The Bow Valley Parkway (Highway 1A): Wildlife Safari, Castle Mountain & Morant's Curve

Running parallel to the four-lane Trans-Canada Highway for 48 kilometres between Banff Town and Lake Louise is the original 1920s two-lane mountain road: the Bow Valley Parkway (Highway 1A). With a strict 60 km/h speed limit, zero commercial trucks, and dense montane spruce-and-aspen forest bordering the Bow River, it is the #1 wildlife-viewing road and scenic cycling corridor in Banff National Park.

1. Spring & Autumn Car-Free Cycling + Dusk Wildlife Spotting Rules

• Seasonal Cycling Closures on the Eastern Section (Banff to Johnston Canyon): in May, June and September, Parks Canada closes the eastern 17-kilometre stretch of the Bow Valley Parkway (from Fireside Day-Use Area to Johnston Canyon) to private motor vehicles so cyclists and e-bike riders can pedal the road in complete car-free silence. (If driving to Johnston Canyon during those months, simply enter Highway 1A via the Castle Junction exit 6 km to the west).
• How to Spot Bears, Elk & Wolves Safely at Dawn or Dusk: the prime wildlife window on the open sections of the Bow Valley Parkway is early in the morning to early in the morning and the final two hours before sunset, when grizzly bears (including Banff's famous resident bear, 'The Boss', Bear #122) and black bears feed on dandelion and buffaloberry bushes along the road. Crucial Park Law: stay inside your vehicle when passing a bear on the roadside, pull completely into a paved pull-out, and never block traffic.

2. Castle Mountain Viewpoint, Storm Mountain & Morant's Curve (Near Lake Louise)

1. Castle Mountain Viewpoint (km 25, Castle Junction): stop at the wooden bridge across the Bow River at Castle Junction to photograph the colossal, vertical turret walls of 2,766-metre Castle Mountain (and for a great 2-hour forest hike, climb 3.7 km up to the wooden fire-lookout platform at Castle Mountain Lookout).
2. Morant's Curve (4 km Before Lake Louise Village, Famous Train Viewpoint): named after Canadian Pacific Railway staff photographer Nicholas Morant (whose photographs here appeared on Canadian banknotes and travel posters around the world), this roadside overlook looks down on an S-curve of the turquoise Bow River where the railway tracks hug the water directly beneath Mount Temple, Mount Aberdeen and Haddo Peak, wait 15 to 30 minutes to hear the whistle of a red-and-silver train rounding the bend.