Hoodoos Viewpoint

It takes about half an hour to walk from the hiking trail to the observation deck. Along the way, you can enjoy the unique mountain scenery and the creek bed scenery below. You can see many tourists taking rubber boats to explore the river. From the observation deck, you can overlook the stone pillars beside the river, as well as the magnificent mountains on the opposite side. There is free parking at the trailhead.

A “hoodoo” is a North American term for a unique rock formation. Soft rock is coated by harder earth that resists more erosion from the weather. This protective coating is essential for creating what is known as hoodoos. There are some hoodoos visible from this location. There is a hiking trail for closer look.

Lovely place and good photo opportunity. We came here twice since both tours we booked stopped here, but it was worth it both times. Beautiful!

Beautiful lookout! Easily accessible for most people, no effort for a great view! It's a very short stroll from the parking lot with 3 different lookout points with information at each one, there are a few benches and two Adirondack chairs for sitting and enjoying the beautiful view. We came for sunset and stayed to watch the meteor shower!

Took the trail that started in downtown Banff. Way longer than expected to get to. Poorly marked. The markers make you think you are hiking to the hoodoos, when in fact, you are hiking to the area to start the hike around the hoodoo area. The hoodoos themselves seem pretty cool, but you really can't get very near them if you stick to the viewing decks. They are blocked by many trees from these platforms as well. There are many signs asking you to stay on the paths and not to disturb the recovering area. People would be way less tempted to go off the trail if they cut back a tree or two and made it possible to see them more easily from the observation decks.

Wrt drives through the Rockies in Canada should not miss this place/viewpoint and then go to point 7.

Une marche en montée sur du gravier pour avoir plusieurs points de vue extraordinaires sur les montagnes et la rivière d'eau turquoise.

Amazing views of the Bow valley.
Easy walk on the cliffs. The trail is partially shaded with panoramic views of the river and the white rocks - the Hoodoos

Hoodoos are formed through erosion of softer material around a harder crown yielding tall pillar type structures often with interesting features.

Free parking with toilets. The walk to the hoodo's is short but you can continue further up the trail. It's a nice high point view over the river with mountains in background.

Amazing view of the valley, nice walking path with gorgeous views, the parking is nearby. Well worth taking a stroll there.

Very cute little secenic spot to stop. Great views and good spot to take some photos of the beautiful landscape.
Also has bathrooms!

Lots of wildlife seen here in this scenic overlook. Elk, fox, deer, birds. Go early morning before the crowds arrive.

Quick stop. Short and easy trail to view the hoodoos. The trail also connects to the other longer trails in the area.

Nice little hoodoos surrounded by trees and next to a river. This spot is different from other hoodoo places I have been to because they all look like some place on Mars but this one is tucked in a forest

If you are in the area it is worth stopping at. But I wouldn’t go out of my way to stop here as the view point is a decent distance from the HooDoos so the viewpoint is more about the trees and natural beauty of the area.

Never got any complaints about the views in this part of Alberta, Canada.

Lots of trails in this area for almost all skill levels and ages. The trails could have been marked better as we were not sure where to go or park at first. Maybe will be easier second time around as I am sure we will be back.

The Banff Hoodoos are a natural wonder - you must stop here! Stick to the trail, as the lookouts that are set up have the best views!

They have some neat red, anorak chairs set up at the second lookout and we enjoyed the panoramic view.

This trail is well maintained, has funny informative signs, and great restroom amenities.

Very nice place to walk around. It's always very pleasant to walk around those canadian views. It was very icy when we went so need to be careful in some areas and wear the proper shoes when it's snowing.

Really nice, easy to walk along even with young family, somewhat limited parking space and might be an issue in peak summer when many might visit for trekking

Hoodoos Viewpoint is the high light of Bow Falls Trail. The trail is walkable for every one. Spectacular views are along river side.

Beautiful view, was cloudy and about to storm but the trail was calm and the views were fantastic. Will go back again with more time and hike the entire loop!

Was a nice hike up to this point all the way from the Banff Springs however not the most exciting Hoodoos I've seen. Recomend the hike and the biews of the river are beautiful.

Amazing view! My favorite place in Banff. Good that there are arm-chairs and you may sit and enjoy the fantastic view! Big Thank You to all services that work for us and makes our weekends so pleasant!

Who knew Banff had hoodoos? Small grouping of them in the midst of a beautiful landscape. Absolutely worth a visit. If you're checking red chairs off your park list the ones here have a beautiful panorama to sit and enjoy.

My camp site was just across the street for a week. This spot is heavenly. I watch the sun Rise and Set here a few nights.

This is a short, moderate hike to some incredible viewpoints, overlooking the Banff Hotel. I would say that this trail is ideal for all adventurers. I would not recommend it for people with young children, strollers, or those with physical ailments since there is a portion of the trail that is narrower and isn't closed off down a small cliff.

Most of the trail requires both: proper footwear and a decent camera! Also make time to stop and breathe in the views!

Really nice views! The info signs provide lot's of interesting information. We didn't do the hike all the way down to the hoodoo's, it looked pretty far.

You can see the Hoodoos from here and even walk down to them if you are daring but the real reason to check this out is the amazing view of the valley.

Beautiful view and nice place for walking. They have some bench along the trail to sit when you get tired. Sign are informative. Well maintained place. Popular with tourist. Will come back to hike the trail. Do not miss this place.

We came here for an easy rainy day activity.

You can hike here from Surprise Corner, but there's also a view point you can drive to.

There's several viewpoints where you can see the hoodoos a short walk from the parking lot. The second and third ones have the best views.

I thought there would be a bunch of the hoodoos, but there's only one small group of them.

If you're in the area, is worth stopping at, but I don't think it's worth going out of your way for.

Great hike from Surprise Corner in Banff up to be the Hoodoos trail and view point. The river you walk along for the first half is just gorgeous.

This was a really pleasant walk. There are several viewpoints along the way. The hoodoos are very interesting, but the other scenery is fabulous. I'd highly recommend the short wall to the views. As an added bonus, we ran into a herd of elk.nine cows, three calves and a bull, in the velvet. This was a very worth while jaunt.

The hoodoos are quite far away from the lookout and you can’t get much closer. There are about four so don’t go expecting a whole lot of them. There are about 3 viewing points of Bow River, and Mt Rundle, Sulphur Mountain and Tunnel Mountain. There is also a set of the red chairs along the trail!
We did the Hoodoos Trail which takes you from the Hoodoos viewpoint to Surprise Corner. Should take about 40-50 mins if you don’t stop. Hard not to though as you get right up to the Bow River. As most parts were frozen, we had the best time playing on the frozen river. The trail was largely flat - some incline and decline but generally an easy trail. Can see this area getting busy during the warmer months! The highlight was definitely being the only ones around. If you’re going to checkout this viewpoint, and you enjoy hiking, check out this trail as it gives you views from sea level. Amazing during sunset too.