Unpopular opinion here! I hate Johnston Canyon in Banff National Park. It’s the most overrated tourist attraction in Banff National Park. Fight me.

I’ve visited Johnston Canyon three times – yes, three times — so I’ve given in many chances and each visit ends in disappointment and frustration. So no more. I AM DONE. I will not be going to Johnston Canyon again. So let’s get into it – why do I hate Johnston Canyon?

Johnston Canyon is the most crowded trail in Banff National Park. Everyone and their brother has this on their Banff National Park itinerary because it’s always listed as the “top things to do in Banff National Park.”

Frankly, I don’t see what the big deal is about this place – it’s a canyon with a few underwhelming waterfalls. Banff is an absolutely beautiful place — one of the most beautiful places in the world, yet the tourists flock to this place like it’s the best thing to see here. In other words, the popularity of Johnston Canyon is not well-deserved.

So why is Johnston Canyon so crowded?

A few things come to mind:

• It’s a very family friendly hiking area. There is very little elevation gain and much of the ‘trail’ is on elevated catwalks.
• It’s on all of the ‘must-do’ lists in Banff National Park.
• The pictures make it look amazing (though in person, I don’t think it’s that great).

Even the famous lakes — Lake Louise and Moraine Lake — aren’t as big of a shitshow as Johnston Canyon — and I have visited them several times too, with a few visits prior to the mandatory shuttle system being in place!

Hiking Stats

Calling this a ‘hike’ is an overstatement. There is very little elevation gain and a lot of this is ‘hiking’ on elevated catwalks. The first time I did this, I wore flip flops and had no trouble.

That said, if you want to hike out to both waterfalls, it turns out to be a 4.8km round trip hike, which might be too much for those with any sort of mobility issues.

Johnston Canyon is open year round. If you want to visit in the winter, you’ll want to have crampons as the walkways can be completely covered in ice.

Type: Out and back

Trail surface: Paved most of the way, with elevated catwalks.

Difficulty: Easy

Distance:
Only to lower falls: 2.2 km round trip
To the upper falls: 4.8 km round trip
You can also head to the ink pots from this trail too. This is a longer, more challenging hike with elevation gain: 11.8km round trip. I did this hike – read about my hike to the Ink Pots.

Dogs? Yes, Johnston Canyon is pet-friendly

Parking at Johnston Canyon

Even despite the crowds, I’ve actually never had an issue of getting a parking space here. The main lot is pretty big, but it does fill quickly so if you want to park in the main lot, you’ll want to get here before 9am. The worst time for finding a spot would be from 9-1pm.

If you want a much less crowded, more chill version of Johnston Canyon, head to Marble Canyon in Kootenay National Park. There were only about 3 people there when we visited in July!

There is an overflow lot across the street and when parking situation starts to get nuts, Parks Canada brings out the parking attendants, who will direct you to a spot.

Either way, parking is free, but you’ll obviously need your Parks Canada pass for Banff National Park.

Amenities at Johnston Canyon

At the trailhead, you’ll find a small gift shop, coffee shop and restrooms. The gift shop is just as underwhelming as Johnston Canyon itself.

Visiting Johnston Canyon

The main attractions here are the two waterfalls – the lower falls and the upper falls — both of which I find incredibly underwhelming. The trail starts off paved though a forest, and then you’ll hear the rushing water below you as you make your way over the catwalks. You’ll walk single-file on the catwalks, so if you arrive here at a very busy time, it can be really slow-moving on this trail, as so many people dawdle, stop for photos, and with the narrow walkways, it’s difficult to pass them.

Most of the trail is shaded and can be quite chilly in the morning, so you might want to bring a jacket.

The water is a beautiful teal color as it flows through the canyon and you can get some good photos of it as you walk along.

At 1.1 km into your hike, you’ll get to the first point of interest – the lower falls waterfall. You can stay on the elevated catwalks to view the falls, or if you want to fight crowds, you can go down the steps and view the base of the falls.

If you chose to go down there, you will likely need to wait in line to take a photo – the line can talk you 30-45 minutes! There is no Parks Canada ranger down there monitoring the situation – you have to wait for each person to finish their Instagram selfie photoshoot, so this whole ordeal can take a while. You’ll walk through a cave and then can view the waterfall.

Is the view of the waterfall worth waiting in line for? No! I waited in this line once, on my first visit and was underwhelmed. On subsequent visits, I didn’t bother with it.

Next up is the upper falls waterfall. From the lower falls, it’s another 1.3 km. Some people decide to just turn around at this point and head back to the parking lot – and if you do that, I won’t judge. The upper falls aren’t much to write home about either.

The viewpoint for the upper falls is pretty slippery and you might get wet. You won’t have to wait in any line, as the viewing platform is quite large.

And that’s it. Yeah. At this point, if you’re like me, you’ll be like, “I fought all these crowds for this??? THAT’S IT???!”

So this is the point where you sigh, turn around and head back the way you came and prepare to fight the cattle call.

If you’re up for a bigger challenge (and you have the proper hiking footwear + water), keep going another 3km to the ink pots. This will add on about 1.5-2 hours to your time at Johnston Canyon. I’ve done this hike before and liked it more Johnston Canyon itself, though the hike has a lot of hills and is mostly through the woods – you can’t see anything until you reach the ink pots.

Like I mentioned before, Johnston Canyon is extremely popular with families. So you’ll find a lot of slow moving seniors, toddlers running amok, and people just in general not paying attention to where they’re going. The catwalks can slow down to a crawl and you can get caught in a human traffic jam on your hike – it’s that busy.

Johnston Canyon is also a spot on all of the coach bus tours in the area. Heaven help you if you start your hike into the canyon as a tour bus deposits a bunch of people!

Johnston Canyon – Final Thoughts

I can understand crowds at a tourist attraction – crowds at Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic Spring, crowds at Glacier National Park’s Logan Pass, etc. – because those places justify the crowds. Who wouldn’t want to see the rainbow colors of Grand Prismatic Spring?? It’s otherworldly. But Johnston Canyon? For real? It’s a couple waterfalls in a gorge…in an area of the Canadian Rockies where there are many, many other beautiful spots.

In the end, while Johnston Canyon may hold some appeal for those seeking easily accessible natural beauty, I found it to be overrated due to its overwhelming crowds, lack of wilderness ambiance, and the sense of artificiality that pervades the trail.

If you still insist on seeing Johnston Canyon for yourself during the summer months, I suggest coming here in the early (or late!) evening. Remember, at this latitude, the sun doesn’t set in the summer until about 10:30pm, so you have all evening to do this hike. Johnston Canyon doesn’t close!

Pros
The views and waterfalls are…ok. I guess.

Cons:

Incredibly crowded. You cannot come here and expect to be one with nature. You will encounter a solid line of people on the catwalks – coming and going. It’s miserable.

The views are not stunning. It’s just a canyon with a river and a couple waterfalls.

In general, it’s totally overrated. If you need to skip anything in Banff National Park, I would skip Johnston Canyon.

Have you been to Johnston Canyon? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below!