Back in June, a friend and I wanted to check out Banff and visit the hot springs.  Just a year ago, I had a great experience with On-It Regional Transit to get to Banff from Calgary for $10 (each way for each person), that I wanted to do it again.

I called On-It transit customer service and was happy to hear that the same lady who took my call the year earlier was on the phone again.  She knew exactly what I needed.  I booked for Sunday 9am pick up and a 7.30pm departure and was told to bring $40 in cash to pay the driver, as it will be similar to last year’s set up.

We were to get our own private driver with an accessible van with ramp again.  I am not sure what the reason was for not having a shared big bus with a ramp, but I was still happy that we got our own private vehicle since we will not have to make any pick ups along the way to Banff.

Getting There

We got a call from On-It customer service saying our ride would be about 15 minutes so we arrived at the bus stop at 205 9 ave SE at 9.15am.  This was the exact same spot as last year but was told that the downtown pickup will move this August to the other side of downtown.

We also had to get our driver Kristie to call the office about giving us our bus tickets since it could be used to ride the Roam bus in Banff.  After a few calls, we were told to just use our email receipt as proof of buying the On-It bus to get on the Roam bus.

Once that was settled, Kristie buckled and tied down my wheelchair and we were on our way to Banff.  The drive was direct and it was a great and scenic route for the 90 minutes.  The ride was smooth and being at the very back of the vehicle, it never got too bumpy or shaky.

Nourish Bistro

We were pretty hungry and wanted to get lunch right away.  Most of the restaurants on the main strip looked busy and had wait times so we tried looking around the side streets and happened to see that Nourish Bistro didn’t really have any people lining up to go in.  We went inside and got a table right away.

The server told us that Nourish is a vegan/vegetarian restaurant which surprised us a bit but it did not make us want to leave.  We were already settled in and were curious to try their food.  I had the Mountain Breakfast Skillet which came with a beyond meat sausage, roasted tomato, hash browns, 2 poached eggs, arugula and bread.  It was actually amazing and I would eat it again.

Around Banff/Bow Falls

My friend and I then went on the Bow Falls pathway to look at the beautiful landscapes and water.  While my friend went up the stairs to checkout the waterfalls, I used that time to just lean my chair back, rest, and take in the fresh air and scenery.

Even though I recently visited Banff twice last year, the mountains, green landscapes and water never get boring.  My friend had a blast too visiting Banff for the first time ever.  Wish we had more time to ride the gondola but I did get to do that last year.

Desserts

We wanted to get a few sweet treats before heading to the hot springs.  There were 2 different locations of Beavertails on the main road, so we had to visit at least one.  Beavertails is an iconic fried pastry dough in the shape of a beaver tail which has optional toppings on top.  It has been around since 1978 and now has over 140 locations in 6 countries.  We split a Skor Cheesecake one and even though it was very sweet, it was really good.

My last 2 visits to Banff included a visit to Mountain Chocolates, so we had to go in and get some chocolates even though we had enough sweets from Beavertails.  We each got a bear claw to eat right away and a big tortoise to save for after the hot springs.

Getting To Banff Hot Springs

We needed to get back on the main road in downtown Banff to catch the Roam bus to take us to the Banff Hot Springs.  We had to take route #1 bus to get us directly there and our On-it email receipt was all we needed to show the bus driver as our proof of payment.

The bus did have a powered fold out ramp for me to get on the bus and a spot inside for wheelchair guests.  The bus was a bit crowded as the bus also took people to the Banff gondola.  People did make room for me so I wasn’t too crowded in the bus, which was nice.  The bus stop was quite close to the hot springs which was great since it started raining again.

Banff Hot Springs

Banff Hot Spring (also called Banff Upper Hot Springs) was discovered in 1883 and is located at 1585 meters (5200 ft) of elevation which makes it the highest hot springs in Canada.  Water temperature is kept at 38 C (100 F) which is great for me since it is a bit cool outside with the rain.

There is a ramp to get in the historic building where the entrance to the hot springs is.  The cost for an adult admission is $16.50 and they do offer free admission to companions or caregivers to paying wheelchair guests.  We are also each given a locker token coin.  To get to the locker rooms downstairs, we had to take an old but tiny elevator.  We barely fit together but we made it work.

Locker Room

The accessible bathroom locker room didn’t have an automatic button or anything to make it easier to open the door to get inside.  Once in, I immediately noticed there wasn’t an adult size changing table but a toilet on one side, and a roll in shower with a shower bench and a handheld removable showerhead on the other side.

I already had my swim shorts under my pants so I didn’t need to lay down to change.  My friend then lifted me to the water wheelchair and put all our belongings in a locker and parked my wheelchair by the hot springs.  Since there was no seat belt on the water wheelchair, as soon as my friend wheeled me down the ramp to get in the hot springs, my body started to float away from the chair.

Hot Springs

My friend was trying to hold me in but when we saw Kristie, she helped us grab some towels so I could be tied in the water wheelchair.  It made me sit so much better as I got to enjoy my time in the warm water with mountain views surrounding me.  The towels would sometimes get loose so my friend would just tighten them once in a while.

It is not recommended staying in the warm water for over an hour, unless there are breaks in between to cool down.  We did stay just over an hour switching from the shallow side to the deeper side.  Kristie was already gone and we were to meet her downtown as she needed to do something there.

Final Thoughts

This was another great 7 hour visit to Banff using On-It transit as we got our own private vehicle again.  Our driver Kristie was great and hopefully we get her again on our next visit.  The Banff Hot Springs was very fun and worth visiting as they do provide free companion admission.

Just realize the elevator to the hot springs is quite small so if you have a large wheelchair, you may not fit.  The private accessible locker room does not have an adult changing table and the water wheelchair does not have its own seatbelt.  Despite these issues, I would definitely come back.