Day 3
June 23, 2026 Tuesday
Free Parking in Banff is a premium. Even though it’s only Tuesday we left camp at 8am to park in the free parking area near the Train Station. Once there we had some breakfast and got the bikes ready to ride our 30 mile out & back on the Bow Valley Parkway. As I said previously there were 2 more car less days on the parkway. The sun was shining and the temperature was perfect and people were out in droves! We started about 10am and there were already people coming down. The road is open 8am -8pm. This gives the wildlife a chance to have it to themselves.
The Banff National Park Service started a 3 year test of closing to cars in 2022. It was so successful they have added another 4 years. I would imagine this will be the new normal. People of all ages, sizes and shapes were making the round trip.
The parkway was relatively mellow grade most of the way as of follows the Bow River. The railroad track runs just below the road. We couldn’t often see the trains but there were many of them during our approximately 4 hour trek. The last few miles we had to climb a bit. Considering we were riding mountain bikes we thought we climbed pretty well and rode at a decent speed. There were hundreds of people and predominantly e-bikes. I question how many of those riders would have managed the bigger climbs at the end or even the distance without e-assistance. It was great for everyone… lots of smiles on faces. At the halfway point we stopped for our snacks and visited with several Canadian riders (from Calgary and Red Deer). Super friendly people and then tons of tourists… like us and tour groups too.
The road had several bear scats on the road but we didn’t see any bears. We did see a few Bighorn Sheep and one baby sheep. That was about it for wildlife today.
After the ride we had a bit of groceries to pick up for our dinner so we walked from our parking spot to the store. In this area of Banff everything is just a few blocks away. It’s a pretty small town with a very busy vibrant town center! People from all over the world visit Banff. It is the busiest National Park in Canada.
Having just spent a few days in town last January when we were skiing, I felt I knew how to get around and avoid most traffic jammed areas. Certainly worked out well today!
When we were ready to leave we took a quick drive up to Mt Norquay Ski Area. It was just 3 miles switchbacking up a nearby mountain looking over Banff. We were glad we did because the view of Banff and the Bow River and the mountains surrounding was beautiful.
Back at camp we spent a little time plotting our next two days. We’re heading north… not far to Jasper in National Park. We lucked out again and got a campsite for two nights!
Alberta’s no single use plastics!
Besides no plastic grocery bags (which we are used to), their beer stores c packs have cardboard keepers, their bread bags have cardboard closers and they use cardboard straws for soda pop cups!
cinnicrew 