Banff National Park & Lake Louise in a wheelchair: An Accessibility Guide
UPDATED: May 2019
In 2017 Canada celebrated its 150th anniversary and granted free admission to the National Parks. Canada has always been one of my dream destinations. So, I took this opportunity and went on a fantastic, greatly wheelchair-accessible journey together with my husband. Our 4-week trip started in New York City/US and ended in Vancouver/CA.
Experiencing the Canadian Rocky Mountains as a wheelchair user
The road trip through the iconic National Parks of Banff, Yoho, and Jasper clearly was the highlight of this journey. Breathtaking Canadian nature as far as the eye can see! If you’re lucky, you’ll see Grizzly bears, black bears, mountain lions, wapitis, and elks on your way through the stunning, snow-covered Rocky Mountains. Surprisingly, the wheelchair accessibility was much better than what I expected it to be.
Wheelchair road trip through Banff, Yoho, and Jasper ©
Wheelchair-accessible Banff National Park – The Basics
Calgary International Airport (YYC) is the closest airport to Banff National Park (145 km/90 miles). Driving to Banff takes about 2 hours. Note that you need to have either a day pass or a Parks Canada Discovery Pass to access the parks.
We flew from Montreal to Calgary with Air Canada. Upon arrival, we rented a car, and our road trip began. My recommendation is to spend at least two, better three full days in the Banff area as there is so much to see! Getting around by car clearly is the most accessible and comfortable way to explore Banff National Park and Jasper National Park as a wheelchair user.
Banff and Tunnel Mountain seen from Sulphur Mountain (Sanson’s Peak) ©
A self-drive route through Banff National Park & Jasper National Park
We had a total of five days (way too short) in Banff and Jasper, driving clockwise from Calgary to Edmonton. Our home for the first two nights was the only partly accessible Canmore Rocky Mountain Inn. While the access to the hotel facilities and the room was barrier-free, I couldn’t enter the bathroom in my wheelchair.
After two days of exploring the sights in Banff, we went to Lake Louise, where we stayed for a night at the Lake Louise Inn, which I don’t recommend. The so-called “wheelchair accessible” room had a step at the entrance (no ramp), and the bathroom wasn’t accessible at all. On the fourth day, we took a short detour to Yoho National Park to see Lake Emerald and the Natural Bridge, before moving on to Jasper National Park.
Calgary – Canmore – Banff – Lake Louise – Lake Emerald/Yoho NP – Jasper – Edmonton
Planned as a roughly 3.5-hour drive, we eventually needed 6 hours (!!!) to drive from Lake Louise to Jasper, as there is so much to see on the way. Make sure to stop at Bow Lake, Peyto Lake, the Saskatchewan River Crossing as well as the Columbia Icefield Discovery Center. For accessibility details, scroll down and read the post about Jasper National Park in a wheelchair.
Hotels in Banff are pretty expensive. So, if you travel on a budget, it is much cheaper to stay in Canmore, a charming town nearby (26 km/16 miles). You’ll find a large choice of hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, and a wheelchair-friendly infrastructure. Canmore is a good base to also visit the Bow Valley Provincial Park in nearby Kananaskis Country.
General Wheelchair Accessibility of Banff National Park
You can reach almost all the major sights by car. In general, the viewpoints are wheelchair-friendly, and most have handicapped parking lots as well as accessible restrooms. Since May 2019, wheelchair-accessible public buses connect Banff to Lake Louise via the Lake Louise Express Route (Route 8X).
Attractions with great wheelchair accessibility in Banff
Accessible Banff Gondola
The first day in Banff National Park started with a ride of the fully accessible Banff Gondola. To my great surprise, we got a discount for my caregiver after showing proof of disability. Staff members stop the accessible gondola for you, set up a portable ramp, and push you on board. The upper platform is entirely accessible. You find accessible family restrooms, a restaurant as well as an exposition informing about Canadian wildlife. Without a doubt, the best thing is the wheelchair-accessible outdoor summit platform. The views of the Rocky Mountains are absolutely stunning!
Vermillion Lakes Drive
We drove along the wonderful Vermillion Lakes Drive, a scenic, about 4 km long paved road with several accessible viewpoints. From there you could also stroll along the accessible Fenland Trail.
Vermillion Lakes Drive in Banff NP ©
Bow Falls
Only the lower viewpoint at Bow Falls is accessible for wheelchair users, as stairs are leading to the upper lookout.
Wheelchair-friendly Hoodoos Viewpoint & Hoodoos Trail
After seeing Bow Falls, we took Tunnel Mountain Road to the wheelchair-friendly Hoodoos Viewpoint. There you also find handicap parking spaces. My husband pushed me along the partly accessible, graveled Hoodoos Trail to a lovely bench from where you have terrific views of Banff.
