One of the highlights of our time exploring Banff National Park with my parents was all of our wildlife sightings! From elk and deer to mountain goats and sheep to coyotes and porcupines and black and grizzly bears (not to mention the countless birds and rodents along the way), this was probably the greatest variety of wild animals we’ve seen during any of our travels.

Our drive around Lake Minnewanka, which is just outside Banff, produced all kinds of wildlife sightings. During my research, I had read that visiting early or late in the day was a good way to increase your chances of seeing some animals, so we planned to arrive before 8 a.m. for our tour around the lake.

That recommendation proved correct–the drive itself was beautiful, as was the lake, but the animals we saw along the way stole the show.

Here’s a photo roundup of my favorite moments along our drive. I included some ‘behind the scenes’ shots to better show just how close some of the animals were to the side of the road and our car.

Lake Minnewanka

Banff Wildlife

If you have a rental car or some other means of traveling to Lake Minnewanka while you’re in Banff National Park, I highly recommend making the time to visit. It was definitely one of my favorite moments of our trip!