{"id":538726,"date":"2026-03-22T14:36:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T14:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/538726\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T14:36:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T14:36:16","slug":"banff-national-park-breaks-visitation-record-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/538726\/","title":{"rendered":"Banff National Park breaks visitation record \u2014 again"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

People continue to flock to Banff National Park.<\/p>\n

It saw 4.5 million visitors in the 2025-26 fiscal year, surpassing the previous high of 4.28 million in 2023-24, in what\u2019s become almost annual increases over the last decade. (Visitation statistics are tracked from April to March each year.)<\/p>\n

\u201cI think one of the things that will be certain is Banff will continue to be a place people will want to come to,\u201d said Daniella Rubeling, acting superintendent of Banff National Park, at its 26th annual planning forum.<\/p>\n

The COVID-19 pandemic wrenched visitation down to three million, but it quickly rebounded. <\/p>\n

The area’s popularity has led Parks Canada, the Town of Banff and local organizations scrambling to come up with short- and long-term solutions to the constant crush of people visiting Canada\u2019s oldest national park.<\/p>\n

Rubeling noted initiatives such as a three-year paid parking pilot<\/a> in Upper Hot Springs<\/a>, shuttles to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, and encouraging people to take Roam transit<\/a> are meant to reduce congestion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She said Parks Canada\u2019s expert panel on moving people sustainably<\/a> in the region is likely to have more information released this year.<\/p>\n

Banff Mayor Corrie DiManno expressed concern over the timelines of some new initiatives, using a packed skijoring weekend earlier this year<\/a> as an example of when a \u201cgrowing Calgary decides to show up all at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

WATCH | Skijor fans pack Banff as winter festival kicks off:\"\"<\/p>\n

Skijor fans pack Banff as winter festival kicks off<\/p>\n

Banff’s SnowDays kicked off over the weekend with its most popular event, which saw tens of thousands of people flock to Banff Avenue to take in skijoring. The crowd was so large that Banff officials say they will review the event to improve it next year after cars were towed and 160 illegal parking tickets were handed out.Addressing other areas<\/p>\n

Fran\u00e7ois Masse, the superintendent of the Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay field unit, said spots such as Lake Louise, Moraine Lake and Banff are \u201ciconic\u201d and \u201chighly sought after\u201d destinations.<\/p>\n

He said Parks Canada is collecting and analyzing data from each spot to create solutions.<\/p>\n

Masse said Bow and Peyto lakes on the Icefields Parkway and Yoho National Park’s Emerald Lake are on their radar as well, but nothing is imminent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe visitor pressure is very intense in very specific spots,\u201d he said. \u201cAny local can tell you if you want to find a quiet spot, you can find one 15 minutes drive from Lake Louise. I guarantee if you go there with me, there will be no one bumping into us the whole day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TwoDaniella Rubeling, acting Banff National Park superintendent on the left, and Fran\u00e7ois Masse, the superintendent of Parks Canada’s Lake Louise, Yoho, Kootenay field unit, speak at the 26th annual public planning forum in Banff on March 18, 2026. (Greg Colgan\/CBC)Impacts on the national park<\/p>\n

Peter Duck, president of Bow Valley Naturalists, noted visitors to Banff might only touch a small amount of land, but it has a cumulative effect.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s ecosystem nonsense to say there\u2019s three per cent where stuff can go on and 97 per cent is protected,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t just carve an ecosystem up like that. \u2026 The three per cent has a very significant impact on the ecosystems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emma Hoskins, conservation campaign specialist for Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society in southern Alberta, said although visitor use management plans are underway in Lake Louise and Lake Minnewanka, a more comprehensive plan could be helpful.<\/p>\n

Masse said Parks Canada is in constant discussions with regional partners. He recognized when plans are brought into one area, it can impact others.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are considering potential spillovers and we\u2019re talking with others. We’re trying to make this consistent as much as possible,\u201d Masse said, citing each national park has management plans.<\/a><\/p>\n

Visitation likely to increase<\/p>\n

The Canada Strong Pass<\/a> is returning, offering free access to national parks for the summer months.<\/p>\n

Roughly 70 per cent of visitors to Banff National Park come from the region for day use, Rubeling said. As Calgary and southern Alberta<\/a> keep growing, she said it\u2019s a challenge and opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want people to visit the park. We want them to connect to this place, but we also want them to leave as stewards of this place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AO’Brien Lake in Banff National Park on Sept. 30, 2025. The lake is near the popular Taylor Lake trail. (Greg Colgan\/CBC)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":538727,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":["post-538726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538726\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/538727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}