Your local guide plans each day's route on the day. Every morning, we check in with other guides and Banff locals on recent wildlife sightings, then factor in the weather and the busiest times at each stop. That way you're heading where the animals are, and arriving when it's quieter. The stops below are a sample of where the tour may go, finishing with the Banff Gondola.
Wind up Mount Norquay, home to Banff's first ski hill, to a lookout over the whole town. From here you can see Mount Rundle, Cascade Mountain, and Sulphur Mountain, where you'll ride the gondola later in the tour. Bighorn sheep are often spotted on the road up.
Follow the Minnewanka Loop, one of the best roads in the park for spotting elk, deer, and bighorn sheep, and in season, bears. Stop at Lake Minnewanka, the largest lake in Banff National Park, then Two Jack Lake, with Mount Rundle rising behind it.
Take a short walk to the Hoodoos, tall spires of rock carved by wind and water over thousands of years. Grab a seat in one of Banff National Park's red chairs and look out over the Bow River and Mount Rundle as the valley stretches east.
From Surprise Corner, look across the Bow River to the Fairmont Banff Springs, the "Castle in the Rockies," with Sulphur Mountain rising behind it. It's one of Banff's classic photo spots, and a preview of the mountain you'll ride the gondola up.
Stand beside Bow Falls, where the Bow River drops in a wide run of rapids just below the Fairmont Banff Springs. Marilyn Monroe filmed scenes here for the 1954 film River of No Return.
Ride the Banff Gondola up Sulphur Mountain in about eight minutes, climbing to the summit at 2,281 m. At the top, walk the ridgetop boardwalk to Sanson Peak and take in 360-degree views over the town, the Bow Valley, and six mountain ranges.
The wildlife tour with Nolan was excellent! This was the end of our weeklong visit to Western Canada and we can highly recommend this tour without hesitation! We saw quite a bit of wildlife along the way and ended at the Banff Gondola which was amazing!
Marny was an excellent guide. We got to see black bears, mule deer and a lot of elk, both cows and 3 bulls. The tour was very nice and the gondola ride was very nice.
This was our second excursion with Radventures and Tour Guide Tyler. It did not disappoint. We saw big horn sheep and elk. The gondola ride was amazing.
Ellie was a great guide! She shared a lot of interesting information and knew great spots to see bighorn sheep and elk. The gondola was only ok because it was very cloudy due to weather, we couldn’t see much of anything from the top. The saving grace was Ellie got them to start the marshmallow toasting back up and we enjoyed some hot sugar.
Natasha was a lovely guide, very helpful & made the trip enjoyable. We were lucky with the weather when we went on the gondola.
A great tour with fantastic guide
Exceptional tour — Ellie made the experience We thoroughly enjoyed Radventures’ Moraine Lake & Lake Louise Sunset Wildlife Adventure, but what really made the evening stand out was our guide, Ellie. From the moment we met her, Ellie was personable, friendly and incredibly welcoming. One of her greatest strengths was her ability to bring together a small group of people who had never met before. She immediately put everyone at ease, took a genuine interest in each of us, and somehow got us all talking and learning about one another. Very quickly, it felt less like a group of strangers on a tour and more like a group enjoying an evening together. Her knowledge was extraordinary. Wildlife was clearly a particular passion — especially bears — and she had an apparently endless supply of fascinating facts and stories about the animals of Banff, including legendary grizzlies such as Boss and Split Lip. But her knowledge went far beyond wildlife. She talked engagingly about conservation, pollution, climate change and the wider ecology of the Rockies, answering every question we threw at her. Even while driving between stops, Ellie kept up a fascinating and often very funny commentary. She seemed to have an anecdote, story or piece of information about almost everything — even whisky! Her humour was natural and infectious, and she had the whole group laughing throughout the evening. What particularly impressed us was that she didn’t simply recite facts. She had the knowledge and enthusiasm of a naturalist and made everything she talked about interesting and relevant to what we were seeing around . Beautiful scenery can make a tour memorable, but an exceptional guide can transform it. Ellie did exactly that. She was knowledgeable, engaging, funny, thoughtful and wonderfully personable — an outstanding ambassador for both Radventures and Banff. Highly recommended, and if you get Ellie as your guide, you’re in for a treat.
George was an amazing tour guide! We hit all the picturesque spots, great photo ops. He’s very knowledgeable of the area and a very safe driver.
Our tour guide, Ellie, was amazing, super friendly, and very knowledgeable about the wildlife and surrounding areas of Banff. Beautiful views and great overall experience!
It’s a four hour tour. Taz was our guide and he was very knowledgeable. Ended with the Banff gondola which was great
Fabulous way to experience Banff.
We had a great tour. We saw a mama bear and 3 cubs, 2 baby deer, and golf course elk. The sun was out and it was a perfect day.
