From Town

Fenland Trail (two km/1.2 mi, 30 minutes) is a nice easy walk that will give you a taste of the Bow Valley ecosystem. From the Forty Mile Creek Picnic Area, along Mount Norquay Road just beyond the rail crossing, the trail dives headfirst into a transitional area between wetland and floodplain forest. This fen environment is prime habitat for many species of birds. The work of beavers can be seen along the trail, and elk are here during winter.

The trail to the top of Tunnel Mountain (2.3 km/1.4 mi, 30–60 minutes one-way) gains 300 meters (990 feet) of elevation from St. Julien Road, 350 meters (0.2 miles) south of Wolf Street. It ascends the mountain’s western flank through a forest of lodgepole pine, switchbacking past some viewpoints before reaching a ridge just below the summit. Here the trail turns northward, climbing through a forest of Douglas fir to the summit (which is partially treed, preventing 360-degree views).

Sundance Canyon (4.4 km/2.7 mi, 90 minutes one-way) is a wonderful walk, especially on a sunny afternoon, as much of the trail is along an open riverbank. The trail begins at the Cave and Basin National Historic Site [1] and follows a paved path for the first three kilometers (1.9 miles), then enters the forest and ends at a shaded picnic area from which the 2.4-kilometer (1.5-mile) Sundance Loop begins.

From a viewpoint famous for the Fairmont Banff Springs [2] outlook, the Bow River/Hoodoos Trail (4.8 km/three mi, 90 minutes one-way) passes under the sheer east face of Tunnel Mountain and follows the river into a meadow where deer and elk often graze. The trail ends at hoodoos, strange limestone-and-gravel columns jutting mysteriously out of the forest. An alternative to returning the same way is to catch the Banff Transit bus from Tunnel Mountain Campgrounds. It leaves every half hour ($1).