How to spend 5 days in Alberta, Canada (With Extra Buffer Days for Recovery)

This trip to Alberta, Canada didn’t start the way I first imagined. We landed in Calgary early morning around 1am. Originally I was going to do a solo trip and had planned to drive straight into the mountains for an alpine start of the Big Beehive trail at Lake Louise. Plans shifted, a friend joined the trip, and the days unfolded slower than expected - but probably exactly how this part of Canada is meant to be experienced. Over the next few days, the itinerary filled itself in with hikes around Banff, long scenic drives, and eventually a full day of doing absolutely nothing.

Where to stay

We stayed in Cochrane instead of Banff or Canmore because prices inside the park were honestly hard to justify. For the same dates, Banff and Canmore accommodations were running $2000-$3000, while our stay in Cochrane was closer to $500. The tradeoff was driving a bit more each day - about an hour to Canmore and roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes to Banff - but the savings made it worth it for us and I very much enjoy scenic drives. Now let’s get into it!

Day 1: Late-Night Arrival + Calgary, Cochrane and Canmore

After a short night of sleep, we woke up mid-morning and spent a few hours walking around Calgary. We went to the top of the Calgary Tower, stopped by Calgary Central Library and wandered along the river for a bit before heading out of the city.

Later, we drove towards Cochrane and before checking into our Airbnb, made a stop at Ghost Lake to skip some rocks. After check in, we continued on to Canmore. In Canmore, we did the Grassi Lakes Interpretive Lower Trail, which is about 2 miles long with 700ft of elevation gain. This was a beautiful and scenic hike that felt like the right way to start the trip without overdoing it.

We ended the day with dinner in Canmore before heading back to Cochrane to rest ahead of an early morning.

Day 2: Lake Louise and Moraine Lake

We caught the 7am Parks Canada shuttle to Lake Louise, which must be reserved in advance. Make sure you give yourself a lot of time to reserve these. Shuttle access is essential, as private vehicles are restricted.

From Lake Louise, we hiked the Big Beehive Trail which is about 6.5 miles with 2,400ft of elevation gain. In the beginning you are hiking through a lot of trees but after about an hour, you’ll make it to Mirror Lake. Another hour in and you’ll have made it to Lake Agnes. There is a tea house here with food and drinks but we didn’t get anything because it was very busy. There are bathrooms here though which was nice.

We still had a ways to go to make it to the top and if you’re silly enough to do this hike with little research on the very first week of June (opening week) like us, you’ll find out that there is still a high possibility of snow being on the trail up to the Big Beehive. If you decide to do this hike in early June, make sure you research trail conditions because navigating up the switchbacks was the absolute scariest and dumbest thing I’ve ever done. We had to pretty much climb straight up off the path. Some people turned around and we honestly probably should have too because I had no idea how we were going to get back down. During the sketchy switchback navigation, we ended up joining forces with another pair of people and all helped each other up, finally making it to the top!

It was very insane seeing how blue the water was and I have never seen something so beautiful. After spending a lot of time admiring the scenery, we headed down and back the mountain and took the shuttle connector to Moraine Lake. Here, we walked up the famous rockpile for the classic viewpoint. Even with the crowds, the color of the lake is unreal in person and the backdrop of the mountains was the icing on the cake. This was my 2nd favorite view of the whole trip. (We’ll get into the first later :)

Day 3: Banff Town, Bow River, Elbow Falls

Day three was slower. We walked around downtown Banff, stopping by the Bow River and the Cascade of Time Garden. We grabbed Beaver Tails (aka the best pastries to exist), lunch, and ate in the gardens. An easy, relaxed lunch with mountain views. After lunch we checked out Bow River and it was actually insane how fast and strong that water was moving. Definitely not something you want to fall in! We left Banff and then headed for Elbow Falls which was a recommendation from our Airbnb host. While it’s not directly near Banff, it made for a very peaceful stop away from the main tourist areas. We even got to see some wildlife on the way out!

Day 4: Emerald Lake, Johnston Canyon

We slept in a little bit to recover and then hit the road towards Yoho National Park. We started the day with croissants by Emerald Lake, a quieter and less crowded alternative to the more famous lakes. I couldn’t get over how pretty the colors with the mountains were.

After spending some time here, we headed to Johnston Canyon, hiking the trail to the Lower Falls. This is a well-maintained, accessible hike that’s great even if your legs are starting to feel the week.

Day 5: Icefields Parkway, Peyto Lake and Bow Lake

It was my friend’s last day and we headed back towards Yoho National Park. This day was dedicated to the iconic Icefields Parkway, one of the most scenic drives in the world. We first stopped at Peyto Lake. This had to be my favorite view of the entire trip. The lake was insanely blue and looks like a wolf, the mountains being the perfect backdrop. I’ve even had people tell me that my photos of this one look like AI. We headed back to Calgary after so that my friend could make his flight and stopped at Bow Lake for some pictures on the way out.

By the time I reached my last full day, Day 6, my body had officially hit its limit. After days of early mornings, long drives, hiking, and constant movement, I spent the day doing absolutely nothing—and it was exactly what I needed. No plans, no pressure, just resting, reflecting, and letting everything we’d experienced settle in. It felt like the right way to end the trip, a quiet pause after a week that was full in the best way possible.