Banff Trivia

Impress your friends or challenge your guides with these gems of information.

Did you know...

• The Town of Banff has an elevation of 4,537 feet (1,383 metres) making it the highest town in Canada
• Banff was established in 1885 as Canada's first National Park (third in the world) and was the birth of Canada's vast national parks system
• Banff National Park covers 6,641 square kilometres (2,564 miles)
• Banff has in excess of 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) of hiking trails
• The Town of Banff has a population of 8700ish
• Banff National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a United nations designation which helps protect over 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 square miles) of the Canadian Rocky Mountains
• The name "Banff" is derived from Banffshire, Scotland, the birthplace of two of the original directors of the Canadian Pacific Railway
• Banff National Park is home to the following seven National historic sites: Skoki Lodge, Abbot Pass Hut, Howse Pass, Cave and Basin, Banff Park Museum, Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, and the Cosmic Ray Station on Sanson Peak
• The highest mountain in Banff National Park is Mt. Forbes which stands at 11,850 feet (3,612 metres)
• Mountains in Banff National Park are 45 to 120 million years old
• Banff National Park has in excess of 1,000 glaciers
• The Bow River in Banff flows as far as Hudson's Bay
• The largest dammed lake in Banff is Lake Minnewanka and the largest natural lake is Hector Lake
• Highway fencing in Banff National Park has reduced wildlife-vehicle collisions by more than 80% and, for elk and deer alone by more than 96%More than 4,000,000 visitors have travelled to Banff National Park every year since 1996
• The town of Banff has two types of locals: humans and elk. It is not uncommon to share a sidewalk with a few elk. We're one of the world's few towns that boasts free hedge-trimming, lawn-mowing and yard-fertilizing service -- kindly supplied by our town elk