Pacific Northwest Tours
Banff Tours
Reservations
RESERVATIONS
Good Earth Travel (Ski Packages) tel 678-9358 or 1-888/979-9797
Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (Ski Packages) tel 256-8476 or 1-800/256-7669
Ski Banff-Lake Louise (Ski Packages) tel 762-4561 or 1-800/661-143
The information centre carries extensive lists and contact information for guides and outfitters for all manner of outdoor activities . Among the more passive entertainment are billiards upstairs at the King Edward Hotel , 137 Banff Ave (tel 762-4629; $8 an hour), ten-pin bowling at the Banff Springs Hotel (tel 762-6892; $3.75 a game, $1.10 shoe rental), and new-release films at the Lux Cinema, 229 Bear St (tel 762-8595). You can work out or swim for a fee in the pools at the Banff Rocky Mountain Resort (tel 762-5531) or swim at the Sally Borden Recreation Building at the Banff Centre (tel 762-6461) and Douglas Fir Resort at the corner of Tunnel Mountain Drive and Otter Street (Mon-Fri 4-9.30pm plus 2-9.30pm in summer, Sat-Sun 10am-9.30pm; $7.50; tel 762-5591): the last is especially popular as it also boasts waterslides. Note that the only swimmable lake in the park is Johnson Lake northeast of town off Lake Minnewanka Road: the others are usually glacier-fed and thus immensely cold.
For general bus tours, contact Brewster Transportation (tel 762-8400), who’ve been running trips for decades. For something just a little more demanding there’s golf at the stunning Banff Springs Golf Course (tel 762-6801; from $35 for nine holes, $125 for eighteen holes, club rental from $35 for steel, $50 for graphite). You’ll need to book well in advance. Free shuttles run to the clubhouse from the Banff Springs Hotel . Birdwatching with Halfway to Heaven Birdwatching (tel 673-2542) costs $30 for a half-day, $65 for a day, with snack or lunch included.