On Saturday morning the Husband and I decided to tackle a relatively short hike right in Banff, the hike up Sulphur Mountain. You can hike up and down, or you can decide to take the gondola down from the top instead. You have to buy your ticket down from the base. This was our lucky day, the ride down from the top was free (normally $15 I think). There is a short walk through the parking lot for the gondola before you reach the trail.
There were some great views from the parking lot! 
The trail goes through the trees, following a bunch of switchbacks up the mountain. 
Every once in awhile the trees clear and you can see the gondolas passing overhead.
The trail is a pretty popular one and there were a couple of groups ignoring the “please keep on the trail” signs. This miffed the Husband and I a little…
Finally, we made it to the top!
Thank goodness for the snack shop at the top – those salt and vinegar chips tasted amazing!!!
Check out the views from the top!
Shall we catch the gondola down??
Sulphur Mountain in Banff National Park, AB
3.56 mi trail (one way)
2,400 feet elevation gain
1 hour, 45 min (one way)
I’ve done a lot of hiking in Banff, but I have to admit that I’ve never hiked up Sulphur mountain, just taken the gondola. The views are amazing though. It used to be free to come down all the time. I think if you hike up, it ought to be.
Awesome job!! That is quite the scary graph!! I must do this hike sometime. I always thought it was free to take the gondola down… probably too many active people taking advantage of that! (Oh, I see Deb confirmed this for me).
You can see the elevation change just by how you wore a tshirt for the first half then needed a sweater!!
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Mandie Hayes
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