Banff with kids? Any advice?

A snowHead

We are possibly considering Banff for 10 days mid December. We are only used to European skiing so looking for any advice!

Hubby boards, two teens who are fab (usually hire a guide for a couple of hours to take them off piste etc) and myself and little one who love a blue, occasional red.

Which resort would be best? Any advice on area to stay etc. We would plan on 6 days skiing and a couple doing some other activities.

I’m guessing it’s easy enough to hire a car and drive?

Thanks

A snowHead

Don't even consider staying anywhere but in the town of Banff.

Rent a car, it's an easy drive to either resort. The scenery is so good that the drive time is a non-factor... Even corner has a new view.

Lake Louise is a much better mountain than Sunshine unless you're a real beginner or an extreme skier. The exception is if the conditions are substandard... Then Sunshine wins on altitude. I'd still recommend doing both though. Skip Norquay.

You can do all the touristy activities... A quick internet search will list them all. Johnston Canyon in the winter is great... No crowds! Visit the Chateau Lake Louise after skiing LL. The view from the lake is world class. You can rent skates there too... Some people were even playing hockey when I was last there.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Skip Norquay? It's a great hill!

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@jodieg2025,

Banff in mid-December can be a magical experience — but it’s quite different from European skiing, so here’s a full breakdown with tailored advice for your group:

⸻

Key Resorts in the Banff Area (SkiBig3)

1. Lake Louise
• Best for: Your teens & husband — it has amazing terrain, some great freeride and tree runs, and lots of sidecountry.
• Also suitable for: You and your little one — it has some lovely long blues and dedicated learning zones.
• Scenery: Spectacular; it’s one of the most beautiful ski resorts in the world.
• Note: A bit farther from Banff town (~45 min drive/shuttle).

⸻

2. Sunshine Village
• Best for: Mixed-ability groups — high-altitude base means better snow reliability in mid-December.
• Great for snowboarders (few flat traverses), and offers wide, mellow blues for cruisers.
• Excellent off-piste potential for teens with a guide.
• Only 15–20 min from Banff town.

⸻

3. Mount Norquay
• Best for: Half-day skiing or relaxed family days.
• Very close to Banff (10 min), but small. Not a primary resort for a 6-day trip.
• Has night skiing and tubing — great non-ski options.

⸻

Where to Stay

Banff Town is the most popular base, and works well for you:
• Pros: Charming, good restaurants, shops, museums, hot springs, family-friendly vibe.
• Access: Free shuttles to all three ski areas.
• Activities: Ice walks, wildlife tours, tubing, Banff Upper Hot Springs, sledding, or day trip to Lake Louise for non-skiing.

Alternative: Lake Louise village
• Smaller, more remote, limited restaurants
• Good if you want to focus your skiing only there, but most families prefer Banff town.

⸻

Car Rental – Is it Needed?
• Optional. Many families don’t rent because:
• Shuttles from Banff to all ski hills are frequent, reliable, and free with a SkiBig3 pass.
• Parking at Sunshine and Lake Louise can be busy and icy.
• However, if you want flexibility for non-ski activities (e.g., day trip to Canmore, Johnston Canyon Ice Walk, or night drive to see Northern Lights), then a rental car is useful.
• Roads are well-maintained, but expect snow tires and winter conditions.

⸻

Mid-December: What to Expect
• Snow conditions: Sunshine Village is your best bet early season; Lake Louise can be hit or miss but usually has enough open.
• Crowds: Low, as it’s before the holiday rush.
• Cold: Be ready for serious cold — temperatures can drop to -20°C or lower. Bring proper gear (neck gaiters, mitt liners, hand warmers).

⸻

Lift Pass
• SkiBig3 Lift Pass covers all three resorts and includes access to shuttle buses.
• Multi-day passes come with occasional discounts or free rentals/lift tickets for kids depending on the promotion.

⸻

Would you like help picking family-friendly accommodation in Banff or ideas for non-ski days?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

We took our kids on a family trip over half-term, stretching it out to 10 nights, by taking them out of school before hand. We chose to hire a car, drive was easy. We stayed in Banff, at what is now Charlton's Hotel. Family friendly rooms- two rooms with a kitchen area in the middle with a table. We bought pizzas on a couple of occasions when kids were tired, so we didn't have to go out.
Although ski buses were frequent it meant we could stop at stuff on the way back from Lake Louise, drive up to the Lake, and the Chateau and drive back via Bow Valley Parkway. We had a trip to Canmore, and went dog-sledding up in Spray Lakes. Also had a trip up to Banff hot springs after skiing.
Great family friendly place, much more so than Whistler.

