Banff and Lake Louise Gondolas

We’ve already established that I’m an adventure wuss, seeking out thrills when I travel & then being terrified when I do. See the problem is that I’m afraid of falling, so that things like observation decks in skyscrapers are okay (unlikely the building wall will fall down) things like ski lifts, gondolas & small planes are tough for me. But the views they afford are just so alluring I keep going back again. I rolled the dice on adventures vs good views twice during our trip to Alberta: both times resulted in stunning views, but one resulted in a mini-4 minute-panic-attack. Lets see what some of Canada’s longest gondolas have to offer…

Lake Louise Gondola

Lake Louise Ski Resort is famous for its great skiing all winter long & its resident grizzly bears in the summer. A ride up the gondola is the perfect way to experience both without having to strap your ski or hiking boats on. The 14 minute ride is experienced either in a fully enclosed gondola or an open chair lift. For the ultimate experience, try one on the way up & one on the way down.

After a brief safety orientation, we were loaded into the gondola car & started our way up Mt. Whitehorn. The ride was smooth & the car wasn’t as high up off the ground as the Banff Gondola, so I kept my sightline on the horizon & kept freak outs to a minimum. It was a thrill to see Lake Louise, & her famous Fairmont, off in the distance.

Once we reached the top, we walked over to the nature interpretative center. Here you can get up close & personal with one of the grizzly bears – in its taxidermy state. They use the nature center to educate visitors & hikers about what to do around grizzly & black bears before you head out on a trail.

Also at the summit is the newly renovated Whitehorn Lodge restaurant. These types of restaurants are often gimmicky & the food generally isn’t that good, since the view makes up for all of it. Luckily for diners at Whitehorn, the food here is excellent & the view is just the cherry on top. B had a heaping beef tenderloin sandwich, while I noshed on a huge peach salad & a giant bowl of seafood chowder (a meal in itself). While the gondola is a year round attraction, note that the restaurant is open during summer & winter seasons (closed during shoulder season). Those months, you’ll be dining in the main lodge at the base of the mountain (which is made entirely of local trees) with slightly less picturesque views.

For the ride down the mountain, we chose the open air chair – a huge chairlift with little bars to rest your feet. Riding the chairlift going down allows for truly panoramic views of the Canadian Rockies. About half way down the ride, we finally spied our first bears of the trip: a momma & her cub chewing on berries about 100′ away. It was thrilling to finally (on day four!) see some of the wildlife that Banff National Park is famous for.

As we continued our ride down, I was starting to think that the whole thing really wasn’t that bad when the chairlift came to a dead halt. We sat there, swaying in the chilly mountain breeze, for what seemed like forever (but was probably only a few minutes) & just as the panic was starting to bubble up inside me, we were on our way. Soon enough we were back down on the ground & still on a high from seeing the bears.

If you find yourself in the Lake Louise area during the summer, a spin on the gondola is well worth the time. The views are majestic & it seems like a hidden gem, as their was hardly anyone else there the day we visited.

Know if you go…

– a roundtrip ride on the gondola is $29 for adults. If you think you might be hungry, buy a combo ticket. For a few extra dollars, you can add the lodge’s breakfast or lunch buffet, which is served in the main lodge building (not at the restaurant mentioned above). This option seemed a lot more casual & family friendly.

– there’s a Starbucks in the base lodge, which serves a full Starbucks drink menu. The day we were there, it was so cold, we got hot drinks just to warm up!

– it’s a long hike down from the top of Whitehorn Mountain. To get a taste of hiking without the commitment, join a staff-lead nature walk, which leaves from the nature center.

– if you’re in the area to experience the gondola, make sure & travel over the mountain to Lake Louise & Moraine Lake – both offer great hiking trails & beautiful views.

Banff Gondola

Somehow, I didn’t see the actual gondola route up the side of Sulfer Mountain as we pulled into the parking lot. If I had, there would have been nothing getting me on this extremely popular attraction. We bought tickets & were soon in our little shiny gray gondola car, traveling up the mountain. With an average incline of 51%, this eight minute long ride up nearly 2,300 feet is a slow meander up the mountainside offering breathtaking views of the town of Banff & all the surrounding mountains.