Tour was great we saw a momma black bear with 3 cubs. Elk and Deer. Liam our guide was great!!
Liam was amazing !! Very knowledgeable and great sense of humor.
Liam picked us up on time. He was personable and charismatic and made us feel very welcome right away. His knowledge of the region, both regarding the wildlife as well as the topography was astounding. His story about Boss the Grizzly Bear was so inspiring that we went to eat at the Boss restaurant in town afterwards. The four hours went so fast that I was sad that it had come to an end. Truly our best experience at Banff.
Liam is an amazing guide and the trip even more memorable.
We had a fabulous afternoon riding to different scenic roads and vistas! We got to see many wild animals, like Elks, Mountain goats and different bird species! We went to a location where we got to view the Hoodoos formation that was quite fascinating! We then got to ride the gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain! The ride was great as you get to see the tres up close and enjoy the density and beauty of nature. The view from the observation deck was obstructed by the smoke. That was disappointing. The van was not huge and that created a more intimate atmosphere. George, our driver and tour guide was extremely pleasant and narrated the scenery in such a knowledgeable way! He answered all questions and contributed to making the excursion very enjoyable!
Victoria our guide was amazing, provided great knowledge and information about the local wildlife. Unfortunately the Bears were not on payroll during our trip and we were unable to spot any, however we seen a large variety of other animals like Elk, squirrels, deer, big horn sheep. A very scenic tour and plenty of opportunities to get out and take photos when safe to do so.
Wonderful small group tour with our guide, Kirsty, who was both knowledgeable and kind answering our 9 year old’s questions. Tour hit all the highlights. Van comfortable and made stops easy and informative. Would definitely recommend!
Amazing 10/10 tour, got to see so much of Banff. Our tour guide, Kirsty, was full of information, energy and jokes. Amazing 4 hour experience!
George was an excellent tour guide. Friendly, knowledgeable, and genuinely passionate about Banff and the Rockies, he made the whole experience enjoyable from start to finish. He shared fascinating local insights, kept the day fun, and made sure everyone had a great time. Highly recommend!
We had a great time on our Radventure with Marnie! She had interesting stories and fun facts, she answered questions without hesitation, and we had an overall amazing time in a small group setting… We won the guide lottery! 🫶 We would highly recommend. P.S. Marnie - We saw Split Lip on our sunrise adventure! Taylor was also great.
Very good experience. Unfortunately we had the smoke from the fires
Our guide, Cam, was wonderful. He was very knowledgeable and informative, funny and an Aussie! Really enjoyed out tour!
Julia our guide was informative friendly and funny. She worked very hard for the whole group.
Emily is the absolute best guide!!!! So much positivity that radiates from her warm energy. She can’t do enough to please everyone. I would definitely request Emily’s tour.
We went on the Banff Highlights and Wildlife with Gondola tour with Ellie. It was a great start to a wonderful vacation. Ellie was an amazing guide! We saw a family of big horn sheep and a mama bear with 3 cubs. Thank you for the great memories Radventures!!
Very knowledgeable and great guide!
Our guide Liam was great. Very knowledgeable and friendly
The tour was very informative and Liam was a great guide!
A fabulous tour with the lovely Emily who was very knowledgeable about the location and the animals.
TL;DR: EVERYTHING about this tour was exceptional! From the moment our amazing guide, Gabi, picked us up we knew we were in for a great tour. The small group made it very easy to feel personally engaged as we weren’t lost in the crowd. The fact that Gabi was talking WITH us and not TO us made it even better. As we drove through town, even on our way to pick up additional guests, she was already giving us excellent content and helping us to gain an appreciation of what we were to see. Throughout our journey to each of our stops, Gabi gave great information and insights while allowing us to also just take in and appreciate the immense beauty of the majestic scenery. She had a keen eye for spotting wildlife and making sure we had ample opportunities to observe and photograph. While sites to be seen from the top of the gondola ride were magnificent and largely self-explanatory, Gabi circulated throughout the observation areas, making sure to interact with each of the guests on the tour - answering questions and just engaging in conversation. By the time we ended the tour, we felt that we had not only gained a deeper appreciation of Banff but established a connection with our excellent guide. A truly wonderful tour that we would recommend to anyone! (And if you get Gabi, BONUS!)
Our tour guide Marnie was amazing, full of facts and history about Banff. We went to beautiful locations and managed to see quite a bit of wildlife. Elk, a big horned sheep and baby, a bald eagle and a coyote with pups. Definitely worth it. A great way to see Banff and its wildlife.
This is a must do if you are in Banff for a day or two. The evening time is fantastic as it’s not as busy in many of the places you visit and more chance for that amazing photo or spotting wildlife. Gareth our guide was superb! He had so much local knowledge, history, animal information and just generally knew his stuff. He was very attentive and continuously checked in with us to see if we were happy, wanted more time and offered to take lots of photos at the great spots he took us to. Highly recommend!
