Banff Winter 'Fests: Banff SnowDays & Lake Louise Ice Magic Festival

Sometimes (not often) winter is worth celebrating. Christmas. Snow days. Curling up by the fire while big, fluffy flakes drift slowly to the ground outside. These are all things I actually do enjoy about winter.

In Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, parks personnel take celebrating winter to a whole new level. 

When I gifted my husband a trip to the mountains for his Christmas present this year, we were lucky enough to arrive on the same weekend that both the Banff SnowDays festival AND the Lake Louise Ice Magic Festival were happening. It made the weekend that much more full of interesting and beautiful sights, beyond the usual majesty of a winter mountain vacation.

Banff's Fox Hotel and Suites: Hotel Review

Since Banff, Alberta is such a popular tourist destination in both the summer and the winter, there are plenty of places to select from when looking for hotels, hostels, and bed and breakfasts. The most famous of all is the Banff Springs Hotel, which looks like a castle, is rumoured to be haunted, and is totally on my bucket list. I have yet to check that one off. (At what point do travel bloggers start to get free stays in fancy hotels? Because I'm still waiting...)

However, two weekends ago my family and I reserved rooms at the Fox Hotel and Suites on Banff Avenue right downtown, and it was an amazing mini-vacation. I'd like to give you the details on our stay so you can decide for yourself if this hotel is right for you when coming to visit Alberta's mountain wonderland.

Winter Tips for the Johnston Canyon Ice Walk

About thirty minutes west of Banff, Alberta is the amazing Johnston Canyon. Nestled in a valley in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, this canyon is impressive in both summer and winter. The seemingly innocuous Johnston Creek is responsible for the canyon's design, cutting through the limestone walls over millennia to form sheer cliff walls, smooth water-rounded corners, deep pools, and even a waterfall or two..

I have written about Johnston Canyon in the past, as we have hiked it several times during the summer months. I even have photos of myself as a child, feeding chipmunks and hanging from branches as my family and I hiked up to the falls. Now it is my turn to take photos of my own children doing the same!

However, despite being very familiar with the canyon, I had never hiked it during the winter. So for Christmas this year, I gifted my husband a weekend family trip away to Banff, where we'd visit Johnston Canyon and do the 'Ice Walk'.

Strolling the Banks of Lovely Lake Louise in Alberta

While I have lived in Alberta, Canada all of my life, I freely admit that I have not yet explored every nook and cranny of my province's various natural regions. It is a big province with much to offer, so there's no shame in admitting that I have a lot left to discover. I AM a little embarrased to reveal, however, that I have never laid my eyes first-hand on one of our most famous gems: Lake Louise.

Dog Sledding in the Canadian Rockies

For my husband's 35th birthday, I was out of gift ideas. We are planning for baby #2 (already - who knew we were so fertile!) and so have been downsizing and minimizing like crazy to make room for a second nursery. Peanut is only 13 months, so the two babes will be 18 months apart, and that means lots of baby items, toys, and messes. My office has now completely disappeared, and my husband's office now doubles as a spare room. Boxes of books, trinkets, clothes, and much more have been carted out our front door to various destinations, just as long as they are not in our house.

Backyard Bucket List: Banff Gondola and Upper Hot Springs

It's that time of year again - the time of year where we pack up our vehicle to the brim with suitcases, tennis rackets, good food, water sprinklers, board games, and beach toys, and head off on a beautiful drive through the Rocky Mountains of Canada to enjoy a week's stay in Invermere, British Columbia. This is our seventh year renting a cabin in the valley with my husband's family, and our first year doing so with a baby in tow.  (The car, incidentally, seemed MUCH fuller this time around!)

Ride in a Helicopter Over the Canadian Rocky Mountains

This weekend I got to ride in a helicopter for the first time ever, and what a ride it was! I didn't just hop into a helicopter and flit about over top of a city or prairie landscape - I flew over the Rocky Mountains of Alberta! How spectacular is that? If you don't have any idea just how spectacular, keep on reading!

Canoe Across the Turquoise Waters of Moraine Lake

Close your eyes and picture a lake with the bluest, clearest waters you can imagine. Then add a stunning mountain range framing this lake, capped with pure white glaciers and carpeted with lush, green trees. In your mind’s eye, slice through this lake in a bright yellow canoe, silent and calm, leaving a slight ripple as you glide across its blue waters.  

There.You have just visualized my Sunday afternoon at Moraine Lake. It was a little piece of heaven.

Hiking Johnston's Canyon in Alberta

Every year for our family holiday, my husband and I travel to Radium, British Columbia, where we rent a cabin for a week of fun in the sun with his side of the family. 

We hit the beach at Invermere (which is more of a pebble beach than a sand beach - so bring your water shoes!), go hiking in the mountains, and go sea-dooing and white water rafting. Of course, we have to spend at least one evening soaking in the relaxing and therapeutic hot springs.