Dip your toe in a hot springs tale of Banff’s earliest days
by
Shari Bishop Bowes
There is a holy trinity of tourist attractions you have to visit when you’re in Banff.
There’s the Banff Gondola, leading on high to the tippy top of Sulphur Mountain.
There’s the world famous, and instantly recognizable icon of the Canadian Rockies – the resplendent Banff Springs Hotel, holding court in the Bow River Valley below.
And there, on a scenic lookout at the foot of Sulphur Mountain, is the favourite attraction for those whose feet are weary of hiking, legs spent by a day of skiing, or credit card just plain tired out by a good Banff Avenue shopping workout — The Banff Upper Hot Springs.
Open year-round, Banff Upper Hot Springs is important not only as a deliciously relaxing end to another great day in the mountains, but as an important historical site. While the earliest users were Native people inhabiting the area, the discovery of the hot springs by Canadian Pacific Railway workers in 1882 led to Banff’s establishment as Canada’s first national park.
As you sit immersed in the large, sulphurous hot pool, gazing out over Rundle and Cascade with the onset of winter evident on the mountaintops, you can imagine what Banff might have been like a few years after the hot springs’ discovery.
Long before Lycra bathing suits had been invented, modestly attired ladies and gentlemen took the waters in these hot springs, revered by centuries of use by Native people as a place to cure illness and maintain good health. By 1886, a log shack had been constructed on the site to offer some facilities for bathers. Known as the Grand View Villa and Bathhouse, it later became known as Banff’s earliest accommodation, the Grand View Hotel.
By 1904, the hot springs as we recognize them today began to take shape. Construction of the first government facility at the Upper Hot Springs included two cement plunge basins, several bathtubs and a 7 m square swimming basin.
After the Grand View Villa burned down in 1931, the federal government acquired the land to begin construction on a new Upper Hot Springs bathhous.
The Banff Upper Hot Springs bathhouse was fully restored in 1995 to its original heritage character of 1932.
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Relax year-round at the Banff Upper Hot Springs after an active day outdoors.
“The new bathhouse, complete with a large sulphur water swimming pool, plunge baths, steam rooms, tubs, showers and dressing rooms, opened on July 1, 1932. The anniversary of opening day for the facility is celebrated every year in Banff on Canada Day.
Bathers today enjoy facilities at the Upper Hot Springs that are much the same, though modernized and augmented by spa services offered in the fully restored bathhouse. That restoration took place in 1995, with the result being one of Banff’s most beautiful heritage buildings.
The water that soothes your weary muscles has its own story to tell. Beginning as groundwater that seeps into the mountain and flows deep into the earth’s interior, the water there is heated, pressurized and loaded with minerals before it percolates back to the surface. The water for the Upper Hot Springs comes back to the surface along the Sulphur Mountain Thrust Fault, emerging in several springs on the mountain. At the point the water reaches the surface, it has traveled over 3 km into the earth’s crust.
While it’s interesting to know a few things about the history and geology behind the Banff Upper Hot Springs, it’s also good to have the solid recommendation of a local resident.
One of my all-time favorite ways to spend a day in Banff involves a delicious breakfast at Coyotes on Caribou St., a hike up Sulphur or Tunnel Mountain, then a good long soak in the Upper Hot Springs as the sun begins to set. (Alternate with a day of skiing or snowshoeing, and you have the same recipe spread over four seasons.)
Ahhhh… Life is good.
If You Go:
The Banff Upper Hot Springs are located on Mountain Ave., 4 km south of the Town of Banff. Follow Banff Ave. over the Bow River Bridge, turn left then follow signs for 3.6 km to the Hot Springs parking lot at the end of Mountain Avenue.
Admission is very reasonable, $7.40 for adults, $6.40 for children and seniors; families that include two adults and two children are charged $22.75. Lockers, swimsuits and towels can be rented.
The facililty is open year round. Call 403.762.1515 to check hours, as they fluctuate seasonally.
Shari Bishop Bowes believes that a hot bath, or, better yet, a soak in some mineral springs, can cure just about anything that ails you.
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