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

A quick scheduling note before we get into it. Once the long weekend is behind us, What's On Banff drops to two issues a week instead of five, landing Thursday and Sunday. That starts next week.

Summer is a five-day-a-week town. Events change daily, and the inbox has to keep up. Autumn doesn't move like that. Two issues give us room to cover things properly without padding out an issue for the sake of it.

In January we go back to five a week. That's when trip planning season starts in earnest, and if you're booking a summer visit to Banff, you'll want the volume. Accommodation windows, event dates, permit and reservation openings- all of it lands early in the year.

Nothing else changes in the meantime. Same events, same trail and road updates, same local detail. And we'll still drop the odd extra issue when something warrants it: the What's On in October roundup, big event weekends, anything that can't wait for Thursday.

Alberta votes on 20 October. Five of the questions concern non-permanent residents - in this valley, a large share of the people working in restaurants, hotels and tour offices. Nothing changes on the day, and none of it is aimed at visitors, but it is worth keeping an eye on.

There is a free day at Star 6 Ranch near Mînî Thnî on 12 September, built around workshops, horses, yoga and storytelling. Last year's was the first, and more than 150 people turned up. Check which sessions need pre-registration before you go.

Wildlife is easier to find in September, but not at the hours most people are looking. Animals move at dawn and dusk, and dusk is the more practical of the two on holiday. This evening tour shapes its route around what has actually been seen that day, with stops at Lake Minnewanka, Bow Falls and the Norquay lookout. Three hours, small van, no promises - though they put their sighting rate at 95%.

Lake Louise is the other September problem. Parks Canada shuttle reservations go quickly, which leaves most people refreshing a booking page at odd hours. The Post Hotel and Spa avoids that with a complimentary shuttle to Lake Louise and a private one to Moraine for guests.

Plan Your Visit To Banff For September | October

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Book a spot on this evening wildlife tour, and your guide builds the route around that day's recent sightings - with stops at Lake Minnewanka, Bow Falls, and the Mt. Norquay lookout.

Check availability for your dates

🗳️ What Alberta’s Referendum Means for Visitors. Nothing changes on 20 October, and none of the proposals is aimed at tourists. But five ballot questions target non-permanent residents, the group staffing much of the valley on Working Holiday visas and temporary permits. If future policy makes Alberta less appealing to them, the tell would be shorter restaurant hours, fewer tour departures and thinner hotel service in peak weeks. Book the trip; keep half an eye on the rest.

🐴 Free Day on the Land. Star 6 Ranch near Mînî Thnî hosts a free day of workshops, horses, yoga and storytelling on 12 September. Some sessions need pre-registration; last year's first edition drew more than 150 people.

🎭 artsPlace Weighs a Six-Fold Expansion. Canmore council approved a feasibility agreement for the downtown block, with early estimates pointing to 50,000 square feet. The theatre is currently booked so far ahead that new performances cannot be scheduled before 2028.

🔥 Canmore Starts Final Fireguard Phase. Construction runs from the Rundle Forebay toward Pigeon Mountain and Dead Man's Flats from 14 September. An information night on 9 September runs from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Canmore Brewing Company on Railway Avenue.

🔥 Prescribed Burn Planned for Southesk Valley. Parks Canada is preparing to burn roughly 925 hectares near Southesk Lake between September and early October, weather permitting. Backcountry users on the South Boundary Trail should expect visible smoke.

🌧️ The long weekend's rain finally clears out, with sunshine landing midweek - Sunday brings rain and a cool 13°C, Labour Day Monday stays cloudy at 16°C, and Tuesday finally breaks with a mix of sun and cloud at 17°C. That warmer, sunnier stretch we've been waiting for arrives as the weekend wraps up. Full Forecast Here

🚡 The hotel you can only reach by gondola. Sunshine Mountain Lodge sits a 20-minute gondola ride from the road - ski-in/ski-out in winter, alpine meadows and glacial lakes in summer, seclusion either way. Find out more

🎬 Banff Romantic Highlights - If you've watched "Can This Love Be Translated?", this nine-hour run takes in the Cascade of Time Garden and the Bow River bridge where it was filmed, plus Bow Falls, Two Jack and Minnewanka. Eleven people maximum.

🦌 Banff Wildlife Tour - Three hours in a small van with a guide who shapes the route around what's actually been spotted that week. Minnewanka, Two Jack, Surprise Corner and the Hoodoos. Sightings aren't promised, but they claim 95%.

🛶 Big Canoe River Explorer - No experience needed for this one. You paddle as a group in a twelve-seater from the Banff Canoe Club, heading upstream first so the way back is an easy float. Lemonade on the shore afterwards.

🐾 Why has Split Lip been linked to killing other bears' cubs? It is a natural behaviour called sexually selected infanticide, common among dominant male grizzlies - but the incidents involving Split Lip are more dramatic than most, and well worth reading in full. See the full guide

🏔️ How does Canmore compare to Banff for family-friendly hiking? Canmore's easy trails are right in town, free to access, and less crowded than Banff's popular routes - making it a genuinely practical choice for families with young children.

💰 Is Roam Transit cheap to use? It is one of the more affordable ways to get around the park, especially compared to parking and fuel costs.

Avoid the Parks Canada shuttle lottery. This hotel runs a complimentary shuttle to Lake Louise and a private shuttle to Moraine Lake.

Find out more

Yesterday’s Question: Why is swimming no longer permitted in the original hot spring pools at the Cave and Basin National Historic Site?

✅Answer: 4) To protect the endangered Banff Springs Snail - 61% Correct

The site is the primary home of this tiny, rare mollusc, and human contact with the water can disrupt its fragile ecosystem.

📅 Featured events for today are listed below. Visit our website for the FULL EVENT CALENDAR

All Day | Canmore Highland Games | Centennial Park | Canmore

14:30 | Beethoven's Spring Sonata | The Banff Centre | Banff

15:00 | Free Range Country | Carter-Ryan Theatre | Canmore

18:00 | Northern 1/4 Band | Rose and Crown Canmore | Canmore

19:30 | Jasper Historical Tour | Jasper Town | Jasper

22:00 | Brent Lee | Rose and Crown Banff | Banff

22:00 | Kate Reid | The Drake | Canmore

18:00 | Sunset Festival @ Banff Gondola | Banff Gondola | Banff

20:00 | Monday Trivia | High Rollers | Banff

20:00 | Live Music Night | Three Bears | Banff

22:00 | Karaoke Night | The Drake | Canmore

22:00 | Arn Smit: Live | High Rollers | Banff

22:00 | Brent Lee | Rose and Crown Banff | Banff

All Day | Local Art Show and Sale | Elevation Place | Canmore

19:00 | Trivia Tuesday | Rose and Crown Canmore | Canmore

19:00 | Trails in Motion 14 | artsPlace Canmore | Canmore

20:30 | Line Dancing | The Dusty Boot | Banff

21:00 | DJ Styler Nazo | High Rollers | Banff

22:00 | Jesse Peters | Rose and Crown Banff | Banff

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