Late March Banff skiing?

[Christy]

I read in the SkiTalk thread that it takes about the same amount of time to boot up and ready for ski no matter if they meet up at Sunshine or LL(assuming they start from the same Banff shuttle bus stop ), for the reason of the long gondola ride at Sunshine.

It sounds like what people are saying is that even though Sunshine is closer to Banff than LL, since you have the hassle of having to take a gondola up to the ski area from the parking lot, it still takes as long to actually be skiing as it would if you were skiing LL. In case it's not clear, the gondola from the parking area or bus stop is just to get up to the ski resort. THEN you take lifts up to ski. Like @Jilly I found that a big hassle.

For a last minute solo trip to Banff, I'd consider seeing if there were any deals at the Sunshine lodge.

I wouldn't stay up there no matter how good the deal was. You are stuck once up there. You have to get there via gondola. You are eating hotel food and there's nothing else up there to do, in the evening for example.

 

[marzNC]

I wouldn't stay up there no matter how good the deal was. You are stuck once up there. You have to get there via gondola. You are eating hotel food and there's nothing else up there to do, in the evening for example.

Everyone has different approaches to travel. When JimK went with his wife, they appreciated the peace and quiet at the Sunshine lodge.

There are times when I find it annoying to have to figure out where to eat dinner. Perhaps one reason I like staying at Alta Lodge where meals are included. I go to ski and relax, not think about any other activities. It's somewhere I would be happy to say for a few days solo.

 

[marzNC]

I'm also checking their live cam. Sunshine even has an "Aurora Cam"

It's snowing right now and looks great. Very low crowd, which is one of the main incentives for me going to Banff.

Here's another trip report by someone currently skiing the Big3.

Banff/Lake Louise, March 22-28, 2026

I’m in Banff/Lake Louise for a week with my daughter. A 50/50 week of downhill skiing and some cross country skiing and winter hiking. First time here. We’re staying in Banff at a hotel right on Banff Ave. Banff is a nice town. A little touristy but lots of restaurants and good shopping. A lot...

www.firsttracksonline.com

 

[Jilly]

Well Jim K is out with the SkiTalk crowd. So he's (and his wife) are reporting on the SkiTalk threads.

 

[Christy]

Everyone has different approaches to travel. When JimK went with his wife, they appreciated the peace and quiet at the Sunshine lodge.

There are times when I find it annoying to have to figure out where to eat dinner. Perhaps one reason I like staying at Alta Lodge where meals are included. I go to ski and relax, not think about any other activities. It's somewhere I would be happy to say for a few days solo.

Just making sure everyone understands what the deal is. It's not a typical ski hotel/ski resort setup. The gondola shuts down an early evening and there is no way to get off the mountain, so there's no popping into a drugstore or grocery store or any place else if you need anything, and you better be okay with food and prices with your very limited dinner options.

 

[contesstant]

I found the drive to LL vs. the shorter drive but gondola ride to Sunshine to be sixes. Both took about 40 minutes total. We found the bag stash area at the gondola base, so booted up there, left our bags, and hopped on the gondola. It was 20 minutes, 15 to the Goat's Eye area (which also has Wolverine chair.)

Both mountains are worth a visit, without a doubt.

 

[santacruz skier]

Just making sure everyone understands what the deal is. It's not a typical ski hotel/ski resort setup. The gondola shuts down an early evening and there is no way to get off the mountain, so there's no popping into a drugstore or grocery store or any place else if you need anything, and you better be okay with food and prices with your very limited dinner options.

Agree as initially thought that would be a great location..... then heard you are basically stuck on the mountain.... and it didn't even look that nice.

 

[wernerslab]

Yesterday I talked to someone at Lake Louise ski school and she was recommending we start our trip at SS bc it has more 'flatter' spots than LL and we can "warm up" at Sunshine then finish at LL. We've just arrived in Calgary and the snow storm seems to have flights out messed up but we had no problems flying in from Newark. We head to Canmore tomorrow and start at Sunshine on Friday. Looks like it will be partly cloudy and flurries most of the time we are here.

 

[Tennessee]

Just chiming in here to mention the Spring passes available now for LL and Sunshine. They are separate and you have to choose one to get the best deal. My friends and I chose to purchase the LL spring pass and it was only $406 American for over 65. That’s us! It is good for any day from like March through May. We are going to ski for 6 days so that’s a great deal! And I do believe Lake Louise will have plenty of skiing for us to enjoy.