You'll need to Register first of course.

A friend is a ski instructor at Sunshine.
Loves it.

BUT

As @BobinCH says it can be cold. Very cold!
He got frostbite on his toes one day, touch and go whether he would keep them! Several weeks not skiing.

He now uses heated socks, they are not expensive.
I just looked at the weather forecast for Banf...it is still flippin cold and it's May.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Id say just go to LL. Ive done 2 seasons in Banff and hardly ever went to sunshine, short runs and i think more flat spots for boarders( which i am). No tree skiing so in band weather its no good.
LL has everyrhing and as said amazing views. Also time wise its no different ( even on the ski bus to LL) once you factor in the 20 minutes in a gondola to get from the sunshine car park to the actual ski area.
Only thing i would say is mid december can be lacking in snow. Most of the interesting stuff at LL needs a good 1m base.
Snow is generally super dry powder but a big dump is like 30cm and dont happen often. Normally consistent small snowfalls but also weeks of dry weather.
LL has a insidemassive picnic area at the base with hot water and microwaves.
Skiin in Canada is nothing like Europe, id say its better.
Id stayin Banff too.

After all it is free

Search here and you'll find plenty of information.

Thank you so much for the replies! We want to take advantage of the kids breaking up early this year - we have 10-12 days to play around with before Xmas and flights are cheap so Banff looks like a fab option.

We are planning to do some activities if we get too cold. We skied in Lapland last year at -26 and managed a few hours so hopefully we’ll get a good ski break in!

Really useful tips - not sure how we’ll find it compared to the big French resorts we’re used to but we are excited to give it a try now we’re all at a decent level to enjoy it!

Thanks again.

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@jodieg2025, we are not long back from 4 days in Banff (after seeing our daughter in Whistler). Really liked the skiing in Sunshine and Lake Louise - snow was amazing at Sunshine. We hired a car and worked great for us. Some say don't and use the free buses instead but car worked out great for us. Dead easy to navigate to each ski area. We stayed at the Moose Hotel which again worked out great. You'll find it different to Europe but I'd say LL & Sunshine are closer to European infrastructure than Whistler (and I mean that in a good way)

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Personally, I don't know why anyone would choose a shuttle over a car, especially since it's usually more money.

The flexibility with a car is so much more of an advantage compared to being tied down to shuttle schedules. You can go anywhere, anytime you want, and especially at a place like Banff, you're going to want to do more than just go to the ski hill.

snow reports

@JoeSchmoe, the shuttle is free with a lift pass and drops you at the entrance, not a car park half a mile down the road. I wouldn't dream of driving and did an organised trip ice walking along Johnsons Canyon. Much more relaxing

You know it makes sense.

Thank you. I think, for convince we’ll hire a car. Just works out easier with the kiddies. The shuttles sound great and we’ll probably use if they’re free with the lift passes but we def plan on getting out and about so will probably hire one for that.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

If it's not crowded, and it shouldn't be in mid-Dec, and you leave for the mountain early enough, you can get a spot close to the base at LL and Sunshine. For LL, the driver just drops everyone off, including gear, at the base and then circles back for a spot. Everyone boots up in the lodge and you just leave your bag about. LL will have plenty of cubbies and places for this. Sunshine is a bit different in that you have to take a gondola from the base to the skiing base if that makes sense. So here you will boot up at your car and then walk a bit to the gondola. Here, especially, you will want to get to the mountain early to get a close spot. At the end of the day, there is a home run that takes you all the way down to your car. But if done correctly, driving from Banff to the mountains is easy.

A snowHead

@JoeSchmoe, I was speaking for myself, just as you were when you said "Personally, I don't know why anyone would choose a shuttle over a car, especially since it's usually more money." ..which isn't actually true...how can it be when the shuttles are free.

