Canada’s first national park is also its most majestic. It’s a mosaic of Rocky Mountains and deep valleys, glaciers and icefields, rushing rivers and tranquil lakes that continue to awe visitors more than 140 years after the park was founded in 1885.

An arsenal of outdoor activities, abundant wildlife, and an array of eating and sleeping choices (including some of the best hotels and restaurants in western Canada) attracts more than four million visitors each year—a figure that makes Banff National Park the most popular reserve of the Parks Canada system. 

Nobody paid much attention until the 1880s when the Canadian Pacific built its transcontinental railway through what is now the heart of the park. Three railway workers discovered a natural hot spring, which led to the establishment of a train stop for passengers that eventually grew into the town of Banff.