Banff Information
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Town Information
Banff’s showpiece Banff Information Centre is an excellent joint park/Banff and Lake Louise Tourism Bureau venture at 224 Banff Ave (daily: mid-May to mid-June 8am-6pm; mid-June to early Sept 8am-8pm; early Sept to end of Sept 8am-6pm; Oct to mid-May 9am-5pm; Parks Canada information tel 762-1550: town and accommodation information tel 762-8421, recorded message tel 762-4256; National Park information, also at www.parkscanada.pch.gc.ca/banff .
The centre has information on almost any park-related or town-related subject you care to name, including bear sightings, trails and the weather, and all manner of commercial tours and outdoor activities. It is also the place to pick up a park permit if you haven’t already done so . Among their many free handouts, make a point of asking for the Banff and Vicinity Drives and Walks and The Icefields Parkway for maps of park facilities, the Backcountry Visitors’ Guide for an invaluable overview of backpacking trails and campsites, and Trail Bicycling in the National Parks for conditions and a full list of mountain-bike trails .
To the centre’s rear there is a selection of maps and guides you can consult free: excellent topographical maps can be bought from the “Friends of Banff National Park” shop (tel 762-8918) on the left, but note that many of the shorter and more popular trails are well worn and signed, so you won’t really need detailed maps unless you’re venturing into the backcountry. This is also the place to pick up details or book a place on the various events offered by the “Friends”, which in past years have included free guided walks daily in the summer to Vermilion Lakes (10am, 2hr 30min), a Discovery Tour of the Cave and Basin Hot Springs (45min) and a Park Museum Wildlife Tour (45min); places on walks are limited, so preregister at the store in the information centre.
The Tourism Bureau will point you in the right direction when it comes to accommodation hunting; it maintains a constantly updated vacancies board (though staff aren’t allowed to make specific recommendations) and a free courtesy phone. There are also several fee-based alternatives .
Banff and Lake Louise have been welcoming international visitors for more than a century. In 1883 the attempts of three Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) workers to stake a claim to the natural hot springs they had discovered bubbling from the base of Sulphur Mountain led to the establishment of Canada’s first national park. Today, Banff National Park (6,641 square km / 2,564 square miles) is one of four adjoining mountain parks comprising more than 20,235 square km / 7,813 square miles of spectacular Canadian Rocky Mountain landscape. For current visitors, bathing in these same hot springs is but one of many activities offered in Canada’s foremost National Park. When you visit the Banff/Lake Louise area you will see why each year more than 4.5 million visitors come to enjoy the unique feeling of the Canadian Rockies and to experience why the United Nations in 1985 declared our area a “World Heritage Site”.
Banff National Park is a year round playground in the Canadian wilderness. A four season recreational area that offers everything from 7,558 acres of downhill skiing/snowboarding terrain to hundreds of miles of mountain trails. Explore our landscape by bus or car, canoe or raft, on foot or skis. Enjoy the many sightseeing opportunities or photograph some of the most spectacular scenery and wildlife on Earth.
IMPORTANT CONTACTS
Ambulance tel 911 or 762-2000.
American Express 130 Banff Ave (tel 762-3207).
Bike rental Bactrax, 225 Bear St (tel 762-8177); Banff Adventures Unlimited, 211 Bear St (tel 762-4554); Inns of Banff, 600 Banff Ave (tel 762-4581); Mountain Magic, 224 Bear St (tel 762-2591); Performance Ski and Sport, 2nd Floor, 208 Bear St (tel 762-8222); Ski Stop outlets at 203a Bear St and Banff Springs Hotel (tel 760-1650 or 762-5333).
Bookshop Banff Book & Art Den, Clock Tower Mall, 94 Banff Ave (daily: summer 10am-9pm; winter 10am-7pm; tel 762-3919) is excellent for general books and local guides.
Bus information Bus depot, 100 Gopher St (Brewster Transportation tel 762-6767 or 1-800/661-1152; Greyhound tel 762-1092 or 1-800/661-8747); Banff Airporter Banff-Calgary Airport services (tel 762-3330 or 1-888/449-2901); Banff Transit town shuttle (tel 762-8294); Laidlaw Chateau Lake Louise-Lake Louise-Banff-Calgary Airport (tel 762-9102 or 1-800/661-4946); Sky Shuttle Lake Louise-Banff-Calgary Airport (tel 762-1010 or 1-888/220-7433).
Camping equipment Tents, outdoor gear and ski equipment to rent from Performance Ski and Sport, 208 Bear St (tel 762-8222).
Car rental Avis, Cascade Plaza, Wolf St (tel 762-3222 or 1-800/879-2847); Banff Rent-a-Car, 230 Lynx St (tel 762-3352), for low-priced used-car rentals; Budget, 208 Caribou St (tel 762-4546 or 1-800/268-8900); Hertz, at the Banff Springs Hotel (tel 762-2027 or 1-800/263-0600); National, corner of Caribou and Lynx (tel 762-2688 or 1-800/387-4747); Sears (tel 762-4575).
Dentist 210 Bear St (762-3144).
Doctors Dr Ian MacDonald, 216 Banff Ave (tel 762-3155); Dr Elizabeth J. Hall-Findlay, 317 Banff Ave (tel 762-2055).
Foreign exchange CTM Currency Exchange at 108 Banff Ave, Clock Tower Mall (tel 762-4698 or 762-9353), 317 Banff Ave (Cascade Plaza) and the Banff Springs Hotel . Visa advances at CIBC, 98 Banff Ave (tel 762-4417); MasterCard advances at Bank of Montréal, 107 Banff Ave.
Hospital Mineral Springs Hospital, 301 Lynx St (tel 762-2222).
Internet access At the public library .
Laundries Cascade Plaza Coin Laundry, Lower Level, Cascade Plaza, 317 Banff Ave (tel 762-2245); also a laundry in Johnny O’s Emporium, a small mall at 223 Bear St (Mon-Sat 8am-midnight, Sun 9am-midnight; last wash 10.30pm. If you’re at the hostel or campsites, the nearest laundry is the Chalet Coin Laundry on Tunnel Mountain Rd (tel 762-5447) at the Douglas Fir Resort .
Library 101 Bear St (Mon, Wed, Fri & Sat 11am-6pm, Tues & Thurs 11am-9pm, Sun 1-5pm; tel 762-2661).
Lost property tel 762-1218.
Parks Canada Administration tel 762-1500; campsite info tel 762-1550. Park wardens tel 762-1470. 24hr emergency number only tel 762-4506.
Pharmacy Cascade Plaza Drug, Lower Level, Cascade Plaza, 317 Banff Ave; Gourlay’s, 229 Bear St (Wolf and Bear Mall); Harmony Drug, 111 Banff Ave.
Police tel 762-2226.
Post office 204 Buffalo St at the corner of Bear St (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm). Stamps and other basic postal services also at Cascade Plaza Drug, Lower Level, Cascade Plaza, 317 Banff Ave; Mailboxes Etc, 226 Bear St; and Goro Canyon Gifts, Banff Park Lodge.
Road conditions tel 762-1450.
Taxis Alpine (tel 762-3727); Banff Limousine (tel 762-5466); Banff Taxi (tel 762-4444); Legion (tel 762-3353); Mountain (tel 762-3351); Taxi-Taxi (tel 762-3111).
Tourist information tel 762-1550 for park information or 762-8421 for town and accommodation.
Trail conditions tel 762-1550 or 760-1305.
Weather tel 762-4707 or 762-2088 (24hr recording).