Sign in Using FacebookBanff Guide » More About Banff: Interesting Facts
Interesting Facts
- Banff National Park, Canada's first national park and the third in the world, was established in 1885. What started in 1885 as a 10-square-mile reserve around Sulphur Mountain Hot Springs now includes 6641 square kilometers (2564 square miles), more than 1600 kilometers (1000 miles) of hiking trails, over 1000 glaciers, and in excess of 2400 campsites. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is home to several national historic sites, including Skoki Lodge, Banff Park Museum, and the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.
- Much of Canada was settled by Scottish immigrants, who named newly built towns and cities after some of their favorite places back home. The name "Banff" comes from Banffshire, Scotland, which happened to be home to two of the original directors of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
- It's not only humans who love the Canadian Rockies. The region is teeming with wildlife, such as ground squirrels, several species of deer, porcupines and moose. Less common, and therefore harder to spot, are hoary marmots, wolves, pika, coyotes, otters, Rocky Mountain cougars, and black and grizzly bears.
- Banff residents jest that they live in one of only a handful of towns worldwide that offers free hedge-trimming, lawn-mowing and yard-fertilizing services. The joke is that these free services are actually provided not by city employees, but by the local population of elk. Be prepared to share sidewalk space!
- The town's permanent population (of humans, that is) of about 5000 grows to more than 30,000 in summer – book your lodging early!
- When it was originally constructed in 1888, the luxurious Banff Springs Hotel was the largest in the world. It's still the largest in Banff, by far, and even if you can't stay there, you should visit to enjoy the restaurants, shops and spa. Built and furnished to resemble a Scottish castle, it was designed by New York architect Bruce Price, and is often called "Canada's Castle in the Rockies."
- Founded in 1895 with a core collection donated by the Natural History Branch of the Geological Survey of Canada, the Banff Park Museum is Canada's oldest natural history museum. Exhibits focus on an assortment of taxidermist-prepared Canadian wildlife, botanical specimens, and mineral and rock samples, mostly dating from around 1914.
- The Banff Mountain Festivals (October-November) spotlight the world's mountains, outdoor adventure and extreme sports. It's divided into two portions. The film festival features about 40 of the best mountain-themed features and shorts from around the world; the book festival brings together publishers, writers and photographers who celebrate the great outdoors in print.
- A little more than half of the people who visit Banff are from Alberta, but that means that just a little less than half are from foreign countries. Statistics show that about 17% are from the US, and about 7% are European and Japanese.
- Located some 20 kilometers from the nearest road, Castleguard Caves, Canada's longest cave system, is situated just northwest of Banff. The 16-kilometer long cave is also Canada's second deepest. Unfortunately, the cave isn't open to the public due to unpredictable flooding in the spring and summer months – only specially approved expeditions are permitted, and only in the winter.