I was doing okay until the gondola car went over the first tower & hits the really steep part, where the track is about 125′ off the ground & your car is gliding well over the tree tops, & kind of freaked out. Luckily B was a good sport about it & we sat in silence as I did some deep breathing exercises all the way to the top. I thought sitting facing the mountain (away from the view) would be easier than looking out at the horizon, but I actually think it was more difficult, since there was no far off point to look at (I rode the opposite way on the way down & was a little nervous, but did better).

Once we reached the top of Sulfer Mountain, the views were spectacular, as were the crowds. You can walk almost completely around the building at the top of the mountain, allowing for nearly 360 degree views of everything from the Bow River & Bow Valley (even a peak at Bow Lake) to the town of Banff. It’s brilliant & majestic & I only wish it hadn’t been so overcast the day we were there.

Unfortunately, the line to return back down the gondola also snaked almost all the way around the building! This took us by surprise, as there was no line at all at the bottom & no one mentioned it when we got our tickets. We chatted with an employee who told us that crowds are quite common during the summer, regardless of what time of day you go – we thought we were being crafty by arriving around 6pm on a Sunday – & an average weight time of about an hour to get back down is common most days of the week. Already at the top of the mountain, there wasn’t much we could do except make the best of it, so we decided to explore a bit with the hopes that the line would die down.

In addition to several hiking paths leading down the mountain, there’s an easier trail of wood platforms & stairs over to adjoining Sanson’s Peak. Norman Sanson hiked to the top of the mountain every single week for about 30 years starting in 1903 just to check the weather. Once he stopped, the weather checking also stopped until the outpost was reused again back in the mid-1950s as a Cosmic Ray Monitoring Station. It was a neat area to explore & we even saw a few chipmunks running around to greet visitors.

Done at the top of the mountain, we were faced with a choice: hike back down the Sulfer Mountain trail, a trail of switchbacks which takes about two hours to get down, or wait in line. While no one wants to spend their precious vacation time waiting in line, that’s ultimately what we did. Not only were we not dressed appropriately to hike back down (it was significantly colder at the top of the mountain), we also didn’t have much water, our stomachs were growling for dinner time with only a Cliff bar to split between the two of us, & we were losing daylight quickly. In the end, we waited for a little over an hour for a gondola back down & met some interesting people in the process. I’m not sure how the crowds at the top can be avoided – the system handles about 650 people per hour – but a little head’s up before going up the mountain would be nice. An experience we had planned about 30 minutes total for ended up being nearly two hours (it’s our own darn fault, we should have checked the website ahead of time, as it clearly states to allow two hours, we were basing our time on the lack of crowds in the parking lot & ticket line). The ride down was beautiful, with magnificent views of Banff & even the hotel we were staying in. B made me promise I wouldn’t freak out & I pretty much (externally) kept to my promise.

Back down on land, we stopped by the in-house Starbucks for a dinner recommendation (which turned out to be awesome) & to snag a cool Banff mug.

If you’re a fan of gondola’s, the Banff Gondola is worth a trip up when you’re in town. Be sure & build plenty of time into your itinerary so you don’t feel rushed & have lots of time to explore once you’re at the top.

Know if you go… 

– Brewster Canada runs the Banff Gondola. Check out their website before you head out on your trip & see if a combo package is right for you. If you’re interested in doing several things, the Canadian Rockies Explorer Package is a great deal at a little over $100 per person (the Glacier Adventure alone is $50 purchased separately). Also, be sure & read the website closely – the prices quoted on the main pages can be a bit misleading depending on what experience you’re looking for.

– There is a revolving restaurant at the top of Sulfer Mountain, as well as a smaller snack bar (which was closed by the time we were there). You might want to bring a snack to nosh on while you’re in line.

– Come prepared to hike down. I really wish we had known about the hiking down option, as we would have planned our trip better & done that. Make sure you have plenty of water before taking off down the mountain.

Our rides on the Banff Gondola was provided by Travel Alberta & Brewster. Our ride on the Lake Louise Gondola was provided by Travel Alberta & Lake Louise. All opinions & nervous freak outs are my own.