If you caught our Day 2 guide to exploring Banff Avenue, you know we officially settled into our mountain home base in Canmore. After a solid night of actual sleep and some home-cooked meals, it was time to lace up our boots and hit our first official trail.
When you look up the absolute best, easy family hikes in Banff, one name tops every single list: Johnston Canyon.
It’s famous for a reason. The trail features suspended steel catwalks bolted directly into the canyon walls, roaring turquoise waterfalls, and a walk-through cave that makes you feel like an actual explorer. But because it’s so family-friendly, it is also a logistical lightning rod.
While most guides tell you to pack into your rental car at the crack of dawn to fight for a parking spot, we decided to use a totally different parenting power move. Here is our honest review of tackling Johnston Canyon with kids, the public transit hack that saved us a ton of cash, and what we did with our afternoon.
Skip the Car: Why We Took Roam Transit to Johnston Canyon
Let’s get the most important warning out of the way first: Johnston Canyon has incredibly limited parking, and the lots fill up fast. If you try to drive your own vehicle here mid-morning, you will likely be met with a single-file, slow-crawling gridlock of cars and tour buses turning around in defeat.
Instead of dealing with that headache, we left our Dodge Grand Caravan parked at the condo and leaned into the local public transit system: Roam Transit.
🚌 OUR TRANSIT ROUTE
• Step 1: Caught the Route 3 bus from Downtown Canmore to Banff town.
• Step 2: Transferred to the Route 9 bus at the Banff High School hub straight to Johnston Canyon.
Not only is taking the bus way cheaper than paying for national park parking fees and gas, but it completely eliminates the stress of driving. You just get to sit back, look out the window, and enjoy the scenery.
The Ultimate Bus Bonus: A Black Bear Sighting!
If you need a reason to convince your kids to ride public transit, tell them it doubles as a wildlife safari. While we were cruising along the scenic Bow Valley Parkway on the Roam Transit bus, the entire vehicle gasped. Right there, clear as day on the side of the road, was a wild black bear!
Seeing a bear safely from the elevated, large windows of a transit bus was the absolute peak of the morning for the kids. It gave us a massive “Rockies milestone” before we even stepped foot on the trail.
Mother Hustler Safety Note: Even though we were taking the bus, we carried bear spray with us everywhere. Keep in mind that you cannot fly on an airplane with bear spray—it is strictly prohibited in both checked and carry-on bags because it’s a pressurized aerosol. We made it a priority to purchase a can immediately after landing in Alberta. Better safe than sorry!
Tips for Hiking Johnston Canyon with Kids: Is Johnston Canyon Stroller Friendly?
If you read my Day 1 post, you know our lightweight umbrella stroller was a savior in the airport. Naturally, you might wonder: Can I bring an umbrella stroller up the Johnston Canyon trail?
The honest answer? Leave the stroller back at your lodging.
While the first stretch of the trail out of the parking area is paved, it quickly transitions into narrow, elevated steel catwalks that are only wide enough for two people to pass each other. There are sections with stairs, steep inclines, and uneven ground. Pushing a stroller or a wagon through the narrow walkways while navigating two-way foot traffic is incredibly stressful for you and everyone else.
Instead, let your toddlers walk the boardwalk sections where the handrails are completely secure, and keep a sturdy toddler carrier backpack on hand for when their little legs inevitably give out.
The hike to the Lower Falls is a 1.1 km (about 0.7 miles) walk each way. It’s the perfect distance for school-aged kids and just manageable enough for a determined 3-year-old. You cross a wooden footbridge over the creek and enter a short, natural rock tunnel where you pop out right next to the crashing waterfall!
Post-Hike Lunch: Sunshine and Donair Poutine at Banff Ave Brewing Co.
After completing our hike, we hopped right back onto the Roam Transit bus, which dropped us back in the town of Banff just in time for lunch.
We headed straight to Banff Ave Brewing Co. and managed to score a table upstairs on their outdoor patio. The late May weather was absolutely beautiful and warm—perfect for sitting outside, sipping a local craft beer, and soaking in the mountain views.
For lunch, I decided to try something uniquely Canadian: Donair Poutine.
What exactly is a “Donair”? If you’ve never heard of it, a Canadian donair is an East Coast staple (originally from Halifax) inspired by Greek gyros and Turkish doner kebabs. It consists of heavily spiced ground beef cooked on a vertical spit, shaved thin, and topped with a distinctively sweet, garlicky sauce made from condensed or evaporated milk, sugar, vinegar, and garlic. Throwing that on top of french fries and cheese curds is pure comfort food heaven.
An Afternoon Walk to the Cave & Basin Museum
Fueled up on poutine, we took a scenic walk from downtown over to the Cave and Basin National Historic Site.
🏛️ MUSEUM FAST FACTS
• What it is: The birthplace of Canada’s National Parks system!
• The Main Attraction: Natural thermal hot springs bubbling inside an underground cave.
• Indigenous History: It has been a sacred gathering place for Indigenous Peoples for over 10,000 years.
• Admission Trick: Entrance is completely FREE if you already hold a Parks Canada / Discovery Pass!
It is a fantastic, highly interactive museum for kids. Walking into the actual cave to see and smell the steaming, sulfur-rich thermal springs felt like a science lesson come to life.
On our walk to the museum, we had our second major wildlife sighting of the day: a beautiful elk hanging out near the flats. Because late May is calving season in the Rockies, mother elk are famously protective and can become aggressive if they feel cornered. We made sure to give her a very wide, respectful berth and used our camera zoom for pictures!
By the time we wrapped up at the museum, the kids’ eyelids were getting heavy. We hopped back onto our transit route to Canmore, headed to the condo, and settled in for pool for the kids and wine for the parents. Day 3 was an absolute logistical and experiential home run.
Next up in the series: Day 4, where we take our adventures to new heights. We’re heading up the Banff Gondola to the summit of Sulphur Mountain. I’ll break down whether the steep ticket prices are actually worth it for a family of five!