As soon as I returned from my trip to Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon with REI in October 2024, I was ready to immediately book my next trip with them. Since I love taking snowy winter trips, I looked at their snowshoeing trips and found they had a snowshoe trip to Banff. I’ve always wanted to go to Banff and see the Canadian Rockies so this sounded perfect. I ran it by my friend Diane and she was all in so we signed up. We booked our flights, an overnight stay in Calgary on our way to Banff, and an extra night at the Banff Caribou Lodge, the base for the trip. We thought we were all set and just had to wait until February.

Well we were wrong. On January 8, 2025 we got an email from REI saying that they were cancelling their travel program. Not just the trip we were on but all of their trips. For many reasons I was very disappointed with how REI handled this, but I won’t get into that here. But bottom line our trip was cancelled and we had to figure out what to do. While REI would refund the money we paid to them, we still had laid out money for flights and hotels. This is a big reminder of the importance of trip insurance.

(Re) Planning the trip

After a quick discussion we decided to go to Banff anyway. We just needed to find activities that would be similar to the REI trip. We  booked two trips with a company that had snowshoeing and winter hiking. But I didn’t feel completely satisfied with what we found. So I searched for hiking companies figuring if someone hiked in the warm weather they may snowshoe in the cold. And that’s when I found Banff Hiking Company. I contacted Sam, the owner of the company, and he was very responsive. He asked lots of questions about what we wanted, our fitness levels, etc. and then made a number of suggestions. I was so impressed with him we decided to book two days of private tours with him as our guide. Yes, more expensive than a group tour, but he was worth every Canadian penny.

Banff

Banff is a very pretty, small city. While they have a free shuttle that runs up and down the main street, Banff Avenue, we never took it and always walked. There is lots of nice shopping, plenty of good restaurants as well as coffee and tea shops, and many art galleries. Restaurants we particularly liked included Brazen (where they flambe the steak at the table!), Nourish (which specializes in vegan and vegetarian dishes and has a somewhat hippy vibe), and Suddenly Sally. Many shops specialize in outdoor gear which is helpful if you forget anything or need more layers (like I did). There are a few streets off the main road but all in all this is a small place and easy to explore. Also, Central Park that runs along the Bow River to Bow Falls that is very pretty and worth seeing.

Banff Ave,
Bow River from Banff
Central Park, Banff

Guided Activities

One afternoon we went with White Mountain Adventures on their Snowshoeing on Top of the World at Sunshine Meadows tour. And yes you really do feel like you are on top of the world. They pick you up at your hotel and bring you to the Sunshine Village Ski Resort. From there you take a gondola to the top. We snowshoed for over 2 hours in deep powder under a bright blue sky. The views were amazing—you could see Mt. Assiniboine, and across the continental divide into British Columbia. Hot chocolate and cookies were provided. The trip was a lot of fun and the guide was great.

The next day we did another trip with White Mountain Adventures to Johnston Canyon. This time we used ice cleats. No powdery snow on this trip, but lots of ice. We walked through the bottom of the canyon past frozen waterfalls ending at the “Cathedral of Ice” at the Upper Falls. We could also see people learning to ice climb which looked like a lot of fun.

One evening we did a guided walk (Banff Guided Sunset and Stargazing tour) which we booked through Get Your Guide. This was a 2 hour, 3.5 mile easy walk that started at the Cave and Basin National Historic Site. It was a brilliantly clear (though freezing cold) and we saw a spectacular sunset and loads of stars. The guide was great, very knowledgeable and entertaining. He even contacted us beforehand to let us know that the evening we had booked was supposed to be cloudy and asked us to switch to another evening with a clear forecast. He provided headlamps, foot warmers, and hot chocolate and a snack.  And he even drove many of us back to our hotels which was above and beyond. 

Highlight of our Trip

The two days we spent with Sam and the Banff Hiking Company were more than we could have hoped for and were truly magical. He was great company and a great guide. He knew all about the history of the area, geology, fauna, flora etc. I can’t say enough good things about Sam.

And he definitely took us off the standard tourist routes. Our first day we went to Chester Lake (in Spray Valley Provincial Park). We used ice cleats on frozen lakes and through beautiful woods. In 4 hours we only saw two other people. The next day we made a short stop at Bow River and then Lake Louise (at our request) and then snowshoed on a trail to Peyto Lake. We did not see anyone on that trip though we did see loads of people when we went to the observation point that overlooks the lake which is what most tourists do. Plus he was always willing to stop at any random place that we asked him to.

And I really need to mention the lunches that he provided. I was expecting the standard boring sandwich. But lunch was completely unexpected and delicious. Each day he brought a thermos of soup for each of us. And a baked treat. And he clearly went to great lengths to make sure we had both a delicious meal and also a nutritious one. Also since Diane is strictly gluten free he took this very seriously to make sure she had a lunch that she could eat. He even made us a bench out of snow so we had a place to sit to enjoy our hot lunch.

Other logistics

  • If you don’t want to rent a car it is very easy to take a bus to Banff. The Brewster Express runs many times a day from Calgary Airport with several stops in Banff. It takes about 2 hours.
  • We overnighted in Calgary before heading to Banff. The Hampton Inn at the Calgary Airport was a good location with nice staff and a shuttle to/ from the airport.
  • As noted, we stayed at the Banff Caribou Lodge which was a great choice. This is a large hotel and on the downside it was very crowded. But it is a nice place with a good restaurant. It’s only about a 10 minute walk to the center of Banff. Also, the rooms had tons of storage space which is needed when dealing with all the clothes you need in the winter.
  • Which brings me to the cold.  It was. Very cold. I like the cold and thought I had everything I needed but I was wrong. My first day there I bought an outer layer (to go over my puffy jacket, that went over my fleece layer, which was covering my merino wool layer). And I usually don’t use hand or foot warmers but I did this trip. Daytime temperatures ranged from about -3F to 20. The evening of the night tour it was below -10!
  • Finally, just another note on trip insurance. If we chose not to do the trip after REI cancelled, we would have lost the money for flights and hotels. REI even said in the cancellation email that everyone should have insurance to cover the costs that they weren’t refunding. Something to keep in mind when deciding whether or not to insure a trip.

Want to know more?

With a little work, it wasn’t too hard to plan this trip on our own.  While we were less active than the REI trip would have been, we totally enjoyed ourselves and felt the trip was just perfect. For anyone wanting a hiking and/or snowshoeing guide, I highly recommend Banff Hiking Company. I could go on and go about all the ways Sam went out of this way to make our days with him and our stay in Banff as wonderful as possible. But bottom line: If you come to Banff and want to go snowshoeing or hiking, I highly recommend contacting Sam and booking a trip with him. While somewhat more expensive than a group tour it is still a great value and well worth it.

If you prefer a multiday group tour, Mt. Sobek has a trip (Banff and Beyond Winter Hiking Tour) that is the equivalent of the one we were originally signed up for. After REI cancelled their travel program in January 2025 Mt. Sobek travel took over many of their trips.

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