Bow Falls in Winter – Banff, Alberta Canada
Bow Falls is an easy to reach waterfall that’s right in the beautiful town of Banff, in the Canadian Rockies. This waterfall can be seen in any season, but seeing it in winter makes it a bit more unique. Here’s how to see access Bow Falls in the wintertime – let’s begin!
Where is Bow Falls in Banff, Alberta?
From downtown Banff, you’ll drive across the Bow River and turn left down Glen / River Avenue to the Bow Falls Viewpoint.
IMPORTANT: Even if you’re just visiting the Banff townsite, you will need to purchase a Banff National Park pass (Banff – the town – is located inside the National Park). You can purchase it online, at the visitor center in Banff, or you can purchase it when you drive along the Trans-Canada Highway at the booths. You must have a park pass for each day you plan to be in the Banff town or in any of the nearby Rocky Mountain parks (Yoho, Jasper, Kootenay, etc).
Visiting Bow Falls in Winter
The viewpoint for Bow Falls is basically right in the parking lot, so it’s accessible for anyone.
In the summer, you can take a 1.7 mile out and back trail to get much closer to the waterfall. I suppose you could do this in winter, but there were lots of signs discouraging any venturing out further than the viewpoint near the parking lot.
Bow Falls doesn’t typically freeze completely – we visited in January and there was a small stream of water flowing down the falls, but the majority of the waterfall was frozen. To be honest, the ‘waterfall’ looked like a big blob of snow!
Visiting Banff National Park in winter? Read my Top 15 things to do in Banff in the winter!
Bow Falls itself isn’t that high of a waterfall; it’s only 30 feet, so in all honestly, by itself, it’s not the most impressive waterfall. But the scenery around the waterfall is very beautiful – especially in the winter! The Bow River doesn’t freeze completely, so you can get some amazing photos looking downstream from the waterfall.
Final Thoughts – Bow Falls in Banff, Alberta during winter
While Bow Falls itself isn’t the most impressive and jaw-dropping waterfall I’ve ever seen, it’s definitely a nice place to stop and snap a few photos. The scenery of the river is pretty impressive – that part alone makes this worthy of a stop. But it’s free, it’s very close to downtown Banff (in the summer, you can walk here from the downtown area – it’s not too far), and if you’re here, might as well see it!
Have you even visited Bow Falls? Did you see the waterfall in winter or summer? Let me know in the comments!
