Our Ten year Anniversary Trip to Banff, Alberta

First, just let me start off with saying this was probably the best anniversary trip hubby and I have ever been on, and we have been on a few epic trips together. Weekends in Seattle, WA, Harrison Hot Springs and Victoria, BC - the list goes on. Our trip to Banff for our tenth anniversary takes the cake. I would only change one thing after our weekend filled with activities and that would be to do one of the activities for a longer amount of time. So, overall, I would say it went swimmingly! There is a lot to pack into this post so I will try to divide it by the day to make it easier!

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Friday

Friday was quite a smokey day leaving the city and we were a bit concerned about how smokey it would be at our first location. We knew we were climbing quite high up so the smoke was not ideal, but nervously we headed out for our first activity of the weekend. I’m not going to lie while driving out my nerves were high as I have quite a severe fear of heights. My assumption was that this activity probably wouldn’t be my favourite of the weekend and once it was over I could relax and enjoy - this ended up not being the case and I will explain why. We headed to Mount Norquay to hike the Via Ferrata - Explorer Route, a 2.5-hour return trip up the mountain and back and as soon as I saw the chair lift my stomach was doing flips! We checked in and met the super friendly staff member who helped me figure out my boot situation and gave free rentals for any equipment you would need! Up the chair lift, we went with me not feeling so sure about this and just trying to keep it together!

Once we got up to the top of the chair lift we practiced clipping ourselves in and after a quick climb on the test steps and bars sticking out of the mountain (this still sounds insane to me) up we went! The pictures I’m showing you don't do justice to this amazing experience. You can't see how the mountain drops off below us, how we were literally on the side of the mountain holding on to little metal spokes sticking out of the rock. It was quite an adrenaline rush!

Our amazing guide took pictures when I was the most petrified but the best times of the climb!

Climbing the Via Ferrata was by far our favourite activity of the weekend and we plan to go back and do the six-hour route before the season is over! If you can get out there I highly recommend this amazing activity and there is a discount if you click the link above!

After this was all done we headed into town to check into Moose Hotel + Suites which is absolutely stunning! We stayed in a one-bedroom suite which overlooked the cute little house in the middle of the courtyard with stunning views of the tips of the mountains. We grabbed dinner at The Park and ended the evening.

Moose Hotel + Suites

Saturday

We woke up early in the morning to find a beautiful light rain falling over Banff. It was so warm and cozy and also made us hopeful the smoke would start to dissipate. We had coffee on our balcony and listened to the rainfall, such a beautiful way to start the day! We decided to head up to the hot pools upstairs and we had them all to ourselves for a bit! The views from up there are just out of this world beautiful!

Cozy morning coffee listening to the rain while enjoying the fire

After washing up and getting ready we headed out to our next adventure, horseback riding along the river trail! The stables are located right beside the Fairmont and very easy to find with the most friendly staff! We got our horses and went for a 1-hour trail ride through the trees and my favourite - crossed the river on horseback twice! This was such a fun activity to do while also being quick and not taking up your entire day! The guide told us the best places to eat in Banff, hikes to do etc. and was so helpful.

Banff Trail Riders - Bow River Ride

We grabbed a quick lunch at Magpie and Stump (I would highly recommend their nachos). Over food and a couple drinks, we had to make the tough decision to not do the Lake Minnawanka cruise as we planned because of the thickness of the smoke. We decided to try hiking one of the trails recommended by our guide and went up to Tunnel Mountain. Helpful hint: This hike is great for kids and people who are not huge into wilderness activities, but is basically just switchbacks all the way to the top. Totally not my thing. Absolutely stunning views at the top that make it worth it but the enjoyment level is low in my opinion for the hike itself. Just check out these smokey views!

Afterwards, we did a quick hot pool session then went for a quick bite to eat and headed back for an early bedtime - we were a tad bit exhausted!

Sunday

Sunday morning. We woke up with intentions to head up to the hot pools but our bodies needed rest after the very busy day before so we enjoyed hot coffee in our room! I NEEDED to get to my favourite lake(Lake Minnewanka) so we headed over around 9am, just when the first few people started to arrive. We watched the sun as it rose above the mountain - it was absolutely stunning. We also shot a few photos of course!

I was having a hard time leaving so we decided to call the babysitter and see if we could extend our stay for an extra hour! We booked the 2pm boat cruise and I was just a tad bit excited. We went back to the hotel for me to have a massage appointment at Meadow Spa and Pools. The spa is absolutely gorgeous and the staff were above and beyond helpful. They give you the softest robe I have ever felt in my life and you relax in their hot pool or lounge until your appointment!

I always find getting massages from new massage therapists so funny as I watch their reactions to how bad my neck and shoulders are! She was so good and worked through so many of my knots and bumps. It was the most relaxing hour I have had in a while despite the pain!

Beautiful lounge at Meadow Spa + Pools

The softest robe of all time

While I was getting a massage hubby found us a couple sandwiches and we headed back to the lake to have a picnic before our cruise. If you are local to Calgary or end up visiting Banff I could not recommend this more. They also have a few other boat rental options but for an hour of on the water time we just wanted to cruise, go as far as we could onto the lake and see the sights we wouldn’t be able to see from close to the parking lot. The views were out of this world and the tour was amazing. We rode back most of the way on the back of the boat in silence and in awe.

And that's a wrap! We honestly had the weekend of a lifetime and packed so many amazing memories into such a small amount of time. We would only change one thing and that is to do the longer Via Ferrata climb but otherwise, we enjoyed every moment of our time away.

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