Welcome to Banff ...

Google driving directions from your current location to Banff (Patience, this may take a moment).

The town of Banff was founded in 1885.

When the people of Banff refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Banffite<1>

Banff is 4,590 feet [1,399 m] above sea level.<2> In other words, the altitude of Banff is about ¾ mile [or ~1½ km] above sea level.

Time Zone: Banff lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time. The time zone in French: MST- Heure Normale des Rocheuses (HNR), MDT- Heure Avancée des Rocheuses (HAR).

Area Codes for Banff: 403, 368, 587 & 825<3>

The Canadian Postal Code for Banff: T1L<4>

Websites for Banff ...

Official Website: www.banff.ca/

Communities near Banff ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Banff.

Canmore
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canmore
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Canmore <5>
Harvie Heights
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harvie Heights came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<6>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvie Heights
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harvie Heights <5>
Lac des Arcs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lac des Arcs came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<6>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lac des Arcs
Bankhead ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankhead
Minnewanka Landing ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Minnewanka Landing. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<7>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnewanka Landing
Georgetown ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Georgetown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<7>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
Castle Junction
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Junction
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Castle Junction <5>
Dead Man's Flats
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dead Man's Flats
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dead Man's Flats <5>
Exshaw
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Exshaw came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<6>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exshaw
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Exshaw <5>
Kananaskis
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kananaskis came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<6>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kananaskis

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Banff ...

Looking for more information about Banff? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Banff, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Banff.

Adding Banff to Our Gazetteer ...

The earliest source we've referenced which mentioned Banff was mentioned on a train schedule titled Canadian Pacific Railroad Time Tables (October 1899).

We also found Banff on a map titled Gulf Oil Map of British Columbia (1925).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Banff.

Off-the-Road Links ...

The official website for Banff: www.banff.ca/

The official website for Province of Alberta: https://www.alberta.ca/

Footnotes ...

<1>	A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Banff refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a town's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Banff may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<2>	The elevation is an estimate for the area around Banff - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>	When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 403 code has been Overlayed with one of the following codes: 368, 587 or 825. New phone numbers in the Banff area will be assigned with one of these codes: 403, 368, 587 or 825. As a result, placing a call in the Banff area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<4>	The Canadian Postal Code consists of 6 characters, where the first three characters are the 'Forward Sortation Area (FSA)', with the last three characters being the 'Local Delivery Unit (LDU)'. In the case of Banff, we provide only the FSA and not the LDU. The Canadian Postal Codes were created as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. So keep in mind that any given Postal Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Banff). The boundaries of the Postal Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other Postal Codes. When looking for a Postal Code, whether Banff or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the Canada Post / Postes Canada.
<5>	While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>	If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database.
<7>	An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.