Banff National Park is located in the province of Alberta in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. It is situated 128 km (80 miles) west of Calgary, 401 km (250 miles) southwest of Edmonton and 850 km (500 mi) northeast of Vancouver.
Banff National Park is divided into units based on vegetation, landforms and soil. This system of land classification is used to identify and inventory similar regions within the park in order to better manage park ecosystems. The park is classified into ecoregions, which are further divided into ecosections and ecosites. There are three ecoregions in the park: montane, subalpine, and alpine.
It is no coincidence that visitor activities in Banff National Park are as varied as the Park's climate. A year in Banff National Park would give a visitor a taste of everything in terms of weather and recreation. The summer sees sunny, warm days for such things as hiking, biking, camping, and climbing. The winter brings crisp, snowy days for tracking, skating, and alpine and nordic skiing.