Best Kid-friendly Hikes in Banff, Canada
No trip to Banff is complete without some hiking, but if you’re traveling with family you need the best kid-friendly hikes in Banff, Canada! There are so many hiking options, but if you don’t pick the right ones and your kids get bored or worn out, the whole experience could be ruined!
Our criteria for kid-friendly hikes are that they aren’t too crazy steep, smooth and hazard-free trails, interesting things to look at and a final destination (kids love to feel like they accomplished something and reaching a final destination is great for that!).
Read on for our favorite kid-friendly hikes in Banff!
Best Kid-friendly hikes in Banff
Tunnel Mountain
This hike was recommended to us by our raft guide during our raft tour and he said that it has the best views of Banff and the back valley. And he was right. Tunnel Mountain is a small mountain in the middle of Banff that is surrounded by the town and resorts on all sides.
The hike is 4.5 km/2.75 miles roundtrip if you start at the very bottom. The elevation gain is approximately 300 meters/985 feet. However, there is a second parking lot partway up the trail. This is where we started and it shortened the hike by about .5 mile.
The trail starts with switchbacks that are graded well and not too challenging. Though this is definitely the most challenging of the hikes mentioned here.
Our 4.5-year-old who is a pretty experienced hiker did this hike with no problem. Our 3-year-old who struggles more to keep up found it challenging and rode on his dad’s back for at least half of the hike.
As you climb you start to circle the mountain and get to see views on both sides. It’s pretty spectacular. One one side is the town of Banff and several massive hotels. Then you turn a corner and see the Banff Springs Golf Course and the snaking Bow River.
The thing I loved about this hike for my boys is that they were able to actually summit and reach the very top! That is such a cool feeling for anyone, but especially little kids! It’s one of the best hiking with kids tips that I know.
With the kids hiking, it took about 50 minutes to get to the top. It would go much faster with older kids. For more on this hike, check it out on AllTrails here.
Hoodoos Trail
This is a great for kids because it’s right in town (we were able to walk from our resort to the trailhead) and is relatively flat unless you are hiking down to a viewing area. This trail follow the Bow River and offers views of the Hoodoos.
The trail is a 10 km/6.1 mile trail that circles around town and forms a loop. You could probably do the whole thing, but we only did this small portion pictured from where our hotel was (on the left of the screenshot) to the Hoodoos viewing area (on the right at the turn around point).
We did this hike on the first morning of our trip and it was a great way to get acclimated and get our hiking legs after being in a car for two days!
From the trail you can get some great views of the river and the town. In order to see the Hoodoos, you’ll have to hike down once you get to the red chairs. Don’t worry, you can’t miss them!
You can see the Hoodoos over my right shoulder in the picture below. (If you’re new here, I’m the one with the brown curly hair!)
Here’s a better view of the Hoodoos from our rafting trip.
The great thing about this hike for kids (other than the fact that it’s almost totally flat) is that there is an abundance of plant life and stumps and the like for kids to examine and marvel at. We also saw a ton of beautiful butterflies in late August.
For more about this trail, see the profile on AllTrails here.
Best kid-friendly hikes A Short Drive from Banff
Sunshine Meadows
Sunshine Meadows is an incredible hiking experience! You can explore the backside of Sunshine Village ski resort and even hike into British Columbia.
Unlike the other trails on this list, the hiking trails are not accessible by car. You have to take the Sunshine Gondola from Sunshine Village Ski Resort. So there is a cost involved. However, the Gondola is a fantastic experience on it’s own and adds such a fun experience to the hiking!
The main attraction in Sunshine Meadows are the three alpine lakes you can view. Rock Isle Lake was our favorite and it’s the highest elevation lake in all of Canada.
The trails in Sunshine Meadows are pristine and surrounded by gorgeous flowers, trees, meadows and incredible views. We really felt like we had been transported to another world up at 8,000 feet elevation.
For more on Sunshine Meadows hiking, please see our post on our day spent there.
Lake Louise Shoreline Trail
Lake Louise is another lake that has a great walking/hiking path around to the back of the lake. You definitely need to check it out when you visit Lake Louise!
The shoreline trail is just short of 5 km/3 miles and has hardly any elevation gain.
This trail starts right in front of the Fairmont Chateau and is paved for a majority until you get closer to the back of the lake. You can go clear to the back where the glacier is depositing silt into the lake (which gives the lake its gorgeous aqua color).
The only downside is that this trail is quite popular and crowded. You won’t find the peace and tranquility that you will at other shoreline trails like Bow Lake.
But if you are visiting Lake Louise, you should definitely take a stroll around!
Best Kid-friendly Hikes An Hour-Plus Drive from Banff
Bow Glacier Falls Trail
The Bow Glacier Falls Trail was one of our favorite hiking trails of the entire week we spent in Banff. This trail starts at Bow Lake, right off the highway and travels all the way back to the waterfall off of Bow Glacier.
The trail is 8.7 km/5.5 miles to the waterfall. There is an elevation gain of approximately 270 m/885 feet, but most of that comes at the end when hiking up to the waterfall. The majority of the trail is flat with small rolling hills.
The trail follows around to the very back of Bow Lake. You go through thickets of trees and over rocks and get right along the water for the majority of the trail.
The trail was so peaceful and we came across almost no one! We went about 1.5 miles back before turning around because the little legs were getting tired and we spent about two hours on the trail sitting and skipping rocks whenever we got the chance.
Bow Lake was the least crowded place we visited during our trip and one of the most gorgeous!
Will you go all the way back to the Glacier when you hike this trail? For more information click here.
Peyto Lake Panorama Overlook
This trail is about an hour and 15 minute drive from Banff, but only a short distance from Bow Lake, so if you are doing one you should definitely do the other! Peyto Lake is a pristine alpine lake with the most intense aqua color from any of the lakes we saw!
The hike from the parking lot to the overlook is less than a mile and is pretty steep in parts, but is short and quick! It gets quite busy and my boys were a little overwhelmed by the crowds when a big group of people who pass by them.
But the view is completely worth dealing with the crowd! The lake is incredible and from the overlook you also get a great view of the Peyto Glacier that feeds into it.
For more on this hike, click here.
For more to do in Banff, check out this Summer in Banff itinerary.