Very comfortable tour. Georgia knew plenty of stories about the places we were visiting. As story fiends this was the best part for us. The tour was our first one after arriving and gave us a good overview of the area as well. We got lucky and saw a little bear family :) wildlife is a luck thing. This tour doesn't go hunting for wildlife sightings but drives along roads where there's a higher chance of seeing wildlife. There was some miscomm regarding the pickup. Over the tripadvisor chat we had agreed upon a location different to what was on the pickup list. Had we not called radventures, we're not sure if we would've still been picked up. So do ensure signals aren't crossed when arranging the pickup or if you find yourself waiting at the location after a few minutes. Georgia was still so fantastic even after the miscommunication.
Terrific outing, especially If you're not in town long; this is a great way to cover a lot of ground and take in breathtaking vistas in comfort. Our savvy and thoroughly entertaining guide, Liam, a careful driver on the mountain roads, made sure we made the most of it. He had a story - well, usually more than one - for every turn and at every stop, and answered questions not just patiently but enthusiastically. Wildlife sightings are not guaranteed, of course, but we spotted mule deer, bighorn sheep, elk, and a little fox trotting cheerfully down the road. The gondola ride, offering spectacular views, was the highlight, of course. We would have been happy to spend more time at the excellent mountaintop facility, with its 360-degree terraces and fascinating indoor displays; do dress for substantially cooler temps than at ground level.
James took us on a terrific tour of the area around Banff with gorgeous views, interesting facts and plenty of animals (including a bear). James was very personable and genuinely seemed to enjoy conducting the tour.
The tour was amazing. Our guide, Georgia, was incredibly knowledgeable and you could tell loved the park. She knew so much about the area and the animals. I would definitely recommend this tour. We saw elk, Big Horn White Sheep, deer and chipmunks.
Our tour was on Sunday afternoon with Gareth. He was a great tour guide and very knowledgeable. We had a great time and definitely recommend this tour. Hope your guide is Gareth!
Tyler was a pleasure to tour with! He was courteous, friendly, and very knowledgeable. His in-depth knowledge of the area and local animals added an additional insight into the beautiful views! Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone visiting the Banff area.
Gini was our guide. Gini was engaging and knowledgeable, she made a great personal connection with each person on tour
It was a great tour. Harry was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. We learned a lot from him and we saw parts of Banff we had not seen. I’d recommend this tour whole heartedly.
Lino was a most excellent guide, his love of the area and local knowledge shines through. After heavy snow I was concerned the trip would not run but the team at Radventures assured me the weather was clearing and they showed up right on time at my hotel. Expect snippets of local history, spectacular landscapes and some very special wildlife sightings. It was lovely to have Lubo at the top of the Gondola to point out the peaks and explain some of the local climbing/ scrambling highlights.
Good tour overall. Knowledgeable tour guide - I forget her name, but she was very enthusiastic. The three hours flew by quick. Was able to spot the large deer heard, a goat, and many ravens.
Excellent experience with our guide Lubo. Knowledgeable and enthusiastic and we loved the tour. Breathtaking scenery. Comfortable 4 hr bus trip with several scenic stops, and delicious hot chocolate snack. Thank you Lubo!
We had an awesome time with our fantastic and very knowledgeable guide Charlie. Highly recommend the tour and the climb to the top of the gondola ride
Our guide Lubo was excellent. He was very well-versed on the area and he never stopped providing us with interesting facts as we soaked in the fantastic natural views of Banff. Whilst we were advised that animal sightings were not a guarantee, we were lucky enough to spot Bighorn Sheep, Mule Deer and Whitetail Deer all up close and personal. The size of the group during our tour was just right which made the tour feel very personal and special. Radventures also went out of their way to ensure me and my partner could go on the tour. Our original tour was cancelled due to low turnout (to be expected as we went in winter), however the team made sure to compensate us by putting us on a tour at a different time that suited us, or provide us a full refund … needless to say we are certainly glad we didn’t choose the refund!
Guide was thoughtful, friendly and took care of our needs. The cenery of the Rockies on top of Sulphur Mountain was fabulous!
Our guide, B, was knowledgeable, fun, and thoroughly enjoyable. We saw longhorn sheep, elk and yes, an Alpaca. I know wild, huh? I think our group was stunned! I also appreciated that B never rushed us. Thank you so much B for being a great tour guide! While in Banff we took numerous tours, but this was by far the very best! I would not hesitate to recommend Radventures and especially B.
Bee was a wonderful guide. She was informative about the area. We did see some wildlife - big horn sheep and an elk. Also happened to see an alpaca drive by in a car. Very good experience.
Monday through Friday 9 am to 7 pm EST
Reach us by phone
Reach us by email