Banff National Park

Banff National Park in Alberta’s Canadian Rockies became Canada’s first national park in 1885, growing from a small hot springs reserve near Cave and Basin into a vast protected mountain landscape. Its forests, alpine terrain, glaciers, and part of the Columbia Icefield reflect millions of years of geological change, while archaeological evidence shows Indigenous presence for more than 10,000 years. The region was long used by several Indigenous peoples for travel, hunting, fishing, trade, and cultural practice. Railways, roads, tourism, mining, wartime internment labor, and later conservation policies all shaped its development. In 1984, Banff joined the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Alberta · Canada