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Banff also boasts eight hot springs , and the next stop after the gondola ride on the standard itinerary is to plunge into the only one of these that's currently commercialized. Today's immersions are usually for pleasure, but in their early days these springs were vital to Banff's rise and popularity, their reputedly therapeutic effects being of great appeal to Canada's ailing Victorian gentry. Dr R.G. Brett, chief medical officer to the Canadian Pacific Railway, used his position to secure an immensely lucrative virtual monopoly on the best springs. In 1886 he constructed the Grandview Villa, a money-spinning sanitorium promising miracle cures and wonders such as "ice cold temperance drinks". Its handrails were reinforced by crutches abandoned by "cured" patients, though the good doctor reputedly issued crutches to all comers whether they needed them or not. There may be quieter places in western Canada to take the waters, but hot springs always make for a mildly diverting experience, and even if the crowds are a pain the prices are hardly going to cripple you. On the face of it, the springs at the recently renovated Cave & Basin National Historic Site (mid-June to Aug daily 10am-6pm; Sept to mid-June Mon-Thurs 11am-4pm, Fri-Sun 9.30am-5pm; $2.50 or $7 with the Banff Heritage Passport which also allows admission to the Banff Park Museum and Whyte Museum; guided tours free with admission summer daily 11am; tel 762-1566 or 762-1557), southwest of downtown at the end of Cave Avenue, are the best place to indulge. The original cave and spring here are what gave birth to the national park, discovered on November 8, 1883 by three railway navvies prospecting for gold on their day off. Having crossed the Bow River by raft they discovered a warm-watered stream, which they proceeded to follow to a small eddy of sulphurous and undergrowth-clogged water. Close by lay a small hole, the water's apparent source, which on further exploration turned out to be the entrance to an underground cave and warm mineral pool. The government quickly bought the three out, setting about promoting travel to the springs as a means of contributing to the cost of the railway's construction. A 25-square-kilometre reserve was established in 1885, from which the present park eventually evolved. The first bathhouse was built in 1887, but over the years succumbed to the corrosive effects of chlorine and the pool's natural minerals. The pools finally closed in 1975, were restored (at a cost of $12 million), opened in 1985 and closed again in 1993 (again because of corrosion and falling numbers). Today the pools are still shut to bathers, leaving a popular interpretive centre (tel 762-1566) to delve into their history and geology. You can walk here in a few minutes from town. From the foyer, where the faint whiff of sulphur is unmistakable, a short tunnel leads to the original cave, where the stench becomes all but overpowering. Smell aside, it's still a rather magical spot, with daylight shining in from a little hole in the roof and the limpid water inviting but tantalizingly out of bounds. Back down the tunnel and up the stairs brings you to a few rooms of interpretive displays, with a film show, some illuminating old photographs and several pertinent quotations, among which is the acid comment of an early travel writer, Douglas Sladen: "though it consists of but a single street", he grumbled about Banff in 1895, "it is horribly overcivilized", an observation not too far off the mark today. Down the stairs from the displays at the rear brings you to the "basin", a small outdoor hot spring that's separate from the cave-spring system, but no less inviting. Alongside is a wooden hut theatre with a half-hour film show. Immediately outside the centre, the short Discovery Trail (15min) heads up the hill for a view over the site, together with the nearby start of the excellent Sundance Canyon surfaced path . Just below the centre is the Marsh Loop Trail (2km; 25min), a treat for naturalists, and bird-watching enthusiasts in particular. The area's low-elevation wetlands teem with waterfowl during the winter and spring migrations, with the chance to see - among others - Barrow's goldeneye and all three species of teal: cinnamon, blue-winged and green-winged. The warm microclimate produced here by the springs' warm waters supports mallards over the winter, as well as attracting seasonal rarities such as killdeer, common snipe and rusty blackbird. During the summer you might see belted kingfisher, common yellowthroat, willow flycatcher and red-winged blackbird. Just across the river from here on Vermilion Lakes is the single most important area for bird-watching in the entire park, accessed via trails and the Vermilion Lakes Road. Ospreys and bald eagles both nest here, and other highlights include tundra swan, hooded merganser and northern shoveler.
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