Banff's Cascades of Time and a Bow River Raft Trip

A Garden Oasis and a Glacial River Float

Tuesday, August 8th, 2023 ~ Our second day in Banff began with a walk through the gorgeous Cascades of Time Garden. Built on the grounds of a hotel that burned to the ground in 1930, the Cascade Garden opened to the public in 1935.

The first Parks Canada Administration building

This garden oasis is just a short walk from downtown Banff and it’s free.

Picturesque setting…doesn’t that bench look inviting?

The video below shows the reason it’s called the Cascade Gardens. Apparently, the cascading water wasn’t flowing for a few years. Our tour guide said visits weren’t the same without the serene sound.

Burled trees made beautiful wood structures.

Sit a spell and enjoy the beauty at every turn.

Behind us is Banff Avenue with limestone-peaked Cascade Mountain in the distance.

The flowers were stunning, and the grounds meticulously maintained. One last look…

Then we headed to the Bow River for a 5-mile float starting at the confluence of the Spray & Bow Rivers, both glacial fed.

And…we’re pushing off!

Christian, our guide, took a year off to be on a ski patrol before college. Once he started backcountry guiding, he never looked back.

As the riverbank erodes, the trees bend over and keep growing. Sometimes the portion over the river will begin bending up again.

Ride along with us as Christian guides us past a low branch

Canadian Rockies hoodoos, distant cousins of our Arizona hoodoos. Hoodoos are created from limestone and calcite in the right proportion similar to cement.

Each raft sat in an eddy a couple of times so the guide to give us information. An eddy is a place in the water where two different currents create a piece of calm water where you can rest.

The float was awesome…pretty calm with only two short Class II rapids spots.

Fairmont Banff Springs from the river, built in 1888 by the Canadian Pacific Railway. To pay for it, they promoted tourism. Our guide said the rooms run from $900-1,200 a night.

We all thought Christian did a great job!

That was just our morning in Banff…then we were on our own for the afternoon.