Banff Sunshine Meadows with Kids
During our trip to Banff National Park, our day spent at Banff Sunshine Meadows with our kids was definitely one of the highlights! There is so much to do at Banff Sunshine Meadows and the views are unbeatable!
Thank you to Banff Sunshine Meadows for complimentary passes to Banff Sunshine Meadows. All opinions are our own!
Banff Sunshine is a ski resort in Banff National Park. In the summertime, it transforms into a hiking and outdoor oasis! Between the gondola ride, the multiple hiking trails and fun attractions at Sunshine Village are sure to make the whole family happy!
Sunshine Meadows Gondola Ride
The main attraction at Banff Sunshine Village during the summer is the gondola ride. The gondola starts at the parking lot of the Banff Sunshine resort. There is a complimentary shuttle from Banff, or you can park for free.
The gondolas are spacious and our group of 6 fit comfortably in one gondola. The gondolas have a capacity for eight adults. The ride is 20 minutes long with several turns and you can see lots of beautiful trees and meadows and maybe even some wildlife.
Over the course of the ride, you gain 500 meters in elevation, or more than 1,600 feet. The gondola does goes through one station on the way up, but don’t get off there! Wait until you are all the way at the top at the village and there are attendants to help you off the gondola.
Our boys absolutely loved the ride. They are both a little uncomfortable with heights but felt very secure and comfortable with the enclosed gondola. We weren’t able to see any wildlife, but loved the views coming up out of the fog down in the valley and seeing all of the trees.
Once up at the village there are lots of things to do including hiking, dining and checking out the interpretive center to learn about the flora and fauna of the area.
This is by the far the longest gondola ride in the area and came highly recommended over the Banff Gondola. We didn’t ride the Banff Gondola, but can definitely say that the Sunshine Gondola is worth the price of admission for the incredible views and access to everything up at the top village. The gondola is now closed for 2019, but to see current prices or scheduling please check here.
For more to do in Banff, check out this Summer in Banff itinerary.
Hiking in Sunshine Meadows with Kids
Once at the upper village, take the Standish Chairlift a bit further up to the peak. From there, you can hike into British Columbia and around several lakes. There is even get on a trail that goes approximately 25km to Mount Assiniboine. Click here for a map of the summer trails available!
Standish Viewing Platform
With the boys, we hiked to the Standish Viewing Platform, which is actually in British Columbia! We thought that was pretty cool to walk over into another province.
The views from the platform are beautiful and if you have limited mobility, this is just half a mile on a flat trail. (There are stairs for the platform, but the trail there is easy!)
I mean, check out this view? You will think you’ve died and gone to heaven it’s so gorgeous!
Rock Isle Lake & Surrounding Lakes
From there, we hiked down to Rock Isle Lake. This hike from the platform to Rock Isle Lake is another half of a mile. It’s downhill and there are some small bridges to walk over, but again it’s a pretty easy hike.
Rock Isle Lake is the highest elevation lake in all of Canada and it’s completely gorgeous! We sat and ate our lunch at the benches overlooking this lake.
From there, you can hike around the other two lakes, Laryx Lake (which totally reminds me of a Dr. Seuss book) and Grizzly Lake. This loop, which snakes between all three lakes, is 2.2 miles. We did not attempt this loop with the kids, but my parents did and greatly enjoyed it!
Returning to Sunshine Village
With the boys, we left Rock Isle Lake and hiked back down to the village through open meadows. In total, we hiked about 2.5 miles. The great thing about taking the Standish Chairlift up to start hiking, is that you can mostly hike flat or downhill to get back to the village.
You could also start the other way and hike back uphill to the chairlift, if you’re awesome like that.
We even rode the chairlift up and back without getting off while we were waiting for my parents to finish their hike, and that was beautiful too! You can really enjoy Sunshine Meadows now matter what your ability level.
Interpretive Center at Sunshine Meadows is great for kids
Another great draw for your family to Sunshine Village is the interpretive center. Our boys loved hanging out in here! There are tons of hands-on objects and information about the wildlife and the valley.
My boys loved all of the rubber casts of animal prints and their droppings. They made all sorts of “discoveries” with the magnifying glasses and loved reading and learning about each animal.
There’s also a really cute reading nook with children’s books about the area and about forestry and forest animals in general. Your kids will love finding new books to read!
There are also coloring pages, a scavenger hunt (make sure to stop in and get it before you go out hiking!) and toys to play with. Let the kids play and color while you take in the rest of the interpretive center and actually get to read all of the signs on the displays! (Don’t worry, it’s just one big room, so you won’t get far from the kids.)
At the interpretive center, there are also very knowledgeable employees who can talk with you about the area and answer any questions you might have. We had a great ranger who we had seen cleaning up the park while we were hiking. Then he spent a lot of time talking with the boys about everything in the interpretive center and even showed them on a map all of the places he had seen grizzly bears this summer!
They were fascinated and I loved that he took so much time to make my boys happy and answer all of their questions and teach them about the animals. The customer service was above and beyond!
Eating at Sunshine Meadows
The number one thing I always look for when I am going to a secluded area with kids is accessibility to food. We pack snacks, but I always like to know there is food available just in case.
Up at the top village there are several options! There are several restaurants, a coffee shop and a little snack bar inside the hotel. We got some ice cream after all of our hiking and enjoyed it at a picnic table while others played volleyball.
In all we spent about 4 hours at Sunshine Village and we definitely could have stayed longer if we weren’t driving to Calgary that afternoon. It’s definitely worth spending half a day there.
