A Guide to having a Gondola Ride in Banff, Canada

Who doesn’t love a good old trip to the mountains? What makes it even more interesting is if you can access every nook and corner of those mountains. This is what Banff Gondola is all about! Since the town of Banff is located right on the shoulders of Sulphur Mountain and the Canadian Rockies, the Banff Gondola ride is a passageway for tourists to experience the amazing scenery and sereneness of the mountains from 2900 ft. above Banff! The Banff Gondola is not just a mere ride, it is a place where tourists can dine, click photos, engage in activities and enjoy the panoramic view from up above. What is even better is that the Gondola Banff is breathtaking in summers as well as the winters! While tourists mostly opt for the summer rides, most who have toured the Banff Gondola during winters recommend it the most. Although Gondola literally means a type of boat, here they are referred to as the cars which take you up the mountain and then bring you back. So let’s learn a bit more about this Banff Gondola ride!

By now we have already managed to tell you that the Banff Gondola is something that every tourist must experience at least once. But what is so breathtaking about this Banff Gondola? Well, here we’ll start off by giving you a small explanation of everything that you will get to experience once you take this Gondola ride. From the scintillating sight of the six mountains to the Bow Valley to the Banff town, here are the few spectacular views offered by the Gondola ride

Six Surrounding Mountains – The ride on Banff Gondola is extremely famous for the view of the several mountains that one gets while going up. While one is travelling 2,292 feet upwards towards the base, the view of Sulphur Mountain, Tunnel Mountain, Mount Rundle, Snow Dome, Cascade Mountain and Mount Norquay will surely scintillate the eyes of every tourist. While there are several small hills, these mountains are a part of the Banff National Park. If going during winter, each of these is sure to be ice-covered and as you travel up, it will look like a picture out of a Disney movie!

The Bow Valley – While the Gondola Banff is a great way to view the picturesque mountains when one looks down while sitting inside the Gondola they can see the jaw-dropping views of the Bow Valley. This Valley is situated at the east of the Canadian Rockies. The Bow River flows through the Banff National Park and all-in-all it is a sight to behold. Although, the best time to see this beauty is definitely in the summers when you can see the river flowing with the mountains in the backdrop. One could also take a hike to this Valley and see it closely.

The Town of Banff – Not many know that the Town of Banff is actually the highest town in Canada and it is located inside the Banff National Park. So, when you ride on the Banff Gondola, you will be right above this townsite. Travellers can experience the beauty of this town even without going there as the eight-minute ride on the Gondola will do justice to the incredibly gorgeous view of the town of Banff. But, of course, if one wants to explore the town, there’s a lot to see in it. From museums to bistros, one can spot travellers everywhere in this town.

While planning for any trip, one needs to research completely about what is the best time to visit. When it comes to Gondola Banff, the best part is that it is open all year long! While there are definite tourist preferences, the popular opinion is that the best time to go for a Gondola ride is June to August and December to March. If you are up for a ride in the Banff Gondola, you can do it during either of these times and be rest assured that you will witness a spectacular view. Although temperatures fluctuate drastically throughout the year, during the winter months it can go from single digits to anywhere up to the low 15s or so. During the summers the temperatures can go up to 21 and you will be able to enjoy a nice, warm and sunny weather. Thus, whether you choose summer or winter, it depends on what kind of scenery you are looking forward to. If snow-capped mountains are your thing, then we definitely suggest the wintery months! But, if you are planning to visit the surrounding lakes as well, you should opt for the summer months and enjoy the running waters.

Now, let’s start with your first ever Gondola ride and how you can go about it. The ride to Gondola is basically a 5-minute drive from downtown Banff. Reaching the base is easy as there are signs everywhere and many cars would be headed the same way. All one needs to do is find a parking spot once they reach the Gondola Terminal, which is at the base of Sulphur Mountain. Even if you don’t have a car, reaching the base is not hard at all. A free shuttle service works between 10 am to 5 pm and they leave from several spots. There is also the Banff’s Roam Transit which will take you right up to the Gondola. So once you are at the base, all you have to do is book your ride to the heavenly destination upwards!

After reaching the base of Gondola, the time comes for your adventure to start. After purchasing the tickets for the ride on Banff Gondola, you will have to stand in a queue and wait your turn. Thus, purchasing tickets beforehand online is most recommended. Especially if it is tourist season, the queue is surely going to be really long! The gondola cars are four-seaters and the journey to the boardwalk is a total of 8 minutes. In these eight minutes, you get a full view of the mountains and valleys and lakes. If we haven’t already said enough, you are not going to regret this ride simply because of the breath-taking view. This Gondola ride will take you up the hill and another one will be bringing you down back to the base. In total the ride is a rough 16 minutes one and trust us, that will be your 16 minutes in heaven! The ride up will take you up to the Sulphur Mountain Boardwalk and Rooftop Observation Deck. This place has a 360-degree view of Banff.

This is for all the adventure-seekers out there. While the Banff Gondola is worth trying, people who can definitely try the hike too! Often tourists complain that the Gondola ride is expensive and thus take up the more economic route by hiking up the hill. The Banff Gondola hike or the Sulphur Mountain Hike starts at the Upper Hot Springs parking lot, which is above the Gondola parking lot. The trail is about 5.5 kilometres and will take you around 2 hours to cover it. While the way itself may be a bit boring but if you live in cities, you will definitely love the forest way leading up to the beautiful scenery. The hiking goes on all year round but the best time to do it is definitely in the winters as you would have snow-covered pathways and also lots of tourists with you. In the region, often there are sightings of black bears, grizzly bears, coyotes, and cougars mostly during winters. So, one should definitely be careful about that and carry some precautionary stuff like bear sprays etc. The hiking is surely doable for people who are physically fit and can go up such a long route. Just like the Gondola ride, once you reach the top, the view will have done justice to all your hard work!

