How to Visit the Banff Upper Hot Springs

The Banff Upper Hot Springs is the real thing — Canada’s highest hot springs, an open-air mineral pool at 1,585 m (5,200 ft) near the top of Sulphur Mountain, with Mount Rundle and the Bow Valley spread out below. The one thing most visitors don’t expect: there’s no online ticket and no reservation. You show up, pay at the door, and soak. This guide covers exactly how that works — getting there, the price, the rentals, and the timing. For when in the year and day to go, see the best time to visit.

Where It Is

The pool sits at the top of Mountain Avenue, right beside the lower terminal of the Banff Gondola, about 4 km and a 6-to-10-minute drive from downtown Banff. It is not the Cave and Basin — that’s a separate, no-bathing heritage site in town where the springs were discovered in 1883. The pool you actually swim in is the Upper Hot Springs, higher up the mountain.

Hours & Price

The hot springs reopened in spring 2026 after a roughly seven-month renovation, and the schedule changed with it. As of mid-2026 it’s open daily, with afternoon-to-late-evening hours — recently around 1:00 PM to 10:00 PM, last entry 9:30 PM. Because hours shift seasonally and for maintenance, check the Parks Canada page before you drive up.

Pricing also rose with the renovation. Adult admission is now around CA$19–20 (roughly CA$17 for seniors and youth aged 3–17, under-3s free) — noticeably higher than the old single-entry rate. On top of the pool fee you also need a valid Parks Canada park pass (a day pass or the annual Discovery Pass) to be in the national park at all. Treat the exact figure as a moving target and confirm it on the day.

It’s Walk-In Only

This is the part that trips people up: admission is first-come, first-served and bought in person at reception. There is no advance booking, no timed entry, no skip-the-line ticket — for the pool itself. (Guided sightseeing tours that include a hot-springs stop are a different thing; more on that below.) The practical upshot is that timing matters more than booking — arrive at an off-peak hour and you’ll walk straight in.

Swimsuit, Towel & Locker

Forgot your gear? You don’t have to skip the soak. On-site you can rent:

• Swimsuit — about CA$1.90 (vintage-style suits are part of the fun here)
• Towel — about CA$1.90
• Locker — about CA$1.00, and a locker token is typically included with admission

So even if the hot springs are a surprise stop on a longer Rockies day, you can still get in the water with nothing but the clothes you arrived in.

Getting There: Drive or Roam Transit

You have two easy options:

• Drive. There’s a free parking lot at the springs (you still need the park pass), but it’s small and fills early — often by 9 a.m. in peak season. Overflow parking runs along Mountain Avenue.
• Roam Public Transit. From downtown Banff, take Roam Route 1 “Sulphur Mountain” straight to the door — buses run roughly every 20 minutes. It’s the stress-free choice on a busy summer or winter-holiday day when the lot is full.

A Simple Plan That Works

1. Check current hours and price on the Parks Canada site the morning of.
2. Bring or plan to rent a swimsuit and towel; bring a few coins for the locker.
3. Arrive off-peak — soon after opening or later in the evening (see best time to visit).
4. Take Roam Route 1 if you’re visiting in peak season and want to skip the parking scramble.
5. Pay at reception, change, and ease into the 37–40°C water with a mountain view.

Prefer to Have It All Handled?

If you’d rather not juggle the logistics — or you want the hot springs as the finale to a full day of Rockies highlights — a guided Banff tour with a hot-springs stop bundles round-trip transport and your park pass, and pairs the soak with the gondola and the alpine lakes. To weigh that against the famous Kootenay pool across the divide, read Banff vs Radium hot springs.

Ready to Book?

A top-rated small-group Banff tour with a hot-springs stop handles transport, your park pass, and the day’s route — pairing the Upper Hot Springs with the Banff Gondola and the Rockies’ best-known lakes, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Check availability and lock in your day.