I am officially back from my trip to New England and can't wait to continue sharing my Banff adventure with you. Our third day was jam-packed with activities. We completed a ten-mile hike, soared over the national park, and had a fabulous dinner. See below for all the details.
(If you missed what we did on days one and two, click here.)
OUR DAY 3 ITINERARY
JOHNSTON CANYONS
When planning our trip, I read that this was the best time of year to visit Johnston Canyons, as the water was in its most colorful state. We woke up nice and early to avoid the crowds, which I would highly recommend. The first part of our hike was filled with beautiful scenery. We were surrounded by hundreds of trees, canyon rocks, and blue creeks.
UPPER FALLS
We decided to see the Upper Falls first, with plans of hitting the Lower Falls on our way back. Pro tip: don't do that. ;) By the time we were hiking down, the line to see to Lower Falls was insane. We ended up not seeing it, which was a real bummer. Thankfully, the Upper Falls were amazing. The water had hints of aqua that you could see from their two lookout points.
INK POTS
The hike to the Upper Falls didn't take as long as we expected, so decided to add the Ink Pots to our itinerary. We hiked through so much mud to get up there! When we arrived, we were a little confused. Our Google search led us to believe we'd end up inside a cave, looking at vibrant water. What we saw instead were seven small pools of aqua-green mineral springs. While it wasn't what we were expecting, it was still beautiful. It was also a lot longer than we thought - round trip we hiked ten miles!
BANFF GONDOLA
To get to our dinner location, we needed to take the Banff Gondola up Sulphur Mountain. We were in the clouds, surrounded by the Rocky Mountains. It was a quick trip up to the top, filled with incredible views.
GONDOLA SUMMIT
At the end of the gondola is Sulphur Mountain's Summit, which has 360-degree views of Banff National Park. I would highly recommend spending time at the top - you really can't beat these views.
SKY BISTRO
What an amazing place to have dinner. The restaurant is floor-to-cieling windows, giving you the perfect dinner backdrop. Not only did Sky Bistro have a great view, it also had phenomenal food. We were all thoroughly impressed with our meals, as well as our espresso martinis.
Our third night was one of my favorites. The girls and I spent hours just talking and laughing, enjoying quality time together.
Our last day in Banff was spend at Lake Morraine - one of the most beautiful bodies of water I've ever seen. Check back in a couple days to see for yourself.
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