Once you have reached the Sulphur Mountain Boardwalk, you can let the breathtaking views sink in and go about clicking pictures or just absorbing all the beauty around you. Since it has a 360-degree view of Banff, the tourists absolutely love every moment up there. The place is even filled with food joints and rest areas. So, if you are going up hiking, you can get ample rest on the Boardwalk. Once you have done and seen everything from up there, you can continue to hike for another kilometre and reach the Cosmic Ray Station or Sanson’s Peak. From there you can even take a gondola down whenever you feel like. What’s extremely interesting about this peak is that it was named after Norman Bethune Sanson and the peak is also the site of Canada's highest elevation Cosmic Ray Station. So surely that kilometre would be worth walking!

Sanson’s Peak is possibly the easiest peak to climb for first-timers as one can take a Gondola, reach the Sulphur Mountain Boardwalk and just walk for 600 metres to reach the peak! Needless to say, this is one of the reasons that it is always swarmed by tourists. Most people go up to this peak to see the historic Cosmic Ray Station, which is now closed. Although one may not see anything different on this peak, it surely will make you closer to nature because of all the birds chirping, squirrels running around and just the great weather!

One of the biggest highlights of this Gondola trip is definitely the experience at the Above Banff Theatre. The theatre is not just like any other film theatre. It is a 40-seat, multi-sensory theatre and it runs a six-minute drone-shot film every few minutes that showcases the incredible beauty of the Canadian Rockies! So like they say, if you have ever wanted to know how flying feels like, this will be your perfect experience at this theatre. Tourists have often ventured on to this theatre to have this multi-sensory experience and came out extremely satisfied! So, if you are hiking up the mountain and could not afford a Banff Gondola ride, you can still go into this theatre and see what it feels like to see the whole trail from up above!

Once you are up on a mountain what can be better than enjoying the sun set behind the peaks? Especially if you are visiting the Canadian Rockies, nothing can be better than the gold-coloured sky at dusk. In fact, one major tourist attraction from June to September is the Banff Gondola Sunset Festival! It is hosted from 7-10 pm and there’s local craft beer, live music and storytelling at this event too! All this mixed up with the beautiful sunset view from 7600 ft above sea level. Another interesting thing is that up on the rooftop observation deck, the Banff Gondola allows the travellers to look at the sun through a special solar telescope. This definitely makes the sunset experience even better!

Apart from the Banff Gondola that we have been talking about, the area also has a few other ones which take travellers to different views of lakes and other peaks. Some are even not enclosed ones and give a somewhat different experience to people who have already visited the Sulphur Mountain once and want to see other areas.

1.Lake Louise Gondola – This Gondola gives the tourists the mesmerizing view of the Lake Louise from more 6000 ft elevation. Lake Louise is definitely as much a tourist spot at Banff. The scenery in this place cannot be described in simple words. One has to be there to witness the unbelievably beautiful Lake Louise surrounding. The Gondola ride lets you either be in an enclosed ride or just a chairlift one. It is a 16-minute ride up Whitehorn Mountain. You can also often sight grizzly bears and other animals while you are taking the ride up!

2.Banff Sunshine Sightseeing Gondola – This is yet another Gondola ride that every tourist will absolutely love! The Sunshine Village sits in the heart of Banff National Park and it a sight for the sore eyes! The Sunshine Gondola is nothing different from the Banff Gondola except that the former one is an eight-seater. The rides are available every weekend and it takes the passengers to the Standfish viewpoint platform where one can enjoy the 360-degree view of the Canadian Rockies!

3.BANFF NORQUAY SIGHTSEEING CHAIRLIFT – This ride is a complete fun open-air ride to the summit of Mount Norquay. This 10-minute chairlift takes up one to the clouds and gives them the beautiful backdrop view of the Town of Banff, Bow and Spray Valleys and also Mt. Rundle! Once up, there are tons of eateries and activity places for tourists to go to. It is a cheaper ride that the Banff Gondola and thus if you want a similar experience, the chairlift is your best option!

Now that we have told you everything that you needed to know about the Banff Gondola rides, here are some quick things you need to know about before you make your big trip to Banff!

The Banff Gondola is also accessible to people with limited mobility or the ones who have to use wheelchairs. Each of the Gondola cars is capable of carrying a wheelchair and once up, the pathways are also built in a wheelchair-friendly manner.

Do not forget to bring warm clothes even if you are travelling during the summers as once you’re atop the Sulphur Mountain, chilly winds will surely greet you!

Another most important thing is to bring your camera along! Bloggers, especially,do not forget that baby as you are going to want to take a lot of pictures of the beautiful scenery.

There are several hotels in the Town of Banff that will offer packages and which will include your Gondola ride, meals tours and much more!

Lastly, Gondola stays open even in the winters! In fact, if you love skiing, do not miss out on that opportunity. And, needless to say, the mountains look even more beautiful during the winter months.

So what are you waiting for? Take the ever-enriching Banff Gondola trip and make memories for life!