One of my favourite things to do is forest bathing. To fully relax and enhance all my senses mindfully in the forest is how I hit the reset button on overthinking and stress.
If you’re looking for some good trails for this kind of mindful hiking outdoors in Banff National Park, there are a lot of excellent hikes to choose from.
In this post, I’m going to cover some of the most accessible hiking trails with beautiful forests that will awaken your senses. If you want to learn more about forest bathing and mindfulness in nature, read my mindful hiking guide.
1. Banff
The town of Banff offers a nice selection of forest trails but most of the year you’ll find a lot of crowds so I prefer doing the longer hikes into the backcountry areas that are mostly free from mass tourism.
Here are some spots that are worth checking out for forest bathing near the town of Banff: Fenland Trail, Sundance Canyon Trail, Stoney Mountain Lookout Trail, Stewart Canyon Trail, Johnston Lake Trail.
2. Lake Louise
The hiking trails around Lake Louise are endless and it’s best to set aside a full day to explore the backcountry wilderness are this spectacular area along the Continental Divide.
Here are some must forest hiking trails in the Lake Louise area: Paradise Valley Trail, Lake Agnes Teahouse, Lake Louise Trail, Larch Valley And Eiffel Lake
3. Canmore
The town of Canmore has some nice forests in the city limits but for the good stuff away from crowds you’ll have to drive outside of the town to the surrounding mountains.
Here are few must-do forest bathing hikes in Canmore area: Canmore Nordic Centre, Grassi Lakes, Cougar Creek, Meander Trail
4. Dead Man’s Flats:
The forest in Dead Man’s Flats along the Bow River is my favourite stretch of the river valley for hiking. It’s relatively flat, there’s groves of ancient trees and there are 3 bends in the river that offer awe-inspiring reflections.
Here are a few must-do forest hikes in the Dead Man’s Flats area: Bow River Bend Trail, Wind Ridge, Pigeon Mountain, Centennial Ridge
5. Kananaskis Country
Kananaskis Country offers lakes, mountains and trails that easily rival the beauty of Banff National Park. My favourite thing about Kananaskis is the spectacular ridge hikes but there are also a lot of great trails for mindful forest bathing.
Here are the best forest hiking trails in Kananaskis Country for exploring: Rawson Lake, Upper Kananaskis Lake Trail, Nihahi Ridge Trail, Pocaterra Cirque, Troll Falls
I hope you enjoyed this post and started adding forest bathing and mindfulness in nature to your toolkit of wellness practices to reduce stress and reconnect to nature.
He started Mindful Ecotourism in 2016 leading forest meditation workshops in Stanley Park near his home in Vancouver and today he leads hiking adventures in the mountains of Western Canada in the summer and South America in the winter.
Browse his upcoming workshops, hiking adventures or download one of his free educational guides.
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