Johnston Canyon Catwalk Hike (Lower & Upper Falls) and the Turquoise Ink Pots

Located 25 kilometres west of Banff Town along the scenic Bow Valley Parkway (Highway 1A), and served directly from downtown Banff by Roam Public Transit Route 9, Johnston Canyon is the most popular half-day gorge hike in the Canadian Rockies. Over thousands of years, glacial Johnston Creek cut a deep, twisting slot canyon through vertical grey limestone cliffs; to let visitors walk right inside the gorge, engineers bolted cantilevered steel catwalk bridges directly into the vertical canyon rock walls just metres above the rushing turquoise rapids.

1. Stage 1 & Stage 2: Lower Falls (1.2 km) and Upper Falls (2.5 km One-Way)

Because the trail is wide, paved/railed and gains elevation very gently, it is suitable for almost all ages (arrive early in the morning or in the afternoon in July and August to avoid midday tour-bus crowds on the narrow bridges):

• To the Lower Falls: an effortless 20-minute walk across four suspended steel bridges brings you to the Lower Falls, where the turquoise creek plunges into a deep circular limestone basin. Cross the wooden footbridge and duck through a short, natural wet rock cave tunnel to stand on a viewing ledge just feet from the roaring spray.
• To the Upper Falls: continue 1.3 km further up the gorge to two dramatic viewing decks at the 30-metre-tall Upper Falls: the lower catwalk projects right out into the middle of the canyon wall looking at the base of the waterfall, while a short climb leads to the top lip where water plunges over the cliff edge. (In winter from December to March, the Upper Falls freeze into towering blue ice columns, bring clip-on ice cleats / microspikes for a atmospheric winter ice-walk).

2. Stage 3, Continue 3 km Past the Crowds to the 'Ink Pots'

Ninety percent of visitors turn around at the Upper Falls, which means if you hike just 45 minutes (3 km) further up through the quiet pine forest, the narrow canyon suddenly opens into a vast, sunlit subalpine valley meadow. Here sit the Ink Pots: five crystal-clear, cold mineral springs that bubble continuously up through sand at the bottom of circular pools, colouring each pool a different shade of milky jade green and deep sapphire blue against the backdrop of Mount Ishbel.