Every time our youngest turns a little over one, we have this tradition of doing a big National Parks trip. When S was one, we did the Pacific Northwest across Washington and Oregon. When T turned one, we did our big California road trip hitting Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, and Pinnacles.

For C’s turn, we were originally thinking about doing the Utah National Parks, but facing the August summer heat with the kids felt like a bit much. So we pivoted to Banff—which honestly felt like a massive win, because this was our third attempt at going! We had to cancel twice before due to COVID and pregnancy, so we were just glad to finally make it happen.

This trip almost didn’t happen as it fell right in the middle of our major house move. We moved from Pelham to Pleasantville—only 20 minutes away, but given the kids’ ages and how entwined their lives are with their community, it felt like a huge move. We are quite happy with the new house, though, and it was logically a good move for us although we miss seeing our friends everyday in Pelham! It’s right across the street from the elementary school, down the block from the middle/high school, and steps from the library. The community is small so I’m sure within no time we will make just as many friends as we had made in Pelham in three short years. The house has a huge yard (for the NYC area) and enough bedrooms for all the kids. It’s a bit of a fixer-upper, so we got it with a smaller mortgage, and it’s a 7-10 min walk to downtown while being so close to nature in Northern Westchester. It adds 20 minutes to our commute into the city, but neither of us actually works in the city anymore (I can’t remember if I had mentioned that I got a new job as Chief of Staff at a company that’s a 15-20 minute drive from my house – huge lifestyle upgrade and still relatively interesting work), so whenever we head into the city for events it’s really no big deal.

We got movers to move our entire house (full of 3 kids’ worth of stuff) to our new house, and left for Banff that night.(When we got back, it was the night before S’s first day of KINDERGARTEN! Thankfully I had taken off a few extra days of work to unpack a bit.) Crazy few days (really, a crazy month / crazy summer), but now that it’s September and we’re back in routines, we’re settling a bit. Now to await our huge house renovation (we are gutting the full first floor and adding a 400 sq ft addition) before we truly feel settled….never a dull moment!

---

—

Arriving late into Calgary, we made what turned out to be the best decision of the trip: booking our first and last nights at the airport Marriott. Walking straight off our flight into the hotel to transfer sleeping kids at midnight was an absolute lifesaver. No waiting in rental car lines at midnight with exhausted toddlers! The next morning we grabbed our rental car bright and early and did the easy 2-hour drive into Banff.

We also tried using the RideSafer travel vests this time instead of hauling our bulky car seats. This saved a ton of space and luggage weight – I don’t know if we could’ve checked in 3 car seats PLUS our luggage between the two of us – although they were surprisingly annoying to buckle in and out of. Even quick 2-minute trips down the mountain into town felt tedious with strap adjustments, so for future trips, our main goal is staying somewhere we can walk everywhere and drive as little as humanly possible.

We decided to stay at Hidden Ridge Resort in Banff town because it was a little tucked away on Tunnel Mountain. Now that we have three kids, we can’t really do a standard hotel room for a week. Hidden Ridge felt more like a cabin setup, with plenty of space, a kitchen, and a fantastic pool/hot tub setup that the kids loved. Everyone says Canmore is much more chill and better to stay at, but it’s 20 minutes further east outside the park, which adds extra driving. Banff town itself was pretty crowded and wasn’t necessarily my favorite vibe, but it was super convenient for getting to Lake Louise, Johnston Canyon, and Lake Minnewanka. Next time, I think I’d just embrace the chaos and stay right in town at a nice hotel where we could walk everywhere.

Banff town and our cute little hotel with pools (and a large hot tub) overlooking the mountains.

