Banff Hoodoos

Elevation: 1400 m
Elevation Gain: 90 m
The Banff Hoodoos are located just east of Banff, AB on the bank of the Bow River near the Tunnel Mountain Campgrounds. These landforms are made up of pebbles and rock flour that was deposited during the last ice age. As lime water percolated through this debris, it became cemented and remained when the softer surrounding sediments were carved by water running down the banks of the Bow River.
My Ascents:
July 23 2022
Trailhead: Hoodoos Viewpoint or Surprise Corner

Having arranged a two-family “glamping” trip 🏕️ with friends Andrea, Korwin and their children Eva and Kaden, we enjoyed a pleasant Friday evening surrounded by “nature” in Banff’s Tunnel Mountain Village II campground parking lot.

As Saturday dawned, we grew weary of the campground’s asphalt-scape and, so, decided to escape its confines for (surprise, surprise 😏) a hike. Since the Hoodoos Viewpoint was about 1.5 km from our sites, we aimed towards it with the goal of hiking down the Tunnel Mountain trail towards Surprise Corner and, ultimately, Banff Avenue for post-hike treats; after all it's important to keep kids (and adults) motivated while hiking! 😂

The children and Andrea set off towards the Hoodoos Viewpoint through the abomination that is the Village II campground. Notably, everyone is still smiling because we have been walking for less than a minute at this point! 😝

Rock-hopping our way to the Viewpoint (slowly but surely). Normally, I’d complain about hiking alongside a road but the road was much prettier than Village II!

Mount Rundle, Sulfur Mountain/Sanson Peak and Tunnel Mountain highlight the view above the Bow Valley from the Hoodoos Viewpoint. But where are the hoodoos 🤔? Click to see larger.

A rather unimpressive Hoodoo sighting (lower left in this photo) a few kilometers to the east. 🤨

A telephoto shot of the Hoodoos. After hiking in the wrong direction for over a km just to see these, our verdict was “Hoo-Don’t.”

Cascade Mountain towers impressively overhead as the group leaves the DISAPPOINTING Hoodoos Viewpoint behind. Note the apt look on Mera’s face 😂. The term “DISAPPOINTING” is capitalized for emphasis. Indeed, the Viewpoint proved so lacklustre that it literally brought one of the children to tears 😭 (you can't make this up 😐). Fortunately, moods (generally) improved as we resumed our hike towards Surprise Corner.

Andrea and Korwin model the latest in mountain fashion during the hike downhill towards Surprise Corner.

After descending about 150 vertical meters, we bottomed out in the Bow Valley below the familiar form of Mount Rundle.

An impressive valley-bottom panorama stretching from the Fairholme Range (left) towards Mount Rundle (right). Click to see larger.

Looking east towards Mounts Inglismaldie and Girouard.

Further east still towards Mount Peechee.

LEFT: As we continued our hike towards Surprise Corner, Tunnel Mountain’s east face proved unexpectedly impressive.
RIGHT: Upon reaching this unnecessary bridge, the children forbade the adults from using it. Since I’d lingered to take some mountain photos, however, I was able to get away with it… 😏

LEFT and RIGHT: Eventually, the well-travelled hiking trail we’d been following ran smack into the Bow River! With no clearly marked by-pass, we found ourselves unexpectedly scrambling! This proved to be a highlight for the kids (left) but I’m not sure the mothers (right) felt likewise.

LEFT: The kids strike a pose at a scenic outcrop. 😍
RIGHT: Back on a good trail, the group made their way down to the banks of the Bow once more. Where were these stairs on the other side of this outcrop (which we had to scramble up)?

More Rundle. More Bow. The two were, more or less, constant companions on this hike.

LEFT: After keeping an eye out for at least 20 minutes, I finally managed to spot a climber on one of Tunnel Mountain’s more sheer aspects.
RIGHT: A closer look at my successful game of “Where’s Waldo” – Banff edition.

As we rounded Tunnel Mountain’s south face, we happened upon an unexpectedly scenic little beach on the banks of the Bow. Despite some hiking-with-kids-related weariness by this point, we took a moment here to appreciate the scene. Click to see larger.

Andrea and Kaden discover why it’s called “Surprise Corner”: you get to hike 90 vertical meters back up from the river to reach it. Surprise!!! 🤣

Surprise #2: Surprise Corner is still 1.6 km from the treats which we promised our children on Banff Avenue (and you get to walk along the shoulder of a busy road for some of that)…

The shoulder of the road did, at least, provide some nice views towards the Banff Springs Hotel on the other side of Bow Falls.

After an anxiety attack-inducing walk along Banff Avenue 😵 (is there any other kind?), we finally located treats for kids and adults alike at High Rollers!

LEFT: Although the hike was relatively small (and mostly downhill), it wiped us all (or maybe that was the afternoon beers at High Rollers 😂). Instead of hiking back, we therefore elected to take the ultra-convenient #2 bus back up to the campground where a number of us enjoyed a nap 😴!
RIGHT: Awaking from our slumber, we noted that the weather had deteriorated significantly! Thank God we weren’t still hiking when that blew through!

You can’t have a rainbow without the rain! An apt analogy for a hike that featured tears, unexpected uphills, a tantrum or two but will still be remembered as a fun day with friends! 🌈🙂