Banff Trail Running

Facts

* Note: These are running times not hiking times. The fastest times are for someone with a 10km road pace of under 6:30/mile or 4:00/km.

Details

Links

Banff Gondola
Sulphur Webcam
Gondola Hours/Rates
Public Transit Brochure (PDF)

Overview

Sulphur Mountain is a great training ground for any runner. Whether you keep the heart rate down and take an "easy" run to the top or you take the challenge and run it as hard as you can, it is a really rewarding run.
If you want to avoid the physical cost of running back down you can show a piece of local ID to get a free ride down in the gondola. This applies during the summer months but come the winter they figure if you're crazy enough to run up then you deserve a free ride down. Once you hit the Gondola station you can continue along the boardwalk to the weather station and if you want to make a longer run you can continue down the back side until the trail joins the Sundance Canyon to run back into town.

Trailhead

The trail starts 4.2km from the centre of town at the Upper Hot Springs parking lot, see map below.

Car: Drive out of Banff across the Bow River bridge towards the Banff Springs & Rimrock Hotels, keep in the right lane but turn left. Almost immediately the road will fork to the right, follow this fork all the way until the road ends just past the Rimrock Hotel at a large parking lot.

Run Run up from the townsite (roundtrip will take approximately 2 to 2.5 hours depending on whether you take the gondola down). If you run from town, look for a trail on the left side of Mountain Avenue just after the big left hand bend. You can run the trail parallel to the road all the way to the Rimrock Hotel.
You could also run a loop including the back side of the mountain and Sundance Canyon trail, this can be run in either direction.

Public Transit: For $2 you can take the public transit bus from downtown up to the Rimrock hotel or vice versa (PDF of transit brochure)

The start of the trail is easy to find, just walk out of the parking lot towards the Hot Springs and look to your left. You will see a barrier/gate and a trailhead sign.

Start your watch here and don't stop it until you pass the trail sign at the end of the trail at the Gondola Station.

Sulphur Mountain Trailhead

*Click and drag map, zoom in and out or switch modes.
Banff Townsite, Sulphur Mountain Trailhead

Trail

There's no two ways about it, you're going to be running uphill for 5.5kms…
The first couple of hundred metres is steep with the trail keeping fairly consistent after that until about two thirds of the way up where you will hit a long steep uphill section that seems to be just a bit too long. Keep going though as it's perfectly runnable and once you've passed it the rest of the trail isn't too bad. Be prepared to freak out a few tourists particularly in the middle of the summer when lots of hikers are out.

Route

| Google Maps | Google Earth | MotionBased | GPX

Elevation

Well as you can see, it is basically up, up and up. This is the elevation chart from the trailhead sign to the end of the trail just next to the Gondola station.

Photo Gallery

Webcam

This is the live webcam from the top of the Gondola station (If it's black, it's probably night-time). Looking down on Banff townsite, this is the view you will get as a reward for all your hard work.

Safety

Not too much to worry about on this trail. There is a small chance of running into a bear but more likely you'll be dodging hikers. If you're running in the winter time watch your step on the snow and ice and take care not to slip off the trail.

Tips

• If you're a local, bring some ID that proves it and you can take a free gondola ride down. If not, you'll have to pay to ride down or else turn around and run back down.

Fastest Times

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