I can hands down, without a doubt, honestly tell you our family’s favorite trip has been our trip to visit SnowDays in Banff and Lake Louise. We loved every minute of this jam packed trip from our stay at Baker Creek Resort, ice skating on Lake Louise, and visiting SnowDays in Banff. It was all a dream for the whole family.
We spent 3 whole days in Lake Louise and Banff, Canada. We LOVED every minute of our time there. And we spent half our time in Lake Louise and the latter part of our stay in Banff. Let me begin this post by stating, there are absolutely no words or pictures that will ever be able to adequately describe the beauty of this country that it fully deserves. The vastness and majesty of the Canadian Rockies is unmatched in my opinion. I spent most of my time in awe of every single mountain view. We were surrounded by these massive, perfectly placed, snow capped mountains and I couldn’t take it all in!
Dates for SnowDays is January 15-26, 2020!
If you want to unplug and take in all of God’s creation Baker Creek Mountain Resorts is the place to stay. This is where we had the most perfect 2-bedroom chalet complete with a full kitchen, bathroom with a massive shower, and a cozy fireplace. The resort is in the middle of Banff National Park.
Baker Creek is directly off the Bow Valley Parkway in the middle of the national park. You have untouched pristine views that surround the property. There are fire pits throughout the property for you to enjoy roasting marshmallows or just to sit, relax, and warm up by the fire. They also have the cutest little hockey rink. I have had so much fun reminiscing about how the kids were in awe of the snow. This was Brydon’s first time seeing snow and he was more than anxious to get outside and take it all in. Every time I turned around he was touching it, trying to make snowballs, walking in every pile he could find. He even would fall down on accident of course, just so he could be in it. It was so much fun watching him, we would just laugh.
Ice Magic Festival
Before our trip to Lake Louise, I had only seen pictures of the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. It was a dream to be able to visit this magnificent place and visiting during the Ice Magic Festival to see the masterpieces created with ICE was unmatched. The detail and craftsmanship of each piece of art created was breathtaking. Throughout the grounds of the Chateau Lake Louise, were these works of art that we all reveled over and were mesmerized by the talent it must take to etch out every detail.
The Ice Magic Festival is a must-see when visit Lake Louise. You honestly do not think the setting could be any more beautiful and they add these gorgeous sculptures and it is just a sight to be seen.
JOHNSTON CANYON ICE WALK
Baker Creek Mountain Resorts
SNOW TUBING AT LAKE LOIUSE SKI RESORT
SnowDays in Downtown Banff
After visiting LAKE LOUISE, we continued on our journey with a drive to Banff, Alberta. We took a quick scenic drive after a full day of snow tubing. Banff is the cutest little town within Banff National Park. It is nestled between the peaks of Mt. Rundle and Mt. Cascade of the Canadian Rockies. Again, the majesty of these mountains is unrivaled from anything we have ever seen. Now you have the cutest little town full of boutiques, restaurants, and tourist shops, all within walking distance of our hotel. With all of the snow sculptures for SNOWDAYS, scattered throughout the town made the ambiance of the Banff that much more magical to us.
Dates for SnowDays is January 15-26, 2020!
SnowDays in Downtown Banff
The annual SnowDays celebration is a highlight of the winter season in Banff National Park; a free 12-day long event held during January, centered around massive snow sculptures in downtown Banff. Occurring at the same time as the Ice Magic Festival in Lake Louise, you’ll have plenty of winter creations to explore throughout Banff National park. The kids were amazed by each creation and researched how each one was created! They had fire pits throughout the sculptures. The kids even found spots to make snow angels! Just like the Ice Magic Festival, SnowDays showcases some of the most talented artist with them transforming the snow into the most amazing pieces of art.
Lunch at Vermillion Room within Fairmont Banff Springs
Carriage Ride around Banff
Banff Winter Carnival @ Cave and Basin National Historic Site
We all enjoyed the games of the Winter Carnival celebrating the Olympics. We were most fascinated with learning the sport of curling. The Park guides were so kind and helped us all learn the background of each sport and even took the time to teach us a few tips and tricks! The kids didn’t want to leave.
Dinner at Grizzly House
More Things to Do in Banff and Lake Louise:
I truly hope you get the chance or take the time to visit this amazing country. The Banff National Park boast some of the most amazing views we have ever seen. And SnowDays makes it that much more magical and fun for the whole family.
There are so many more activities to do in the Banff/Lake Louise area. We of course didn’t have time to do everything, but thought y’all would enjoy researching and taking part in any or all of these!
- Read about our LAKE LOUISE ITINERARY
- Read about our BANFF/SNOWDAYS ITINERARY
- The Complete Columbia Icefields Tour
- Snowshoeing
- Snowmobiling
- Ice fishing
- Plain of 6 Glaciers Tour
- Plain of 6 Glaciers Tour and Twin Falls Hike
- The Epic Summit
- Banff Upper Hot Springs
- Jasper National Park
- Scenic drives along Bow Valley Parkway
- Johnston Canyon
- Moriane Lake – only accessible during the summer, but I have heard it is one of the most breathtaking views.
- MORE activities at LAKE LOUISE/BANFF TOURISM and TRIPADVISOR
- Dates for SnowDays is January 15-26, 2020!
XOX
Mandy
The BIGGEST of Thank You’s to BANFF AND LAKE LOUISE TOURISM for sponsoring this post.