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All Canada Alberta Banff

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Banff

7 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Banff, Alberta

Updated April 25, 2025

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Unusual Attractions in Banff

Banff, Alberta

Banff Springs Hotel

Few other hotels can rival the grandeur of the Castle in the Rockies.
The Banff merman is a horrifying taxidermy experiement.

Banff, Alberta

Banff Merman

A mysterious taxidermy man-beast of the seven seas.
Cave and Basin National Historic Site in Banff National Park.

Banff, Alberta

Cave and Basin National Historic Site

The natural hot spring that was integral to the creation of Canada's first national park.

Banff, Alberta

Grizzly House

Try the alligator at this fondue spot, which has been catering to "lovers and hedonists" since 1967.
Banff Park Museum

Banff, Alberta

Banff Park Museum

The oldest natural history museum in western Canada houses more than 5,000 vintage botanical and zoological specimens.
Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station.

Banff, Alberta

Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station

Since its original beginnings as a weather observatory mountaintop, this facility played an instrumental role in gathering atmospheric data for almost 100 years.
Learn all about this area’s wilder past here.

Banff, Alberta

Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies

Dive into the history and true tall-tales of Banff National Park.
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Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Banff

Banff, Alberta

Grizzly House

Try the alligator at this fondue spot, which has been catering to "lovers and hedonists" since 1967.
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Atlas Obscura Itineraries

The Explorer’s Guide to Banff National Park

Sharp stone peaks, hulking glaciers, and iridescent blue lakes have long made Canada’s first national park its most visited. Nearly the entire Rocky Mountain range in Canada is covered by a string of national parks smushed together, so the wilderness here feels as vast as the northern country itself. That raw ruggedness is exactly what’s been attracting people for hundreds of years, so the land is pocketed with nuggets of history. Many people are familiar with the icefields, hot springs, skiing, and hiking in Banff. But not as many are aware of the mummified merman, rare translucent cave creatures, a sunken ghost town that requires scuba diving to the bottom of a lake, or the old swinger restaurant that keeps the area colorful with quirky stories. From the town of Banff to the point where the road seamlessly passes into next-door Jasper National Park, here are the attention-grabbing sites and legendary tales of Banff National Park in Canada’s wild west. Plan your next adventure with our Explorer’s Guide to the Parks.

View Itinerary
Mount Cephron catches the moonlight in Banff National Park.

Explore Banff, Alberta

National Parks 5
Museums 2

Banff Leaderboard

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Recent Banff Activity

  • itsashley

    wants to go to Cave and Basin National Historic Site

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    has been to Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies

  • perrydylan0

    wants to go to Banff Merman

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    wants to go to Cave and Basin National Historic Site

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    wants to go to Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station

Stories About Banff

For chilly hikers, the Lake Agnes teahouse is a welcome sight.

In the Canadian Rockies, High Tea Is Served at 7,000 Feet

Staff hike hundreds of varieties up the slopes.
by Anne Ewbank
October 4, 2021
The print on artist Melinda Shcakhofer’s mask is based on an 18th-century engraving of a slave ship.

Indigenous Artists Are Reclaiming Masks as a Source of Storytelling and Strength

Bringing together traditional materials and modern messages.
by Carolyn B. Heller
September 15, 2020
In Banff, animals can use overpasses that are designed to mimic the landscape.

How Did the Grizzly Bear Cross the Road?

And how can we help them do it safely?
by Jessica Leigh Hester
December 8, 2017
A grizzly bear was spotted by a remote camera digging through a red squirrel midden.

Squirrels Are Unintentionally Luring Bears to Railroad Tracks

Train cars leak seeds, rodents collect them, and bears show up for easy meals.
by Kelsey Kennedy
August 30, 2017

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