Cave and Basin National Historic Site

Informative and fun experience in banff. Lots of different places to explore at Cave and Basin! Staff are also very friendly.

Fun and cute place for all ages.informational, and the guy at the pond near the end was so nice and answered all the questions and was super knowledgeable.we all enjoyed the little activities out on the old pool area also, and the great views atop the building too.

Was a nice walk/ hike outside and the cave was easily accessible and inside. You can take as long as you want inside or out.

It was interesting to know the only snail kind that lives in the spring water and nowhere else in the world.
Not too busy.easy walk through story to understand the history

They shouldn’t really charge money for this… I thought it was pretty lame to pay $8.50 for 3 minute walk seen.

People not that friendly. Exhibition about the caves and snails interesting. A lot of trails to explore.

Had read it was small but truly just one small
cave with a pool. Was super amazing to see but sad to see the brick outline of what used to be the public baths.

The cave and basin National historic site is small location. We get to explore a small cave, which smells a lot due to the mineral salts. But there are a lot of other action available. Especially for kids. But going there as adults might turn out to be a little boring and will occupy only around 15 minutes of your time.

There are hiking trails from this location and the scenery in this location is amazing. It is worth the visit just for the hiking trails.

You cannot swim at the natural hot springs here! However, such friendly staff. Stephanie curled with my group and 2 other staff spent a long time explaining things to us. Nice views from the top. Photo booth is really fun and prints for free. Hot springs smell like rotten eggs but nice to look at

The cave and basin (paid) section is rather small, but the overall site has great sceneries and views.

Pretty cool place, lots of history of whitee killing the native. Lots of history and stuff to read, pretty crowded for my liking but we had to see it.

It’s looks a lot bigger in the pictures but it’s actually a very small space. The smell in the water is really overpowering though.

It was a pretty interesting place to visit. It was like a museum. It really made me appreciate culture, stories and preservation. Before the cave, there were stories to give context and history about the cave. There was also a self timed camera thing where people could take pictures and have them printed immediately to kind of say what they wanted to conserve, what to preserve and keep memories. Great for both adult and children. We paid $7-ish per adult.

Free entry with the Discovery Pass.

Caves itself were not that special. Nice boardwalk outside.

Nice place to visit once. There is sulfur smell. Best time to visit will be noon. You will be able to enter for free if you have discovery pass.

It's our first time to Banff AB and we found this activity quite interesting. Very informative experience and the staff were friendly and courteous to say the least. Actual hotspring gives off a foul odor due to the hydrogen sulfide. I'd say check it out if you have the time but if not then u won't be missing a whole lot.

Quite a unique experience. Visual and other senses while discovering something more about the Canadian and city history. It can take as little time as you wish or as long as you want to be there. Staff is very welcoming and I recommend you ask questions to get the most out of this visit. Definitely worth coming in if you visit Banff.

Kids had fun walking the outdoor walkways/boardwalk. It was pretty quiet when we went, very few others to navigate. 2nd visit and still found it fun.

Not worth purchasing a ticket for this place, just climbing up the stairs enjoy the view and peak down on the basin from above without having to spare a penny.

This is a great small museum to get big knowledge about the history of Banff for a good price:) Checking out the mineral waters and the explanations about it was interesting and also checking out the mountain views from the trail too

So odd that we should be here today November 11th 2021. Great walking area, washrooms clean and available. Free with your National Park annual pass. Informative and educational place.

Very cool! You can no longer get in the water, or even touch it, but there is still a cave with water in it, and a basin. Lots of fascinating history, pictures, and info, with knowledgable staff on-site to talk to.

Great care taken to preserve the hot spring and an extremely rare species of banff springs snail. Didn't try the board walk so can't comment on that. It's a place you can visit just to know the history through some exhibits on display.

We really enjoyed our tour of the cave and basin in Banff in August 2021. The cave reopened 2 days before we got there. It was quite interesting and so happy that is now a protected area!

Very interesting and educational place about the mineral waters and hot springs and birth place of Canada's national parks. The tickets were cheap and it was a great place for a short walk and some pictures. Be prepared for the smell of sulfur. There were no places to get food on site, so bring a snack if you need to.

The Cave looked way too artificial. It's a small Cave but you find so many ppl jammed inside. Did not find safe at all during pandemic. It was super crowded

Very well planned out to accommodate everyone during a pandemic. Just wish the caves were open!

Very cool cave and the hunt for the rare snails was a fun activity for both the kids and adults.

It’s a magical place, incredible, heaven. There are natural hot springs in such cold place is magical. Must visit place?

Maybe it is due to the COVID restrictions here, but it was a waste of time inside the place. It was a bunch of displays about climate change and history. I was hoping to see a bigger basin and more interesting things inside. The boardwalk is really nice though.

