Banff

Banff is a town in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located within Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, about 78 miles or 126 kilometres west of Calgary and 36 miles or 58 kilometres east of Lake Louise.

Banff sits at an elevation of 4,800 ft or 1,463 m, making it the second highest Canadian community following Lake Louise. It is surrounded by mountains, notably Mount Rundle, Sulphur Mountain, Cascade Mountain and Mount Norquay. The town is situated above Bow Falls close to the confluence of the Spray River and Bow River.

The Town of Banff is the very first municipality to incorporate in a Canadian national park. The town is a member of the Calgary Regional Partnership.

The town of Banff is a resort town and amongst Canada's more famous tourist locations, known for its hot springs and mountainous surroundings. It is a location utilized for outdoor sports and features extensive biking, hiking, skiing and scrambling areas within the region. Sunshine Village, Ski Norquay and Lake Louise Mountain Resort are the three neighboring ski resorts situated within the national park.

The town of Banff was originally inhabited in the 1880's, right after the transcontinental railway was constructed in the area. It was in the year 1883, when a series of natural hot springs were located on the side of Sulpher Mountain, by three Canadian Pacific Railway workers. During the year 1885, Canada established a federal reserve of 26 km2 all over the Cave and Basin hot springs, and started marketing the area as an international spa and resort as a way to support the new railway. During 1887, the reserve region was increased to 673 km2 and named "Rocky Mountain Park." This was the beginning of Canada's National Park system.

Located directly adjacent to the townsite are a number of famous mountains, consisting of Mount Norquay, Mount Rundle and Cascade Mountain. On the Stoney Squaw section of Mount Norquay, has a ski slope and several mountain biking trails. A popular tourist spot, the Banff Gondola, is accessible to climb Sulphur Mountain where a boardwalk, known as the Banff Skywalk, beginning from the upper terminal takes tourists to Sanson Peak. Sulphur Mountain is also the place of Banff Upper Hot Springs, one of Banff's more famous tourist attractions.

Situated only 6 minutes due north of the town of Banff is a widely well-known day site that features numerous outdoor activities. Among the several activities that are permitted in this part of the park comprises mountain biking, hiking and fishing. There is a very popular Lake Cruise and motor boat rentals and a small food concession available at the marina.

Tunnel Mountain, which was previously known as Sleeping Buffalo Mountain, sits within the townsite are and is a popular for quick hikes, as the summit of the mountain could be reached in less than 30 minutes. It was dubbed Tunnel Mountain because surveyors firstly wanted to build a tunnel for the Canadian Pacific Railway right through the mountain, rather than following the Bow River Valley.

The town hosts a lot of yearly events including the Banff World Television Festival, Banff Mountain Film Festival, Bike Fest and Rocky Mountain Music Festival. The city is likewise the starting point of the 4417 kilometre Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, which terminates at Antelope Wells, New Mexico in the United States.