Very recently a brother suggested a few of us visit Banff, Alberta for the day.  At first, we were thinking about just getting me to transfer into a car and bringing my manual wheelchair along.  I thought this would be the perfect time to try On-It Regional Transit to get to Banff from Calgary for just $10 including taxes each way.

Looking at the website, there was no mention about wheelchair accessibility on these buses, but I do remember hearing from someone that On-It buses do have a bus with a wheelchair ramp and a spot in the bus for a wheelchair.  I phoned the On-It customer service and was told accessible buses had to be booked in advance to make sure it was available for the days and times I needed.

I was also told that companions have to pay $10 each way too, which wasn’t too bad considering $40 total for the both of us to get to/from Banff is so much cheaper than a taxi or driving with that much gas.  I booked for a Sunday for a 9 AM Calgary departure and for a 7.15 PM pick up leaving Banff.

Getting There

So we arrived 15 minutes before our departure time as we were told and a lot of people were already there waiting for the bus.  The guy in charge of scanning bus tickets told us that the big accessible bus has sold every seat on the bus, with the row of seats at the back where my wheelchair would be wasn’t blocked off from sales so we were to get a separate accessible vehicle just for the 2 of us.

I already knew about a vehicle change as it was on my phone messages but did not know why or any other details.  It actually worked better for us since we had our own private vehicle and did not have to stop at 2 other spots to pick up more passengers before driving to Banff.  Our driver was Arlea and she had her son and another man join us for the ride and offered to drive us to key and scenic locations since I don’t get to Banff very often. 

She drove us to see Lake Minnewanka and slowed down and stopped the vehicle for pictures.  We even got to pick where we wanted to be dropped off in Banff but we stayed with where the bus stop was.  She also gave us the option if we wanted to leave before our 7 PM scheduled time but we politely declined that too.

Grizzly House

After meeting up with the others, the first thing we did was visit the landmark Grizzly House.  Opened in 1967, it is Banff’s most famous fondue restaurant serving exotic meats in a lodgelike setting.  Prices are a bit high but I have heard of only good things about this place and was excited to try.  We all did the 4 course complete fondue dinner and I chose the beef and lobster for $58.95.

To start, I had the french onion soup, the appetizer was a vegetable and a cheese fondue.  The beef and lobster could either be cooked on the hot rocks or the oil fondue.  I personally liked the hot rocks more since the food was cooked in garlic butter and not just in oil.  Each person got their own plate of sauces to dip and they were quite good too.  The chocolate fondue with melted Toblerone with fresh fruit and biscuits was so good.  This whole experience was totally worth it.

Cascade Gardens

After our heavy lunch, we went to Cascade Gardens which was just a few minutes from the Grizzly House Restaurant.  When we got up to the entrance of the gardens, we could already see how green and colorful this place really was.  With a lot of bumpy grass and a slight incline slope, I wheeled to the side of the gardens to find a sidewalk and a pathway that lead in to it.

There wasn’t much of a path that was easy for me but we did get a few scenic photos and some great shots of all the trees and the flowers.  I managed to find an almost flat section of the grass to wheel around to explore the gardens by myself.  It was great to see a couple of deers munching on some flowers but I couldn’t get any closer because of my wheelchair but everybody else could to take pics.

Stroll Around Banff/Bow Falls

There is a nice walking/strolling trail that leads to Bow Falls that is really scenic and nice.  While it is paved for the most part, the only part I could not do was go up the stairs to actually view the waterfalls. I did get a good chance to rest a bit while everyone else went to check out the falls.  I still got to enjoy the views of the mountains, lakes and trees as I am normally used to seeing buildings and streets around me.

There was also some neat art and paintings scattered throughout the trails that were cool to look at.  Wheeling on the grass was easy for my powerchair as I avoid holes and bumpy terrain.  There is even the Bow Falls bridge and the nearby iconic Banff sign that we all had to take a pic with before heading to our next restaurant.

Hello Sunshine

We wanted to take advantage of the Happy Hour (4 to 5 PM) special at Hello Sunshine Sushi so we made sure to arrive by 4.45 to get in our order.  The choices we got for food were 5 different plates of sushi rolls, so we quickly ordered 3 rounds of all 5 dishes.  I was still quite full from the Grizzly House but had to try a little bit of each of the sushi because everything looked too good.

Everything tasted amazing and while were full, we ended up ordering 2 more rounds of all the happy hour dishes just in the nick of time and later 1 dessert.  The restaurant was quite wheelchair accessible and was easier to get around than the Grizzly House.  There were many other surrounding restaurants that also offered happy hour deals, but we all decided on sushi.

Mountain Chocolates

We now had about an hour before our ride picked us up at 7 PM, so we looked around the downtown area a bit more.  We then went to Mountain Chocolates which is one of Banff’s best chocolate shops.  The store is fully stocked with so many different kind of sweets including candy apples, fudge, popcorn, ice cream, bark and chocolates.

I had no idea what to choose but settled on 2 pieces of chocolate: a milk tortoise and a dark bear paw that costs $6.45.  I didn’t get to eat them until the next day and they were some of the best chocolates that I have ever eaten.  We then looked at a few more stores and Cascade Shops Mall before heading back to Calgary.

Final Thoughts

It was a great 8 hours spent in Banff.  Although I did not ride the Banff Gondola this trip, I know it is wheelchair accessible to get into one and to explore the boardwalk.  The Grizzly House and Hello Sunshine restaurants both have amazing food and ambience.  I also enjoyed the outside activities we did like visiting Cascade Gardens and Bow Falls.

Getting around Banff was really easy in my powerchair and this whole experience was possible due to the cheap $10 accessible On-It bus to Banff.  They also travel to Canmore and other towns too, so I should definitely use this service more often.  Just remember to call ahead to let the customer service when you need the accessible bus with ramp.