Which national park in Canada is the oldest, established in 1885?

Banff National Park is Canada’s oldest national park, established in 1885. Located in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains, it began as a small protected reserve around the Cave and Basin hot springs before expanding into a vast mountain landscape.

The original reserve was created after competing claims over the hot springs’ discovery and commercial development. Under the Rocky Mountains Park Act of 1887, the protected area expanded and was named Rocky Mountains Park. It was later renamed Banff National Park in 1930.

Today, Banff covers about 6,641 square kilometres and includes glaciers, alpine meadows, dense conifer forests, and famous lakes such as Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. The park is part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A frequent mix-up involves nearby Jasper, Yoho, or Glacier national parks. All are important Rocky Mountain parks, but Banff has the earliest establishment date. The area also has a much longer human history: Indigenous peoples, including Stoney Nakoda, Ktunaxa, and Niitsitapi communities, used and travelled through the region long before the park was created.