Not good. Went there, they wanted 8 bucks to get in per adult. No cave was open so it was a quick 5 minute walk to look at some photographs they had laying around and then done. Waste of money for now. I would stay away until they re-open fully.

The cave and museum are closed due to covid, but the two board walks are definitely worth the visit! They are short easy walks with amazing mountain views. You can see the natural springs and the incredible amount of biodiversity that surrounds them. A lot of warmth emanates from the water, so it is a nice spot to warm up on a cold day.

First, be aware that it costs to get in. It isn't expensive a all.

The history at this site is amazing. The only shame is that the actual swimming pool couldn't be kept. The rules and regulations, or lack of back in the day was amazing. Then compared to today, we are definitely helicopter parented by the government.

The site is unrestricted meaning that there is nothing stopping you from jumping in the natural springs but a sign and low barriers. The outside spring is designed so you can kneel close to the water to see the rare snails.

The cave is smaller then I expected and space is limited for viewing. Try to go when it's a quite time. Think about the first explorers who climbed down in the tiny hole.

We were there during the 'Winter Carnival'. It was such a cool experience because it was like we were transported back to the 20s/30s. But we were living the real deal. Everything was as relevant today as it was then.

If there is a question whether to visit this site or not, it is always yes. Do.

The cave and basin was was very cool. If you go do the tour to get a better explanation of the area. The hot spring in the cave was something to see and the story behind it was worth doing the tour.

Interesting historical place. Nice boardwalk areas with lots of explanatory signage. Best part is the short walk through a tunnel to the cave area. Note that you can't swim anywhere here - for that you need to go to the nearby Upper Hot Springs.

Enjoyed our adventure here! Cheap admission and fun for the kids! They have an activity book for kids and they have to complete five of the activities in the book to receive a prize.
Interesting over all and nice experience.

Beautiful day to check out some incredible history. Such a gorgeous setting. Got some stunning pictures.

The Birthplace of Canada's national parks. The photos on display and location of the original Hotel, make you realise just how on the edge of the modern world this was. The smell of Hydrogen Sulphide is not overwhelming - but that is subjective.
Shame they had to close over the pools,

This place is a must, perfect for the whole family, it will take you about an hour to see the place, they have free parking, the staff are very knowledgeable and fun, we learned so many things while we were there, such a great place

We were a little unprepared and didnt know that the cave was closed on monday and tuesday, but still it is a nice visit! A nice little walk with info about the origin and process of the basin.

Great place to visit while in Banff
The have a lot of informative displays, a great story telling on huge display screens, some fun games for kids.
The cave itself was beautiful. But watch out for low roof.
P. S.entry is free for those who hold a discovery pass, so carry it along. We left ours in the car and so ended up paying the entry fee.

It's alright. Just under $4 CAD /person. It's a great thing to see. Depending on the time of year you go, some of the workers are not around for the full experience.

Very cool location to tour, nice place to take a walk in the mountains. Be wary of the strong sulfur smell around the park

Very small tourist spot. Wish there were more caves and things to see. Only had a cave and outdoor hot spring to see

Very interesting well maintained scenic nature walks outside of the Cave and Basin! Some interesting and unique wildlife in the naturally warm water.

Lifetime experience its was small but worth it. Smell of minerals was very stingy
Overall very nice place to visit in banff

A short drive from downtown Banff with decent amount of parking space. Admission price for adults is around 4 dollars, but it is free if you have a discovery national park pass. A very informative exhibit featuring the history of Banff national park and stewardship in Canada. I really enjoyed seeing a fragment of the glass prism tiles that was used on the ceiling a long time ago to illuminate the building with refracted natural light. The place has a strong smell due to the sulfur water, so I hope your nostrils are prepared. The smell should not deter you from seeing one of Banff's historic natural attractions.

Small but powerful experience. Great place to take people from out of the country. Takes about an hour. Only $3.50 to enter.

Friendly service, a cool little place for history. Take your time and explore the cave and the surrounding, its pretty cool.

Interesting, and informative about mineral springs and historical events. Great little activities for kids like photo booth, curling, bean bag toss and mini hockey area. Adults pay $3.90 plus tax and kids 17 and under are free.

It was interesting to see a little busy on a Saturday afternoon. Great for kids lots if interactive items.

Great historical information center. Under renovations but didnt hamper the experience. Staff was friendly and of course the cave and basin was awesome. Natural wonders at there best.

This was very underwhelming. The "museum" part was mostly about colonizers (pioneers), and the actually cave wasn't really a cave. It was a walkway that led to a very small pond with hardly any natural light.