Hiking with three under five is a whole vibe.  C is honestly the easiest right now! We just popped her in the carrier the whole time. T is at the trickiest stage. He’s three, so he’s a bit too heavy to carry comfortably for long stretches, but he can’t walk super far either.  S can walk pretty far on her own feet, but once she reaches exhaustion, it’s game over because she’s too heavy to carry. But each time we travel we can see glimpses of it becoming easier and easier to travel. Big kids are potty trained, for example, so it was nice not having to worry about diapers etc for more than one kid, and they are ok on more flexible sleep schedules so we weren’t stressed about naps.

Our rough itinerary was as follows:

Day 1: Gondola Ride & Downtown Exploration

After our morning drive from Calgary, we didn’t really have a rigid plan, but we got lucky with a bright sunny day and headed straight for the Banff Gondola.

We didn’t have to wait in line, and at ~$60/adult person, it felt pretty expensive for a national parks activity, but there was a good amount to do. The kids loved the cable car ride up Sulphur Mountain! The summit boardwalk was an easy, safe hike with gorgeous views.

Afterward, we checked into Hidden Ridge, spent hours at the hot pools, walked around downtown Banff for dinner, grabbed groceries, and let the kids burn off energy at the Central Park playground right by the Bow River.

Day 2: Lake Minnewanka Canoeing & Johnston Canyon

We spent a gorgeous morning at Lake Minnewanka doing mini hikes along the shore and having a picnic. We wanted to get out on the water, but fitting all five of us in one boat was tricky. I wasn’t comfortable having baby C in a canoe even with a life jacket, so I stayed on the shore with her while M took T out in a boat. He loved it! In the afternoon, we tackled Johnston Canyon (Lower Falls). The kids walked the entire catwalk trail on own, with plenty of ice cream promised as bribe treats along the way.

Day 3: Lake Moraine & Lake Louise

Lake Morraine

The government shuttles were totally sold out, so we booked a private shuttle departing right from downtown Banff. It was a bit more expensive than I wanted to pay, but it was quite convenient and stress-free with kids. We definitely went during peak season as we noticed it was quite crowded everywhere (but also this was probably driven by the rise of Instagram as well).

Moraine Lake was beautiful—we did the quick hike up the Rockpile overlook. Lake Louise was a bit cold and windy, and the kids were getting tired, but we walked along the shore, skipped rocks, and ducked into the Fairmont Chateau for warm snacks.

Day 4: Emerald Lake (Yoho National Park)

This was probably my favorite lake of the entire trip! We took a day trip over to Yoho National Park to visit Emerald Lake. We waited in line for the most beautiful kayak/canoe ride ever. Afterward, C and I did a peaceful, easy hike around the lake while the rest of the crew joined in. We spent almost the whole day here—skipping rocks, having a long picnic, and just enjoying the mountain air.

Day 5: Rainy Day in Canmore & Banff Upper Hot Springs

It rained a bit in the morning, so we popped over to explore Canmore townsite for a change of pace.

We spent the majority of the day at the Banff Upper Hot Springs. The kids were old enough to enjoy the pools, and because it was chilly outside, stepping between the cool air and warm mineral water felt great. We also visited the Cave and Basin historic site in Banff, which was free and seemed silly in the beginning, but it was really cool seeing the spring snails and learning about the history of the spring.

Day 6: Calgary Playgrounds & Heading Home

We spent our final full day driving back toward Calgary, exploring local playgrounds and trying out food at the city’s food halls.

We checked back into the airport Marriott for our last night, which made our 6:00 a.m. flight home the next morning much less stressful – no rental car return stress, just walking straight to our gate!

Overall – a successful “big” family trip, a rekindling of the great outdoors and mountains, and the feeling that life with 3 kids has actually been our easiest transition yet! Although we were still thrilled when childcare returned after returning home. We are hoping that we get to take a couples trip to the Azores this year as I have no plans on being pregnant the rest of this year and can actually enjoy myself, and we are taking ideas for where to take our next trip as a family 🙂 Maybe Costa Rica? Hard to find a winter destination that’s not just the Caribbean (we don’t do well with beach-only vacations). Open to suggestions…