Cave & Basin in Banff National Park commemorates the beginning of Banff, Canada’s first National Park. It was here, the hot springs were discovered, and people began to come from all over the world! Sulphur Mountain which overlooks Banff is the site of nine sulfurous hot springs, Cave & Basin is the bottom one with a large underground chamber that you can tour.

There is an interpretive system of walkways that lead up and around a beautiful wooded area with white sulfur springs burbling by your feet. There are several pools where you can pause to view the fragile eco-system that exists here.

Near the entrance to the underground hot springs cavern, you can tour the courtyard where there used to be a swimming pool. And… what a view while you swim some laps, too bad it’s not in operation anymore!

As we were making our way through the courtyard, we met a Canadian couple that had just gotten engaged in Glacier National Park, which is where we got engaged as well! Meeting new people and seeing new places is one of the great things about traveling. I love finding something in common with total strangers.

Inside the underground cavern, you can see the water coming out of the cavern walls and bubbling up from the pool’s floor. I couldn’t help but think about what it would’ve been like to experience it first hand instead of as a bystander tourist.

The best part about Cave & Basin for me, is how much I learned about Banff as a National Park. We love Banff, and want to spend as much time hiking there as possible, so it was great to see where it all got started!

See you next week as we head into the town of Banff!