June in Banff, Alberta, Canada doesn’t feel like June back home in Virginia. It’s crisp, light-jacket weather with that kind of sunshine that makes the mountains look like they’re in high definition. Nicole was here for a business conference, but lucky for me, that left plenty of time for my favorite role – supporting spouse tourist.
Our home base? The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. And let me tell you – calling it a hotel feels like an understatement. This place is a castle planted in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. Built in 1888 by the Canadian Pacific Railway, it was designed to lure travelers west with luxury and scenery … and more than a century later, it’s still working its magic.
A short stroll from the hotel brought us to the Bow River, a glistening ribbon curling through the valley. It’s easy to stand there, soaking up the view, and forget you’re in the same place Indigenous Peoples – including the Kootenay, Stoney, Blood, Peigan, Siksika, and Tsuu T’ina First Nations – have called home for generations. This land is part of their living history, and the beauty here feels even more profound knowing that stewardship goes back thousands of years.
And speaking of local residents – we spotted a mama moose and her calf along the river. They were unbothered by our presence, calmly moving through the trees. Moments like that are humbling reminders that we’re just guests here.
The town of Banff itself is straight out of a postcard: boutique shops, cozy cafés, and mountain peaks in every direction. Fun trivia: Banff is the first municipality to be incorporated inside a Canadian national park. Imagine waking up every day inside a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
One of the trip’s highlights was the Gondola & Chairlift ride up Sulphur Mountain. Eight minutes in the air, climbing to nearly 7,500 feet, gave us 360-degree views of the Canadian Rockies – plus a close-up with some mountain goats grazing nearby. Yes, my nervously happy face on the gondola was captured on camera, and no, I’m not deleting it.
Conference evenings had their own magic. One happy hour included a playful arrest by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police – purely for laughs and photo ops. We ended the night around a firepit, with stars overhead and mountain air so clean it almost didn’t feel real.
And then … Lake Louise. Even if you’ve seen it in photos, nothing prepares you for the turquoise water in person. That surreal color comes from glacial meltwater carrying rock flour – tiny bits of stone ground down by ice. We paddled out in canoes, hugged the shoreline, and just let ourselves drift in the beauty of it all.
From castles to canoes, mountain goats to moose, Banff in June was a reminder that some places are just designed to make you feel small in the best possible way. This was part history, part adventure, and all heart.
If your bucket list has room for a trip that’s breathtaking, culturally rich, and full of real moments – Banff deserves a spot.
