Day 8: We got up early that day because we went to the waterfalls of Johnston Canyon and the Johnston Canyon Ink Pots. I absolutely wanted to start the walk before the busloads of tourists arrived. I read on the internet that it is best to start the walk before 9u00 in the morning. Lower Falls and Upper Falls are accessible via plain concrete or steel paths with limited height differences. To Lower Falls the difference in height is 30 meters. The spectacular trail runs along steep gorges. To get to Lower Falls you have to go through a small tunnel. Johnston Canyon is one of the beautiful parts of Banff National Park and well worth a visit.
Johnston Canyon Lower Falls
The height difference to the Upper Falls is slightly heavier, namely 120 meters, and you need a good condition for that. But the walk is easy to do at your own pace because of the nicely laid out paths. You can even take the walk to the falls with a buggy and you can decide to return at any time. The hike to Johnston Canyon Lower Falls is 1.2 km and it will take about 1 hours back and forth.
Johnston Canyon Upper Falls
The 30 meter high Upper Falls are located 2.5 km from the car parking lot, but the parking for campers is a lot further. Take 3 km (one way). For this part you can calculate 1.5 back and forth. We arrived around 8u30, but had to walk a little extra to the starting point. It got a bit tight, because we saw the first bus arriving at 8u50. The first 500 meter we walked a bit faster. On the Upper Falls there is a viewpoint on the 30 meter high waterfall.
Johnston Canyon - Banff National Park
From the beginning of the hike up to the top of the Upper Falls we saw many small waterfalls and rapids of Johnston Creek from the trail. The different shades of color in the rocks along the gorges and in the water are very beautiful.
Johnston Canyon Ink Pots
If you are fit enough and you really like to walk, you can consider going to the Ink pots. The path continues up through a wooded area to an open meadow. There you will find the Johnston Canyon Ink Pots. They are shallow pools in which warm water has been bubbling up from deep beneath the earth's surface for centuries. The part to the Johnston Canyon Ink Pots is quite heavy and not very suitable for the untrained hiker. The walk from the Upper Falls to the open meadow is a rather boring part. From the mobile home parking you charge 6 km single and 4u30 there and back.
The difference in height is 330 meter. Once past the steep climb through the forest, the vast surroundings with a view of a river and the Johnston Canyon Ink Pots are suddenly worthwhile. Fff, now back!
Banff Upper Hot Springs
When we were back at the camper after a 4.5u walk, it was 1.30 pm and we had a giant hunger. One of the advantages of a camper is that we could go to the toilet and we could immediately eat a sandwich. We were actually a little exhausted and there was more on the program, but not so heavy, on the contrary. The next activity that afternoon was Banff Hot Springs! Banff Upper Hot Springs is at 1585 meters altitude. It is the highest hot spring in Canada and has the warmest water. The water temperature is between 37 ° C and 40 ° C and we all wanted to get in asap. After lunch our leg muscles started getting a bit stiff and we could use a hot bath.
Best time to visit the hot springs:
Banff Hot Springs is open all year round. In the morning it would be the best time to quietly enjoy the hot spring. We went at 3.30 pm and as you can see in the photo, that is not the best time to go. But we all had a place to sit in the hot water. Blessed was that, that should not be more. Just before we went inside there was a tourist bus to go to also enter. Fortunately, we were able to enter just for them. The price of a family ticket costs 25 $ CAD. We stayed in the pool until 4.30 pm, because we had a reservation in the restaurant at the top of Sulfur Mountain.
Banff Gondola
We booked a combo ticket for the Gondola and dinner. The total price was 267 $ CAD (175 €) tax included for 2 adults and 2 children. The Gondola boarding time was reserved for 5.20 pm, allowing us to walk around a bit before dinner. It didn't take 5 minutes before we were in the gondola that it started to rain. Not so far from us we saw the lightning coming down and the children were not comfortable about it, but came up safely. The downside was that we couldn't see the surroundings from the gondola and at the top of the restaurant window. We had already walked enough, so we didn't mind staying inside.
restaurant
The table was reserved at 7 pm, but due to the bad weather there were not many people present and we could sit at a table. The food was reasonable, but do not expect too much of it. If you take the buffet, everything is included, except beer and wine. Jessica wanted a glass of white wine and I had a beer. In retrospect, we had better first looked at the price, because 1 glass of white house wine cost ridiculously a lot of money, namely 10 $ CAD per glass - tip not included! The advantage of the storm and the rain was that the air was being cleaned up a bit. Hopefully it had rained enough, because tomorrow we went further to the Athabasca Glacier via Icefield Parkway.
Gondola Summit & Wifi
After dinner I checked my email messages, because there was free wifi in the restaurant. We then send my parents a few pictures of the past days, because with the camper it was difficult to find a WiFi hotspot. In the Provincial and National parks there is no wifi, but on top of Sulfur Mountain you have it for free. While Tess searched the shops, Eli had walked to Sanson's Peak via the wooden boardwalk. Apparently he was not tired enough from the hike to the Ink Pots. There is a restaurant in the Gondola Summit, but also an 360 ° observation deck, an interactive center and small cinema. With the ticket we were allowed to do all activities in the Gondola Summit.
Athabasca Glacier
Day 9: That day we drove from Banff to Jasper (Wapiti) via Icefield Parkway Highway 93 in total 400km / 250 miles. Along the way we visited Athabasca Glacier, Sunwapta Falls and Athabasca Falls Jasper.
Read moreMap: Johnston Canyon Ink Pots & Surroundings
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