Fall is our favorite time of year in Banff National Park. The weather is perfect. The clear skies and crispness in the air make for ideal hiking conditions. The beginning of the season represents the start of the Elk rutting. Large herds of elk can be spotted near the town of Banff and throughout other areas of the park. This is also a time for the tree leaves and the needles of the larches to show off their golden colours.
Beautiful shots guys, fall is definitely one of the best times to capture scenery and wildlife in the Canadian Rockies. ^Rob
Thanks so much:) It really is a fantastic time of year in the Rockies.
Thank you for providing so much information on your site! My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon and considering Banff. Our honeymoon will be October 16-22. Is that too late in October to enjoy canoeing and hiking? We are hoping to be able to do both activities, but I’m not sure if that is too late in October to get the most out of our trip. I greatly appreciate your advice! Thank you!
It’s too late for renting canoes, the ones on Lake Louise go into early October at the latest. That’s only if the weather stays favourable and Moraine Lake usually ends earlier.
As far as hiking, it might be fine for lower elevation trails, but it’s not a time someone would usually visit if they specifically want to hike. Definitely not the time for hikes in the alpine elevations, prime time for that is between July and September. It’s getting into the part of the year that can be unpredictable. Usually it’s getting cooler by then, expect anything from a low of O.C (freezing) to a high of 10C. for the Banff area and a low of -5C. to a high of 8C. for Lake Louise. Sometimes milder temperatures push into October or you could arrive to a dump of snow.
If you are really into hiking I would come earlier, the last week of September/first week of October would be the lastest. It’s usually a safe bet, but there’s no guarantee that snow won’t have fallen. For canoeing you would need to come even earlier.
Give a read over our post below and it might help you to decide when to plan your trip:
https://banffandbeyond.com/when-is-the-best-time-to-visit-banff-national-park-and-the-rocky-mountains/
Cheers
Incredible Blog. Much appreciated. I am arriving August 28th to September 3rd. My question is about the color of the lakes, that is my biggest concern, and my reason for wanting to visit Banff. I am hoping that the blueish greenish colors are still as noticeable and vivid at the end of August-beginning of September, as they are in July and early August. Is this the case? Will Lake Louise and all the other lakes still look like the below linked picture on August 28 of this year?
The first picture inside this post shows Lake Louise, and it doesnt seem to be as blue.
We’ve written an entire post about the glacier lakes that explains their colour here: https://banffandbeyond.com/when-do-the-rocky-mountain-lakes-thaw-and-get-their-beautiful-turquoise-colour/ It starts to diminish near the end of the season. It will still have colour, but most likely not as vivid as the peak of the summer. How much colour depends on how much silt is still suspended in the water, but what really influences it is the amount of sunlight and even the angle of the sunlight at the time you are viewing. Even at the peak of colour on a dull/cloudy day the lake is not going to appear very vibrant. That’s why you’ll see varying degrees of colour in photos from the same time period. Google Lake Louise shoreline webcam and you can look at the lake over different times or days and see the variances.