Bow Valley Trails
Five major trails branch off the Bow Valley Parkway. The best short walk by a long way is the Johnston Canyon Trail (2.7km each way), 25km from Banff, an incredibly engineered path to a series of spray-veiled waterfalls. The Lower Falls are 1.1km, the Upper Falls 2.7km from the trailhead on the Parkway. From the upper falls you can continue on to the seven cold-water springs of the Ink Pots, which emerge in pretty open meadows, to make a total distance of 5.8km (215m ascent). Another short possibility is the Castle Crags Trail (3.7km each way; 520m ascent) from the signed turn-off 5km west of Castle Junction. Short but steep, and above the tree-line, this walk offers superb views across the Bow Valley and the mountains beyond. Allow ninety minutes one-way to take account of the stiff climb. The best day-hike is to Rockbound Lake (8.4km each way), a steepish climb to 2210m with wild lakeland scenery at the end; allow at least two and a half hours one-way, due to the 760m ascent. Another fifteen-minutes' walk beyond Rockbound and Tower lakes at the end of the trail lies the beautiful Silverton waterfall. The other Parkway trails - Baker Creek (20.3km) and Pulsatilla Pass (17.1km) - serve to link backpackers with the dense network of paths in the Slate Range northeast of Lake Louise. The two outstanding trails along Hwy 1 are the trek to Bourgeau Lake (7.5km one-way), considered by many among the top five day-hikes in Banff: it starts from a parking area 10km west of Banff - allow two and a half to three hours for the 725-metre ascent - and the long day-hike to Shadow Lake (14.3km each way), where the lakeside campsite (at 1840m), in one of the Rockies' more impressive subalpine basins, gives access to assorted onward trails. The main trail starts from the Redearth Creek parking area 20km west of Banff (440m ascent; allow 4hr).
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