Lake Minnewanka Scenic Drive
The Lake Minnewanka Scenic Loop Drive comes with several wheelchair-accessible viewpoints and takes you towards Lake Minnewanka. You first pass Two Jack Lake, which then turns into Lake Minnewanka. Both glacial lakes are jaw-droppingly beautiful. So, if you love spectacular scenery, then you definitely shouldn’t skip this about 25 km long drive while visiting Banff.
Lake Minnewanka ©
Two Jack Lake in Banff NP ©
Lake Louise
Although Lake Louise was still frozen in May, we enjoyed seeing the famous lake. There are several handicap parking spaces and wheelchair-accessible restrooms pretty close to the lakefront. We strolled along the wheelchair-accessible Lakeshore Trail, though we didn’t come far as it was super icy and snowy. It must be beautiful in summer, though!
Lake Louise in a wheelchair – A dream came true ©
Sadly, the road to Moraine Lake, which is 13 km away from Lake Louise only opened the week after our stay, so we couldn’t visit this beautiful jewel. I guess I’ll have to find out about Moraine Lake’s accessibility another time.
Bow Lake & Peyto Lake
Snow and ice on the road to Bow Lake in May 2017 ©
Ice-covered Bow Lake in May 2017 ©
Wheelchair-accessible Saskatchewan River Crossing Viewpoint
After seeing the natural attractions around Banff and Lake Louise, we continued our way to Jasper. The Saskatchewan River Crossing is about 80 km in the northern direction of Lake Louise. We parked on the handicap parking spot and followed the extremely short, slightly graveled, accessible trail to the Saskatchewan River Crossing Viewpoint. Next to the parking lot is a wheelchair-accessible restroom.
Accessible Saskatchewan River Crossing Viewpoint ©
Summary
Summing up Banff National Park is pretty wheelchair-accessible. Many of the fantastic natural sights are accessible for wheelchair users, too. It was easy to drive through Banff National Park as each sight had handicap parking lots. Most of the time, I found wheelchair-accessible restrooms as well. The new accessible bus service serving Banff and Lake Louise is a big plus for visitors in wheelchairs. Are you ready for your adventure?
Leave a comment below or send a message to share
your travel experience in Banff National Park!
Banff National Park
Qui , avec tes très belles photos, les aspects pratiques très judicieux n’aurait pas envie d’aller visiter ces belles contrées accessibles à tous. Même moi qui ai vécu 26 ans au Québec, je me sens toute petite car je m’aperçois que bien des sites hors du commun m’ont échappé…Mais le Canada est si vaste !
Suivez, tous autant que vous êtes à lire son récit de voyage, les traces de Littlemissturtle: les émotions seront au rendez-vous et vous serez en osmose avec la beauté du monde…C’est cela la vie
Merci, Mélie, pour ton partage touchant
Un sentiment de merveilleux, de grandiose, de sérénité; voilà ce que tu nous communiques avec l’envie de suivre tes traces…!
Bonjour Mélanie
Je retente ma chance,car mon premier message n’a pas du passsr.
J’ai découvert il y a qq semaines ton blog et les aventures autour du monde, les images et informations sont très intéressantes.
Nous avons aussi beaucoup voyagé, maintenant Rosanne, doit avoir un fauteuil roulant depuis 3 ans et c’est aussi une autre vision, mais nous n’allons pas nous arrêter.
Nous partons au Canada pour 3 semaines et les informations sur les parcs sont très utiles et devraient bien nous servir.
Donc Merci, nous reviendrons donner nos information à notre retour
Yves
Bonjour Yves, Bonjour Rosanne,
Merci pour votre commentaire! Effectivement, les deux commentaires avaient atterri dans les spam. Heureusement je les regarde de temps en temps! J’ai adoré les parcs nationaux de Banff et de Jasper! C’était un des plus beaux voyages de ma vie. Je serais contente de lire vos impressions du Canada!
Bon voyage à vous deux,
Melanie | Little Miss Turtle
Bonjour Mélanie
Moi non plus je n’ai pas vu ta réponse, est-ce que ton blog indique aux “posteurs” que tu as répondu ???
Bon, tout cela n’est pas très grave.
Nous sommes revenu globalement enchanté de notre périple dans cette partie du Canada. Nous avons fait une (grande) boucle à partir de Vancouver en montant vers les parcs des rocheuses, redescente par Whistler et ile de vancouver.
Nous avons beaucoup aimé la partie “désert” avant d’arriver sur Yoha NP, que nous avons beaucoup aimé – lac emerald le matin et tard le soir. Il y a une chouette promenade autour du lac, mais on ne peut pas faire le tour, malheureusement. Mais cet endroit est très beau. Les chutes Takakkaw également, le chemin est accessible en fauteuil même pour être au pied des chutes.
Pour Banf, lac louise et moraine, là en plein été c’est de la folie furieuse, un monde de dingue, donc cela nous a moins passionné. Nous sommes allés le soir, mais malgré cela il y avait trop de monde (cela pose un problème aux responsables du parc, les routes sont saturées dès 6h du matin !!!!)
