New to Banff or Canmore? A practical guide for seasonal workers
🏘️ Local guide📅 Updated September 26, 2026⏱ 4 min read
Cover: Banff Avenue and Cascade Mountain. Photo: Adam Bishop, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Just arrived for a season in Banff or Canmore? Welcome. This guide covers practical things that are good to know in your first week, with links to the official sources so you can check the details yourself.
Getting around without a car
Roam bus in Banff. Photo: Jason Baker, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Roam Transit is the Bow Valley's public bus. The regional routes that matter most:
- Route 3: Canmore – Banff.
- Route 8X: Lake Louise – Banff Express.
- Route 9: Banff – Johnston Canyon.
Canmore's local Roam routes are free for everyone, and from May through October Roam also serves Grassi Lakes, Quarry Lake and the Canmore Nordic Centre. Roam sells resident passes (including a Banff Residents pass and a Lake Louise Residents Pass), and you can buy fares in the Transit app. Check roamtransit.com for current schedules and prices.
If money is tight, look at the Banff Access Program: eligible Banff residents with lower household incomes pay less for recreation programs, transit passes and participating services.
Do you need a park pass?
Banff and Lake Louise are inside Banff National Park. According to Parks Canada, you need a pass when you're spending time in the park, including stops in towns and villages, and whenever you drive the Bow Valley Parkway (#1A) or the Icefields Parkway (#93N), even without stopping. Driving straight through on the Trans-Canada without stopping doesn't require one.
As of September 2026, a daily adult pass is $12.25 and an annual Parks Canada Discovery Pass is $83.50 per adult. If you'll be here all season, the Discovery Pass usually pays off quickly. If you live in the park and aren't sure what applies to you, ask at a Parks Canada visitor centre.
Living in Banff: the "need to reside" rule
To live in Banff National Park (including the Town of Banff), you must be an eligible resident. For most people that means your primary job is in the park. Remote work, online businesses and jobs based outside the park don't count. Spouses, common-law partners and dependents of an eligible resident can live there too. Landlords are responsible for making sure their tenants meet the requirements.
Canmore is outside the national park, so this rule doesn't apply there.
Looking for work? The Town of Banff's Job Resource Centre (304 Caribou Street) has a job board and offers resume help and career coaching.
Living with wildlife in town
Elk on the road. Photo: Jack Borno, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Elk, deer, bears and coyotes move through both towns. What you do at home and on the street matters.
For more, read our guide on how to see wildlife without putting anyone at risk.
Winter driving
If you drive west on the Trans-Canada past Lake Louise, you enter British Columbia, where winter tires or chains are required on most designated highways from October 1 to March 31, and until April 30 on some mountain passes. BC defines winter tires as those with the M+S or mountain/snowflake symbol and at least 3.5 mm of tread.
Before any winter drive, check road conditions on Today in Banff and Today in Canmore.
Community, for free (or close)
Canmore's main street in summer. Photo: Mule hollandaise, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- Elevation Place in Canmore has the public library, an art gallery, a pool, a climbing gym and fitness rooms under one roof.
- Local events: concerts, markets, talks and festivals in Canmore and Banff are listed on the Hediny events map.
- Today's conditions: closures, wildlife warnings and weather are on Today in Canmore and Today in Banff.
Anything you wish you'd known when you arrived? Share it in the comments below for the next newcomer.
Official sources
- Roam Transit
- Town of Canmore: Roam bus schedule
- Town of Banff: Banff Access Program
- Parks Canada: Park passes (Banff)
- Parks Canada: Fees (Banff)
- Parks Canada: Eligible residency in Banff
- Town of Banff: Essential info for locals
- Town of Canmore: Wildlife
- Town of Canmore: Recreation (Elevation Place)
- Parks Canada: Safely view wildlife
- Government of BC: Winter tire requirements
Community experiences
User experiences, not official information. Always check the official status before you go.
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