New COVID-19 Restrictions in Place at Banff National Park Starting Nov 27th

Credit: Parks Canada

In response to Alberta declaring a state of public health emergency, the Town of Banff has declared a State of Local Emergency to supplement Alberta’s effort to stop the rapid spread of COVID-19 in Banff.

Municipal facilities of Banff Town Hall, the Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre, the 101 Bear Street community space (upstairs) are closed to public access until further notice.

There are currently 178 active COVID-19 cases in Banff/Improvement District No. 9, which includes the communities of the Town of Banff, the village of Lake Louise and the rest of Banff National Park. The region is classified as having an “Enhanced Status” by Alberta Health and is subject to specific restrictions including:

Maximum of 6 people from the same immediate household at a table and no movement between tables.
Liquor can be sold until 10 pm and food-serving establishments must close to in-person dining at 11 pm.
Museums, galleries, libraries, indoor fitness, recreation, sports and physical activity centres, including dance and yoga studios, martial arts, gymnastics and private or public swimming pools are open with 25% capacity.
Personal services, wellness services are only available by appointment.

Parks Canada also has put in new safety measures for Banff National Park visitors to limit the spread of COVID-19. These include:

Visitor centres in Banff and Lake Louise are closed to the public, but services will still be available online and through the phone (Ph: 1-403-762-1550) .
Cave and Basin National Historic Site is closed from November 28 to December 15, 2020
The Bow Valley Parkway is open from the Lake Louise exit to Castle Junction but is closed to public traffic from the Fireside day-use area to just east of the Rockbound Lake trailhead, near Castle Junction. This means that there is no vehicular access to Johnston Canyon.
Credit: Parks Canada