Banff Highlights & Wildlife

Escape the crowds and discover Banff’s secret wildlife spots on a small group adventure. Explore backroads and encounter bears, moose, and more with expert guides.

Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Banff National Park - Your expert local guide will tailor make the itinerary for each tour.

Every day, we connect with other tour operators and Banff locals to gather information about recent wildlife sightings and consider seasonal weather conditions & big bus tour company schedules to ensure that you’re getting the best, most authentic experience without the crowds!

The destinations listed below are just some of the amazing stops you’ll make on this tour. Our expert local guides like to throw in a surprise or two along the way to really make our guests day, so you can expect one or two more secret spots along the way!

  • Mount Norquay Road - Ascend up Mount Norquay, the home of Banff’s first ski resort and visit our favourite viewpoint showcasing the town of Banff and the big mountains that surround it.
  • Lake Minnewanka - Keep your eyes peeled for bears, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, coyotes, foxes & other wildlife as we travel deep into Banff National Park to explore the deep blue glacially fed lakes of Lake Minnewanka & Two Jack Lake.
  • Hoodoos Trail - Take a short walk to one of Banff National Parks red chair destinations with epic views of the Hoodoo’s and the Canadian Rockies as they sprawl across the Bow Valley
  • Surprise Corner - Gaze through the alpine forests up Tunnel Mountain through to a famous local hotel that resembles a castle in the sky!
  • Bow Falls - Visit the incredible Bow Falls, home to the famous scene from the 1953 Marilyn Monroe film “River of No Return”.
What's Included
  • Water refills (please BYO water bottle)
  • Dusk/sunset tour time to escape the crowds and maximize chances of seeing wildlife!
  • Pick up and drop off at the Banff Train Station
  • Upscale, modern & spacious transportation with large panoramic windows
  • Complimentary hot chocolate, tea or coffee at a stunning viewpoint (winter only)
  • Small group guarantee (Max 12 guests)
  • Expert local guides
What's Not Included
  • Pick up from Banff hotels (please contact Radventures BEFORE booking for availability)
  • Guide gratuities (not mandatory but greatly appreciated)
Additional Information

Explore with Banff’s top-rated tour operator down backroads teeming with wildlife, plus our selection of Banff’s best viewpoints and secret spots.

Along the journey, you’ll be wowed by local tales and the fascinating history of Banff’s indigenous and European past as well as fun facts about our local wildlife, as we explore Banff’s backroads travelling through forests, mountain passes and wildlife corridors that bears, elk, moose, bighorn sheep, lynx, cougars, coyotes, foxes, deer and more call home.

Thanks to our small group and tour vehicle size, the access to areas of Banff that we have and our expert local guides insider knowledge, we see wildlife on 95% of our daily summer departures.

  • Children 6 and under are unable to join our small group adventures
Location
Banff Train Station
Railway Avenue
*For hotel pick-up, please contact Radventures BEFORE booking your tickets.* Please meet by the Canadian flag in front of the main Banff Train Station building. Allow 5-10 minutes to walk from the free all day parking located at the north east end of the train station.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.6
(332 Ratings)
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Yoko
Jul 25, 2024
Highly recommended - a small group tour works! Great guide. - Excellent tour guide - Nolan, who was very sensitive and attentive to the needs of everyone in the group. He tailored comments based on our questions, and communicated adjustments for weather conditions, parking situations, etc. The “secret spots” were especially good. You would not feel rushed - enough time for everything. Read “what to bring” section well, and have good shoes on. We took the optional lunch - it was great, we ate them at the top of rock-pile without getting into a huge line at the cafe. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sharon_r
Jul 22, 2024
Fantastic we would recomend. - Full of informationand Nolan was brilliant. He made sure everyone was happy. Saw wikdlife, scenes, and background facts.
Review provided by Viator
Go52914461591
Jul 22, 2024
Very enjoyable - We had a great time. The guide was knowledgeable and friendly. We saw bighorn sheep, deer, elk, and stunning views. We highly recommend it. We searched for animals prior to tour and all we could find were ground squirrels.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
V2729htmeganb
Jul 22, 2024
Amazing!! - Loved it! Our guide Kale was very knowledgeable about the animals and knew the places to go to have the best chance of seeing them. We saw quite a few animals and the views were stunning. Would highly recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
C6245agjulias
Jul 20, 2024
Great tour - What an excellent tour this was! Our guide - sorry, I didn't make a note of his name, but it was the evening tour on July 1st, showed us so much of the surrounding area and gave us lots of information en route and we managed to see a bear!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Devonw606
Jul 19, 2024
Great tour! - This tour was a great way to see a lot of sites and animals in a short amount of time. We booked it at the end of our trip and felt like it was well worth it to see many viewpoints and wildlife we would have otherwise missed.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
209premav
Jul 19, 2024
Wonderful evening tour - Spectacular views . Louis was an excellent tour guide. We saw wildlife deer,coyote,Elk & squirrels but no bears! Unforgettable experience. Thank you
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Vanessa
Jul 21, 2024
Less than expected - We enjoyed our guide, Louis, however we were disappointed that we did not look for more wildlife. We believe the promotion for this tour is somewhat misleading because the wildlife was only a fraction of the tour and the rest were highlights that were easily accessible and had already mostly been seen by several of the attendees including us.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rquamme
Jul 17, 2024
Tyler was Great - Great tour . Tyler did an excellent job of narrating various sites and giving local info we wouldn't have gotten elsewhere. We did see some wildlife, Elk, Bald Eagle, Coyote. I would recommend the tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jennifer_o
Jul 18, 2024
Very Overpriced Drive Around Banff - Unfortunately this was a very expensive mistake ($230 for 2 people). Two stars is generous. Guide complained about being the only guide to not see bears, said no one wants to see elk—which is all we saw. Shared inaccurate information. Spent most of the time driving to view points. If you don’t have a car it might be worth it. We had a car and had seen most places and elk before. Guide didn’t really share much info or history. Felt rushed and not much effort to see wildlife. If it had cost less as in reasonable for what the experience is, it might be worth it. May a different guide. I wasn’t the only guest who felt this way. The right thing would be to give a refund.
Review provided by Viator
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