Best hard hikes near Banff
The 15 best hard hikes near Banff, out of 138 that we map, ranked by trail score.
How we rank trails Ranked by trail score and distance from Banff, so the score is one of two inputs.
- All hikes
- Easy 105
- Moderate 110
- Under 5 km 184
- Kid friendly 95
- Waterfalls 24
- Lakes 56
- Summits 79
- Views 196
- Canyons 9
- Loops 25
- Backpacking 28
- Wheelchair friendly 7
The list
Sorted by rank- 1Mount Rundle SummitNear Banff · Banff National ParkExpert · 12.3 km · 1,604 m gain · 12 h 30 min · 2 km from BanffSummit · Views · Alpine · Passes Rundle 178score
- 2Mount Norquay RouteNear Banff · Banff National ParkHard · 6.8 km · 1,062 m gain · 6 h 30 min · 4 km from BanffSummit · Views · Alpine · Passes Mount Norquay74score
- 3Mount Girouard RouteNear Anthracite · Banff National ParkHard · 18.0 km · 1,655 m gain · 11 h · 7 km from BanffLake · Summit · Views · Alpine · Passes Johnson Lake and Mount Girouard76score
- 4Johnston Canyon TrailNear Moose Meadows · Banff National ParkHard · 15.1 km · 556 m gain · 5 h 15 min · 20 km from BanffWaterfall · Views · River or creek · Canyon · Passes Johnston Creek Valley and Lower Falls90score
- 5Sulphur Mountain Traverse RouteNear Banff · Banff National ParkExpert · 8.7 km · 830 m gain · 7 h · 3 km from BanffViews · Alpine · Passes 2240 and Sulphur Mountain69score
- 6Rundle Traverse RouteNear Banff · Banff National ParkHard · 7.0 km · 957 m gain · 6 h · 6 km from BanffSummit · Views · Alpine · Passes Rundle 1 and Rundle 270score
- 7Bald Eagle Peak RouteNear Canmore · Bow Valley Wildland Provincial ParkHard · 9.9 km · 1,335 m gain · 8 h 15 min · 15 km from BanffSummit · Views · Alpine · Passes Bald Eagle Peak77score
- 8Ha Ling Approach RouteNear Canmore · Bow Valley Wildland Provincial ParkHard · 2.0 km · 366 m gain · 2 h 15 min · 17 km from BanffSummit · Views · Alpine · Passes Ha Ling Peak78score
- 9Cascade Mountain Scramble RouteNear Banff · Banff National ParkExpert · 6.6 km · 882 m gain · 7 h · 7 km from BanffWaterfall · Summit · Views · Alpine · Passes Cascade Mountain68score
- 10East End of Rundle RouteNear Canmore · Banff National Park of CanadaHard · 4.7 km · 859 m gain · 5 h 15 min · 16 km from BanffLake · Summit · Views · Alpine · Passes Whitemans Pond and Rundle 877score
- 11Ha LingNear Canmore · Bow Valley Wildland Provincial ParkHard · 7.5 km · 801 m gain · 5 h 15 min · 17 km from BanffSummit · Views · Alpine · Passes Ha Ling Peak77score
- 12Citadel Pass TrNear Banff · Banff National ParkHard · 18.1 km · 679 m gain · 6 h 15 min · 18 km from BanffLake · Views · Camping · Alpine · Passes Mad Trapper's Smokehouse and Howard Douglas Lake78score
- 13Cory PassNear Banff · Banff National ParkHard · 10.5 km · 983 m gain · 6 h 30 min · 5 km from BanffViews · Alpine · Passes Cory Pass65score
- 14Harvey Pass TrNear Sawback · Banff National ParkHard · 18.1 km · 1,100 m gain · 8 h · 11 km from BanffLake · Views · Alpine · Passes Bourgeau Lake and Harvey Pass70score
- 15Topp NotchNear Banff · Banff National ParkHard · 8.3 km · 320 m gain · 3 h · 2 km from Banff60score