, small moments, and shared experiences that brought us closer together.
It may not have been traditional, but it was exactly what we needed.