Great that you did lots of things, I'm happy to do just one...sometimes...I'm there to ski. Speaking only for myself I've no interest in any of things you did, apart fromthe canyon. Shuttles worked well for us, and there's plenty of them

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@JoeSchmoe, OK. I always went with a TO so it was included

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

If the schedule lines up, go to a Flames game either on the front end or back end of the trip. It's in Calgary. We coordinated our trip there for when they played the Rangers. Skied last day at Sunshine, hopped in the car, drove to Calgary, returned the car, and checked into a hotel next to the airport. Then took an uber to the game and back. Woke up next day for flight back to NY. Basically filled up time that would have not been used for any other purpose given the flight schedule and the time it takes to get from Banff to Calgary. The entire flight back was people who skied and went to the game, as if it were chartered for that purpose.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Staying in Banff offers the choice of free ski bus to all 3 of the Big3 areas. There isn’t (or at least wasn’t last time we were there) a direct ski bus from Lake Louise to Sunshine (not sure about whether or not there is one to Norquay either?)

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

I genuinely think some people are over complicating it with very specific desires . Banff is a great location. It really doesn't matter much where you stay. The shuttle busses work well. If you are there to ski it all just works. If you have more wide ranging or eclectic interests, then hire a car and knock yourself out.

After all it is free

@holidayloverxx, +1

And if the weather closes in then driving on the highways can become fairly challenging requiring your full attention. Rather than just chilling and looking out the ski bus window.

I’ve spent maybe 8 fortnights at Banff over the last 30 years. Never felt the need to hire a car. And given the jet lag (you’ll spend the first days waking at 4am and ready for bed at 7pm) it’s probably for the best; not including any snow or ice. I’d nearly always grab (succumb to) 40 winks on the way back from skiing. Seen Johnston Canyon, Banff hot springs, Fairmont Hotel. Others here are regulars flying from UK and they hire cars. To each their own.

If your children love off piste, this will be a VERY expensive holiday. As it’s all off piste. They won’t want to go back to Europe!

I have put a couple of trip reports in that forum but I think the last was perhaps 8 years ago Sad

, we are bad planners and late flights and lift tickets are now so pricey.

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Great thanks. What do you do with regards to tickets? They have an offer on at the moment… is it best to book in advance or book on the day? Obviously, we don’t know what the weather is going to be like and if we were to get a super cold day, we’d probably stick to a drive out or activity etc instead of ski…

Looking at accommodation, Canmore is looking more ideal.. trying to find a spacious minimum 2 bedroom property in Banff is extremely limited, most seem to accommodate families of 4.

We get the extra 20 min drive but other than that, are there any other negatives? It looks gorgeous and we’ll have a car…

For lift tix, have you looked at the Ski Sunshine and Ski Louise cards? If you do 4 days at each mountain it might make sense. Your 1st and 4th day are free (though the card is about the price of a lift ticket so the 1st day isn't actually free). The 2nd and 3rd days are 20% off with the card. If you choose to stick to one mountain, the 5th and 6th are also 20% off and the 7th is free.

For accommodations, if you don't mind the extra 20min and you have to have a condo/VRBO style accommodations with a full kitchen Canmore is your best bet as these don't really exist in the National Park. As a place to stay, I'd rate Canmore an 8 or 9 out of 10. The biggest drawback outside the drive is that's it's not Banff which is a 10 out of 10.

You know it makes sense.

jodieg2025, Canmores great, more traditional Canadian than tourist tbh. We always stay there as we have a car due to road tripping. Much cheaper than Banff both accommodation and eating out too.

As you'll have a car, you'll buy a park pass so can easily visit Banff as and when. Yes its a little further down the highway than Banff, but it can take that time getting out of Banff, especially it you hit th rail crossing wrong Toofy Grin

So getting to the ski areas doesnt take much if any longer

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Scenery imo is nicer in Canmore - really was stunning. My daughter's pal lives there and teaches at Sunshine. Getting a bus is a faff for her though, so you'd be better with car if basing yourselves there. Decent sized town with lots of choices for eating. We went one night to watch the ice hockey and got the bus (wish I'd driven for the convenience on reflection as we had to miss the last of the hockey to make sure we caught the bus,). We paid around ,£200 for 4 days car hire and spent c. $60 filling the car up on return.

A snowHead

Do not buy lift tickets on the day. Canada is more and more following the Vail model where walk up rates are eye watering. The Sunshine and Louise cards are a good shout.

I've not disagreed with much said above in general. The headline terrain at Lake Louise might not be open in December so some of the joy of North America "ski wherever you want" might be missing.

I like staying at Banff Rocky mountain resort. They do buses into downtown for dinners and some of their rooms have limited cooking facilities. Your family size might be a bit big though.

Canmore has loads of condos at every price point. Keep in mind that whilst Canmore is "only 20 minutes further" that can feel like a lot in the dark with heavy snowfall...

Help!!

Banff with kids? Any advice?

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