 

[Tennessee]

Just caught up on the SkiTalk thread about the Banff gathering. Someone saw a Lynx!!! I want so much to see a Lynx. I saw one from the lift at Red Mtn in 2019 and it was one of the highlights of my trip — love Red by the way. So this Lynx was reported to be on the “Ski Out” trail at Lake Louise. You can bet I will be looking for that cat!

 

[RachelV]

The conditions look so good up there right now. Count me jealous. I have MISSED having an actual winter this year. Have a great time to those of you heading up there (I don't think it will be too hard)!!

 

[Christy]

Just caught up on the SkiTalk thread about the Banff gathering. Someone saw a Lynx!!! I want so much to see a Lynx. I saw one from the lift at Red Mtn in 2019 and it was one of the highlights of my trip — love Red by the way. So this Lynx was reported to be on the “Ski Out” trail at Lake Louise. You can bet I will be looking for that cat!

This is a huge tangent but I volunteer for a wildlife research group based in the Northeast Cascades and I've scanned through 20-30,000 trail cam photos in recent months looking for lynx.

The only lynx I've seen in person were at Katmai National Park in Alaska.

 

[Tennessee]

Wow @Christy!!!!! Then I count myself even luckier for seeing the Mom and young ones at Red. I think it was even on the Lynx run! My phone was in my backpack so no photo but I got a good long look. The patroller behind me on the chair missed it completely because he was staring at his phone, lol. Love seeing wildlife in their natural habitat

 

[MotherDuck]

We head to Canmore tomorrow and start at Sunshine on Friday. Looks like it will be partly cloudy and flurries most of the time we are here.

Sunshine looks gorgeous today. Wish you a great time there, @wernerslab!

 

[MotherDuck]

I have MISSED having an actual winter this year.

Me 2! And that's why I decided to go desperately.

 

[MotherDuck]

@wernerslab Did you rent a SUV? I see people saying winter tire would be more important than SUV. I would assume the cars from the rental car companies at YYC and that region would all have winter tires at this time of the year. No?

 

[Christy]

No. I was offered an upgrade when I went a few years ago, and I took it, but snow tires are not standard. I've heard they aren't even available at every agency, but I don't know if that is true. You could call the individual office at YYC (not the 800 number).

 

[MotherDuck]

OK. I am locked in with my flight, 3/30-4/6. Maybe I will get do a MOTH with @wernerslab and/or @Tennessee

Still debating on lodging and transportation. Those who have been there, do you recommend to split lodging days in Banff and LL half/half or it's best to just stay in one place and shuttle/drive to the other?

That will help me decide to rent a car or take an airport shuttle. Since I am traveling solo with no family, shuttle sounds appealing especially after seeing this thread from a few years ago.

 

[wernerslab]

@wernerslab Did you rent a SUV? I see people saying winter tire would be more important than SUV. I would assume the cars from the rental car companies at YYC and that region would all have winter tires at this time of the year. No?

Hi! I think I asked this same thing on the thread(maybe another) and ended up renting on Turo so I could confirm we would have snow tires. Jilly's advice was to call the rental agency at YYC to confirm which I considered but decided to try Turo for the first time instead. I rented a Highlander and I am glad I have AWD and snow tires since the forecast calls for potential snow/flurries on a lot of the days we are here. There was a lot of variety on Turo. We do plan on using the Banff shuttle at least a few days and my DH is also willing to drive us a few days. He is a non-skier.

 

[wernerslab]

We'll be skiing LL on 31st, 1st and 2nd and am happy to meetup. I label myself a progressing intermediate. Have never skied LL or SS but in East Coast and in CO Rockies, I ski blues and single blacks if they don't scare me when I stand at the top. I like to try moguls but I suck at doing it well. This is a work in progress. I don't ski trees but maybe I will get there in a few years. I have a lesson at LL on the 1st but will have to ditch the afternoon bc my son's lesson ends at noon. If you want to ski mornings on 31st or 2nd and don't mind being with a 14yo snowboarder in the afternoon, I would love to meetup. I plan to join a mountain tour at LL on the 31st and 2nd too bc I enjoy them and it breaks up the solo skiing. At LL they break them up by ability so if you are an expert skier, you can do an expert tour and try more challenging runs with a partner(s). I plan to do a "blue" tour.