Hi Everyone! Here's What’s Happening This Week!

With bear activity thin on the ground in the Rockies, we have had to head over to BC for our Cute bear video fix. Coola, the grizzly bear, emerged from 149 days of hibernation on 18 April, ate some lettuce, and went back to bed. Her enclosure-mate Grinder lost 192 pounds over winter without eating, drinking, or contributing anything to society. Both are residents of Grouse Mountain, both are healthy, and both are considerably more rested than most people reading this.

Closer to home, Lake Louise Ski Resort closes out the ski season tomorrow with Mt. Slushmore - a pond skim running 25 April, noon to 4 PM, with live music from 11 AM and a free SkiBig3 shuttle from Banff. Costume is required. Online registration closes today at 4 PM.

For anyone visiting the area and weighing accommodation options, Skyridge Glamping offers private mountain cabins for those who want the scenery without the tent pegs.

Rounding out this week: Hunter, a French-inspired live-fire steakhouse, is opening in Canmore and looking for front and back of house staff at a hiring fair across April and May. Full details inside.

There is plenty happening this week. Dive into the event listings below, or check out the detailed events page on our website.

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Why you need to hike Johnston Canyon

Johnston Canyon Hike - Banff National Park in July

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The Banff Gondola is one of Banff’s most popular attractions. It offers an easy way to reach the summit of Sulphur Mountain without hiking. The short 8-minute ride leads to observation decks, a boardwalk, and an interpretive centre.

For a special winter experience, head up at sunset and catch the Nightrise light show, where the summit is transformed by immersive sound and light installations.

It is a great way to gain a high-altitude perspective of the Bow Valley and the surrounding peaks. However, we do recommend booking in advance, especially during busy periods, as tickets can sell out.

Book your ride for summit views without the hike!

🌨️ Spring isn't quite ready to commit in Banff this weekend. Friday teases us with mainly sunny skies and a high of 3°C, before Saturday delivers a chance of flurries and a chilly high of -1°C. Sunday redeems itself slightly with a mix of sun and cloud and a high of 2°C. Full Forecast Here

🐻 Grinder and Coola Are Back. If grizzly sightings in Banff have been thin on the ground, and you want a bear fix, Grouse Mountain's resident bears emerged from their den on 18 April after 149 days of hibernation - healthy, unhurried, and apparently unimpressed by the fuss. Grinder shed 192 pounds over winter without eating, drinking, or doing anything productive. Coola ate some lettuce and went back to bed. If you are passing through Vancouver on the way to Banff, you can visit them here.

🌊 Mt. Slushmore Returns This Weekend. Lake Louise Ski Resort's pond skim event runs on 25 April, noon to 4 PM, with live music from 11 AM and a free SkiBig3 shuttle from Banff. Registration is free - costume required, waiver required, dignity optional. Online sign-ups close 24 April at 4 PM.

🚵 Three Days of Gravel in Kananaskis. The Divide returns to Kananaskis Lodge on 5-7 June - a three-day gravel cycling weekend with route options of 55, 85, and 110km, skills clinics, and fireside sessions. Registration is open now.

⛺ 900 New Campsites, Wrong Valley. Alberta is adding 900 campsites by 2033, with 118 confirmed for 2026-27 at Freeman Lake, Pigeon Lake, Waterton Reservoir, and Two Lakes. Kananaskis, which drew five million visitors last year, gets none. Find out about the Kananaskis Pass.

🥩 New Steakhouse Hiring in Canmore. Hunter, a French-inspired live-fire steakhouse, is opening in Canmore and holding a hiring fair at The Malcolm Hotel across three dates in April and May. All FOH and BOH positions, full and part-time.

🏃 Roads Closed for Jasper Half Marathon. Sleepy Hollow Road and Hazel Avenue will be closed Saturday, April 25, as the Jasper Half Marathon runners cross Highway 16 near the town gates. RCMP will hold traffic briefly at the crossing.

🚁 See Banff from above. This 25-minute helicopter flight over Lake Minnewanka lifts you above rivers, valleys, and mountain ranges for a perspective you simply can't get from the ground. Book your flight here.

🚶 Banff Town Walking Tour - A two-hour guided walk that skips Banff Avenue entirely in favour of the spots most visitors miss - the Art in Nature Trail, the Luxton Museum, local lore, and elevated views of Rundle and Cascade. This guided Banff town walk includes a sweet treat and drink along the way.

🌊 Yoho National Park and Golden Skybridge Day Tour - A full day west into Yoho - Emerald Lake, the Natural Bridge, Takakkaw Falls, and the Golden Skybridge 130 metres above the canyon. This day tour from Banff into Yoho and Golden covers terrain most Banff visitors never reach. Early start, long day - worth it.

🌌 Banff Night Sky and Northern Lights Tour - A three-hour evening walk into Banff's Dark Sky Preserve, guided by someone who knows where to go based on real-time cloud cover and solar activity. Book this Banff stargazing and aurora tour and wear proper thermals - it gets cold fast once the sun goes down.

Most Banff-area hotels are perfectly comfortable, perfectly predictable, and largely interchangeable once you've closed the blackout curtains. These three are different - each one puts you somewhere you'd struggle to recreate any other way.

🦌 Skoki Lodge - No road access, no electricity, no Wi-Fi, and a 10km ski or hike to reach it - which sounds like a hardship until you're sitting by the fire in a log cabin that hasn't changed much since 1931, and you realise that "unreachable" was exactly what you were after. Read The Reviews And Book

⛈️ Storm Mountain Lodge - Tucked into a highway pullout between Banff and Lake Louise that most people drive past without a second glance, these original 1920s cabins offer a proper wood-burning fireplace, no television, and the kind of quiet that reminds you what you came to the mountains for in the first place. Read The Reviews And Book

🧊 Glacier View Lodge - Sitting at 2,088 metres on top of the Icefields Parkway, this is the only hotel in Canada where you can watch the sun set over a glacier from your bed, which justifies the prices more convincingly than most things that justify prices. Read The Reviews And Book

🤔 Is it better to live in Banff or Canmore? Banff has strict residency restrictions, so living in Canmore is the more realistic option for most people.

🏔️ What will I actually see on Policeman's Creek Trail? Mountain views, wetlands, birdlife, and a couple of historic landmarks - it covers more ground than its easy reputation suggests.

☀️ Is August a good time to visit Banff? It is summer at its most vivid, with warm days, brilliant turquoise lakes, and a packed calendar of events - but peak crowds and fully booked accommodation mean it takes real planning to get it right. See the full guide

Yesterday’s Question: Which lake is shown in this photo, known for its vivid green colour and loop trail?

✅Answer: 2) Emerald Lake - 64% Correct

Emerald Lake is known for its vivid green colour and easy loop trail, and it’s often compared with other Rockies favourites like Peyto Lake, Moraine Lake and Bow Lake.

If you like the idea of being surrounded by mountain scenery but don’t want the effort that comes with camping, Skyridge Glamping sits nicely in between. The private cabins are set in a quiet natural setting, giving you a real sense of being away from it all.

Book now to enjoy a peaceful mountain escape

📅 Today’s Events are listed below. To view future events, visit our website.

BANFF EVENTS | CANMORE EVENTS | JASPER EVENTS | BANFF HAPPY HOURS | CANMORE HAPPY HOURS |

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