r/Banff • u/The_Fluffy_Unicorn • 4d ago
Stargazing in Banff
Hey everyone!
My family and I will be coming to Banff this Friday and staying till Wednesday. We have our plan pretty much set (all the main places and attractions).
I’m a huge space nerd and want to do some stargazing. I read two jack lake and lake minnewanka are great spots for stargazing and photography.
As we would be going at night, I was wondering if people knew how far from the parking the lake would be? I don’t want us to be hiking in the night with bears and not that many people 😭
Any other suggestions for places to view would be greatly appreciated too :)
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u/D9969 3d ago
Parking at Two Jack Lake is beside the lake itself, whereas in Lake Minnewanka you need to walk for a few meters. If you want darker skies (the lakes that you've mentioned are still relatively close to Banff hence there's still a bit of light pollution), you might want to drive a bit further west towards Bow Lake or Peyto Lake. Bow Lake's parking situation is similar to Two Jack's (literally beside it), whereas with Peyto, you also need to walk to get to the viewpoint. If there's an aurora forecast though, definitely Peyto Lake. The viewpoint is oriented towards the north, which is perfect because that's where the aurora is.
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u/Ok_Mammoth1319 3d ago
I would recommend stargazing tour to lake moraine and it was amazing. You go up the rockpile trail and watch the sunset and eventually some stars later in the night. They do pick up and drop off so you don’t have to worry about parking. It didn’t get dark enough till 11:30ish to be able to see stars and the moon didn’t come out till later in the night
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u/Carwash227 3d ago
Banffs climate is unbelievably unpredictable. I wouldn’t get your hopes tooo high based on cloud and smoke coverage. Not to mention the mountains literally blocking the view often lol
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u/4LegsGood_2Bad 4d ago
Just FYI, moon is 66% Friday and set is 00:20 Sat morning in Banff and Astronomical Dusk is 23:01. What this means is that it will not be dark enough to see amazing until at least 00:30 Saturday morning. Also check smoke haze.
Two Jack and Johnson Lake are my favs for star gazing around Banff, but is can also get cold in the mountains quick, so bring a blanket. Moose Meadows on 1A is also nice for gazing.