La route jusqu’à Japser, superbe, le lac Peyto et les chutes, nous avons fait le tour sur le glacier skywalk.
Sur Jasper, nous avons bien profité des sources d’eau chaudes et fait le tour du lac Anette que nous avons beaucoup aimé.
Pour le reste, nous avons bien aimé l’ile de Vancouver, la ville de Victoria et le style de vie à Vancouver.
Nous avons fait de belles rencontres, les personnes étant naturellement ouvertes et prêtes à passer 5 / 10 mn à papoter… bien différent d’ici.
Voilà en résumé, nous allons décrire cela sur notre site…. le temps de s’en occupé !
Comme nous avons beaucoup voyagé, nous devenons très (trop) difficile 😉
Prochain voyage prévu : Corée Japon… on reviendra vers toi pour les idées au Japon
Merci encore pour tes informations, il est vrai que la prise en compte des personnes handicapées dans les pays anglo saxon est très intégrés que ce soit dans les infrastructures que dans la mentalité des personnes rencontrées
A bientôt
Yves
Bonjour Yves !
Quel beau voyage ! Je viens de vous envoyer un email.
Melanie | Little Miss Turtle
My wife and I are planning a RV trip to Banff in 2 weeks. My wife has MS and is wheelchair bound for the most part. With me as her wheelchair chauffer, what sites would you recommend to see? We personally would like to see Morraine Lake, Peyto Lake, the Gondola and I thinks it’s called Jackson trail. If you have any comments or recommendations, would love to hear them.
Sincerely,
Dayton Smith
Hi Dayton,
I would recommend you to visit all the places I’ve detailed in the blog article. You should definitely also drive to Moraine Lake if you have the chance. The Peyto Lake viewpoint is said to be a bit steep. My husband, who also is my wheelchair chauffer, and I would have loved to go, however, Lake Peyto was still covered in snow during our visit in May.
Have a wonderful time in Banff!
Thank you so much for sharing all this information with the world. My mom has a terminal illness and my sister and I are on a bucket list trip to Banff with her this week. She’s not in a wheelchair but she’s unable to do stairs or walk any significant distance. I found your blog last night and today we visited the Natural Bridge, Emerald Lake, and Takakkaw Falls – all were marvelous and totally doable for her. We had an amazing day because of you- thank you!
I found this information so helpful, as we’re doing a spontaneous trip to Banff tomorrow, & staying in Canmore!
Thank you very much, Andrea! It is wonderful that this accessibility guide to Banff NP was helpful for your trip! I’m sure you had a fantastic stay!
The details of your experience – good and bad- are most helpful! I’ll be flying with my mother and handicapped father to Calgary, and I’ll be sure to reference your website over and over, as I plan our family trip. Thank you very much _()_
Hi Brian,
You are very welcome :-). I’m sure you will have an amazing time with your parents! Safe travels!
Hi, I just read about your experience touring the Rockies. I plan to visit the Rockies in August 2020 with my wife and daughter. I will be renting an electric wheelchair in Calgary for the trip. Is electric wheelchair suitable for this. My wife or daughter find it tough to push me in a manual. Please tell me if there is anything else I should know. Thanks.
Thank you for this, it’s very informative and extremely helpful for my niece and I 🙂 much love
You’re welcome. I’m happy that you find the article helpful!
Thank you for this information, we were in Banff last year and found it very easy to get around, thanks to your website. Keep well!
If you are in kananaskis country, there are some amazing paved accessible trails throughout, plus a fully accessible campground (cabins and day lodge) at William Watson. Over 11km of wheelchair accessible trails, picnic areas, lookouts, access to amphitheaters and so much more. It’s amazing!
can you recommend a place to rent a wheelchair accessible van in the area for our trip
Hi. I am so grateful I came across your blog, would not believe just how grateful! Such a fantastic idea to share your experience and provide this much information to fellow disabled travellers! My name is Andrea, I live in UK and I love travelling. I often thought how amazing it would be to have a blog that shares the experience of travelling with a disability, but I never had the energy to start one, I am so glad you did!!! I’m planning a 2 weeks trip to Canada, second part of June. I have a severe physical disability, I cannot walk at all, I use 2 underarm crutches to mobilise. I will have my brother with me to do the driving, I van only drive an adapted vehicle and we aim to fly into Calgary and spend Monday to Friday around Banff and Jasper. I have joined a Facebook group and did a bit of Google research but your blog is the most helpful to me and I would like to try and tick off as many interest spots as possible. One thing that worries me is finding parking at lake Louise, lake moraine. I understand my blue badge from uk will be accepted in Canada and will be allowed to drive to these popular spots but from your experience were there plenty of disabled parking or just a few spots? Also would you be so kind to tell me what car rental company did you guys use?
Thank you so much Andrea