Banff park to see smaller crowds but distancing rules may still limit access

With a steep pandemic reduction in foreign visitors, massive crowds that have become the norm at Banff National Park attractions should thin out this summer, say federal officials.

But efforts to enforce physical distancing could negate hopes for greater access among locals who’ve found it increasingly difficult to enjoy massively popular sites like Moraine Lake, Lake Louise and Johnson Canyon, says Parks Canada.

“We’re definitely anticipating different visitation numbers … at least in the early season, that visitation won’t be there,” said Rick Kubian, field unit superintendent for Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay.

Usually, half of overnight stay visits to the park are foreign tourists, he said, meaning the current moratorium on international flights and a closed U.S. border mean “a very significant proportion of the summer season” could be absent.

“It should mean a less-congested visit is possible,” said Kubian, days before Canada’s national parks begin reopening June 1 after being shut since mid-march to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

But the need to maintain physical distancing through limits to both vehicular traffic and foot traffic “may offset some of (that freed up access),” he added.

Parking stalls at places like Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, he said, face reductions while shuttle bus service to both sites that were staged from an overflow parking lot near the town of Lake Louise could be phased out in response to fewer foreign travellers.

Signage and physical barriers will encourage visitors to avoid crowding in busy areas like the Lake Louise waterfront and Moraine Lake boulder pile, said Kubian.

“There will be places we’ll ask people not to congregate, to encourage them not to linger,” he said.

If Parks Canada officials deem those measures are being severely violated, it’s possible some sites could be closed but for now, that’s not expected, said Kubian.

“If we’re not seeing physical distancing, we might have to take further steps,” he said.

“We’re welcoming people back but we’re hoping it will be a gradual reopening.”

Anyone choosing to visit the tight confines of Johnson Canyon will have to either cycle or hike there for the first part of summer at least.

The Bow Valley Parkway between its eastern entry point and Castle will remain closed to vehicular traffic, said David Mcdonough, field unit superintendent for Banff National Park.

“We’re looking at that as a way to manage the number of people on the trail, we’re trying to limit access to the trail to bring the numbers down,” said Mcdonough.

Most of the road to Lake Minnewanka, he said, will revert to

a one-way loop with a lane given over to cyclists a few weeks from now and parking there will be kept to designated lots.

Mcdonough said he still expects robust numbers of Albertans and other Canadians making their way to the park this summer.

Banff National Park is by far Canada’s most heavily visited national park, attracting 4.2 million people a year — a figure 25 per cent greater than a decade ago.

Some conservationists who say crowds are destroying the park’s environmental integrity have long argued for limits on visitor numbers and on where they can go.

The absence of foreign tourists could mean a much-needed break for the ecosystem, and for those visitors who do make it into the spectacular area, said Harvey Locke.

“We have to control the numbers because we have to offer a quality of experience,” said Locke, a conversationist who lives in Banff town.

“It’s gotten an extraordinary breather this spring and maybe we’ll find it’s much more like the park we grew up with years ago.”

But he acknowledged Banff businesses have been clobbered by the park’s 2½-month closure, with the tourism-dependent town losing 90 per cent of its economy.

Parks Canada’s Mcdonough said it will be up to mainly local and Canadian visitors to keep apprised of changes to how the area is managed this summer, in light of the pandemic.

“This is a shared responsibility. … Information is going to be a huge part as we manage this COVID crisis and we’re going to be adjusting as we go,” he said.

Visitor updates are posted on the Parks Canada website.

It’s gotten an extraordinary breather this spring and maybe we’ll find it’s much more like the park we grew up with.