Get the Biggest Bang for Your Buck: Ski Banff National Park!

When the exchange rate is so favorable the only thing steep are the slopes and not the prices, isn’t it time for you to check out a Canadian ski resort?

The recent decline in the Canadian Dollar has a bright side: if you hail from our Southern neighbour, the United States, this is your chance to squeeze in an affordable spring vacation and slay some pow at a discount.  And if you are going Canadian, go big – go Banff-Lake Louise.  Here are the top 5 reasons to head to Banff National Park for your Canadian Rockies Ski getaway.

1) A Favorable Exchange

With the US dollar trading for $1.25 Canadian, heading north for your ski vacation makes your holiday dollar go further than if you ski at home.  Not only are you getting a 25% discount off everything, but the colorful bills make you feel like you are paying with monopoly money.   Currently ski & stay packages are available for a little as $72 USD per person per night, so the question becomes: can you afford to ski anywhere else?

2) Feather-weight Flakes

Located just east of the Continental Divide means the resorts in Banff National Park are blessed with a dry, airy-light snow that is a dream to ski or snowboard in.  The best part: that blue smoke powder we are known for in the Canadian Rockies has been plentiful thus far in February and with the longest non-glaciated ski season in North America, you have until mid-May to get your fill of snorkel-worthy powder.

 3) The Advantage of Being in a National Park

Parks Canada, the body that governs our Park system, strictly limits the amount of development within Banff National Park. What this means is new structures, be it condos or hotels, are not allowed to spring up despite demand because Parks Canada aims to keep the human footprint on the park constant.  The result of this policy is that when you ski all you see is untouched wilderness: a sea of jagged peaks, glaciers, snow and pristine forest as far as the horizon.  Views are breathtaking and always will be because our National Park classification essentially ensures no one can pave paradise and put up a parking lot.

4) Wildlife

While Banff and Lake Louise’s après ski scenes offers up soirees to satiate any party animal, it's often a wildlife sighting of the other variety that makes visitor squeal with glee.  Being in a National Park means protection for the many species that call this place home, so it is not uncommon to see an elk walk down the main street in Banff, big horn sheep eating salt off the Mount Norquay access road or a bear ambling along the road in the spring near Lake Louise.  So keep your eyes open because nature rules!

5) Relief Size Matters

If you have heard rumors that The Canadian Rockies are smaller than the peaks farther south – this is technically true, but it’s really the relief size that matters.  The relief is the portion of the mountain measured from the valley bottom to the peak – the height of the rock face visible from town or the roadway – and that relief is bigger here than farther south.   While the peaks in Colorado, for example, top out at 14,000 feet and ours at 11,000 feet, we have more visible vertical since our valleys were carved deeper.  So unless you are planning to ski to sea level, your vertical may hold more wow-factor in the Canadian Rockies.

To book your next ski vacation at Ski Banff-Lake Louise-Sunshine, check out our featured ski and stay vacation packages or call us at 1-844-754-2443.