Alaska Trip Day 16 – Johnston Canyon

August 2, 2023

On our last full day in Banff National Park, we decided to go see Johnston Canyon. It was a short hike up and down through the woods to see a waterfall at the end. The lower falls was about a mile in/out, and the upper falls was another 2 miles in/out. We went to the lower falls, but didn’t trek any further. The trail was full of hills and valleys, and was not that easy on our feeble knees!

At the entrance to the park was a really nice resort/hotel. We drove another couple miles to the trailhead to the falls. Along side the trail just about the whole way is the small river that the lower falls generates. It was full of water and I’m sure was really cold! When we got close to the falls, the trail turned into a walkway that was mounted to the side of the canyon. At some points, the valley of the canyon was quite tall.

On they way driving down the hill as we were leaving, we saw some mountain goats on the side of the road. They seemed to be oblivious of the traffic going to and fro right next to them. Kinda cool.

We returned to our hotel, cleaned up, and then headed out to the town of Banff. It was a town much like Gatlinburg, but had shops and restaurants everywhere, not just on a strip. Did some last minute shopping for grandkids, then ate supper at a quaint, hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant. I thought the food was good. However, it wasn’t like the Mexican food we are used to in Alabama!

Finished our shopping then returned back to our hotel. Packed our bags and prepared for an early morning trek to the airport in Calgary.