When I was in my early 20’s I took a weekend trip to Victoria, BC. My pal and I took a boat from Seattle into Victoria where we spent a couple days wandering the city. I can’t recall many trips to Canada prior to this, but it was time I had a proper visit to this neighboring country of mine. At the beginning of the year my dear friend Caitlin asked me if I wanted to go to Banff with her in the fall, and it seemed like a no brainer.
If it weren’t for my sweet geriatric cat this would have been the easiest yes. Someone else wants to drive, someone who hikes just as frequently as me (and at the same pace), someone who is chill and I enjoy spending time with…yes, yes, yes. Although I did said yes, my anxiety leading up to this trip was gnarly. Leaving my cat with my mom for six days was hard.
Thankfully this trip was great, my cat was fine, and I wish I could go back and do it all over again.
Banff had been on my bucket list for many years, and rightfully so. This area of Canada is unbelievably beautiful, but what I learned quite quickly was that the entire journey getting to Banff was going to be progressively scenic. The drive from where we live to where we were staying in Banff was about 10-12 hours depending on traffic, and we decided to break the drive up into two days.
We drove around 8 hours the first day to a mountain town called Revelstoke. We spent one of five nights living large in a nice hotel, and it was in this town we pretended we were royalty. We left Washington around 0500, and arrived in Revelstoke around 1330. With plenty of daylight left we walked around the small town, grabbed a coffee, and headed to a nearby river for a 6 mile walk.
This town was cozy and quaint, and I can see why people flock here in the ski season. Our walk was wonderful, and the perfect introduction for the week to come. Truth be told one of my biggest worries for this trip was entering into bear country. We have bears where I live, and there are sightings all the time, but something about the Canadian Rockies screamed grizzly to me.
I developed a somewhat unhealthy fear of bears after falling down the Grizzly Man rabbit hole. If you don’t know who that is, give him a Google. Since I became obsessed with his story I have been terrified of bears. I carried my bear spray with me almost everywhere, and I even slept with it in the tent. More on that later.
After our long walk through town and on parts of the Greenbelt Pathway we headed to our fancy pants hotel to soak up our last night of luxury before four days of tent camping. We stayed at the Basecamp Resorts property in Revelstoke, but this company has locations all over Western Canada. We stayed in the plebeian micro apartment, but they have luxury suites that were far beyond my willingness to pay.
Overall this hotel was worth the cost, had beautiful river views, a proper kitchen to cook dinner, and the most amazing hand soap I have ever used/smelled. Too bad the small bottle would have been $20. We savored the space for as long as we could keep our eyes open before heading off to bed. Our plan for the following morning was a hike in Mount Revelstoke National Park before making the final drive to Banff.
Revelstoke was lovely. I would absolutely return to this town and also to this hotel. The coffee shop we visited had multiple Australian employees, and it had me daydreaming of the days I too moved around to different states or different countries to work. I think of those days fondly, and while I may not be getting any younger, I think there are more of those days in my future.
Next up: hiking in Mount Revelstoke National Park
Q: Do you have a normal, healthy fear or bears, or would you be constantly on edge knowing they might cross your path?
Blissfulbritt 
39 thoughts on “Revelstoke, BC”
Diana
Beautiful! I love the Canadian Rockies so much. I grew up in grizzly country so I’d say I have a healthy fear of bears. I’ve seen lots of them, sometimes closer than I would have liked, but I’ve never had a bad encounter. But I also carry bear spray literally everywhere, including into the tent. No point in buying it if you don’t actually keep it with you.
Brittany
I couldn’t agree more about the bear spray! A couple years ago I started bringing it on every hike and not just hikes I worried about bears. While it’s not as effective on cougars, I know I can spray them too. The spray now lives in my backpack.
Diana
Oh same, I don’t live in grizzly country anymore but I still always carry it. Here my biggest concern is actually moose, and I’m sure it would at least help a little if I really needed it to.
dfolstad58
How fortuitous to read this post this morning as I am heading there for 3 nights today! I have visited already once briefly but this time I can poke around – I wish I could bring my bike.
The weather could be wet but no matter I am sure it will be special.
Brittany
Oh how nice! Are you going to Banff, or to Revelstoke??
The weather for us was touch and go for a couple days, but overall it was similar to home so we weren’t too bothered.
dfolstad58
We went to Revelstoke and had a great time. The weather even cooperated ! Loved Mount Revelstoke National Forest
Brittany
Wonderful!!! I’m so glad you liked it, I also loved Mount Revelstoke area.
Liz H-H
Noted: Bear spray. Do you think it works on moose? Seems worth the risk in any case, given the opportunities! 🐻🐾🐻
Brittany
That’s a great question. I think it will be a mild deterrent to any aggressive animal, but no guarantee I suppose. I would use it on a cougar too, but I think they’re a bit more willing to continue pursuing than a bear.
I was equally thankful we did not see any moose, they are just as scary.
nandasagec
Beautiful place
Brittany
I agree!
mariezhuikov
Thanks for this virtual trip Banff. If you want to see the “other” Banff, I just wrote a blog post about it! https://mariezhuikov.wordpress.com/2024/09/24/scotland-days-3-4-gardenstown-and-banff/
Brittany
This post wasn’t about Banff yet, those are coming next! Thanks for sharing.
mariezhuikov
That’s what I get for skimming your story! Sorry about that. I look forward to your actual post about Banff. And thanks for reading mine!!
Brittany
No worries at all! It was misleading in the first couple paragraphs. 🤣
bluerrose
This is beautiful! It sounds like you were right in your elements. Beautiful geography!!! So happy to hear your cat was just fine 🙂
Brittany
Thank you for the kind comment about my kitty, I was constantly texting my mom for updates. Peace of mind is a wonderful thing.
Rootchopper
Grizzlies scare me. On my 2018 cross country trip I visited Ovando MT. 3 years later a grizzly killed a woman in her tent. She had food in her tent!
Brittany
Oh…my…no. This is TERRIFYING. Grizzlies are so scary, and they occupy so many places I want to visit. They are reintroducing around 30 of them to the north cascades over the next five years and I am not looking forward to that.
C.A. Post
Anita and I have been to Bannf many times, but always from Edmonton north of the park.
Next time we head to the northland we will have to check out Revelstoke!🤠
❤️&🙏, c.a.
Brittany
I hope to see more sides of Banff in the future! Revelstoke is nothing like Banff, but still charming if you’re passing through.
marietoday
I would love to go to Banff someday! Everyone I’ve met who’s been there says it is the most beautiful place they’ve seen.
When I used to live in black bear territory I got in the habit of singing while I was walking to keep bears away. Grizzlies are definitely more scary! I also made sure to talk loudly with my hiking companion when we were in grizzly territory in Alaska.
Brittany
Yes!! I was talking as much as possible (usually at the beginning of the hikes when energy was high), and I’m naturally loud. If there was ever a moment of long silence I’d have a random outburst. 🤣
The Sifted Field
Also been dreaming of Banff!
Brittany
I hope you make it someday!
kagould17
Glad you enjoyed your visit to our country Brittany. It does have a lot to offer and we are very lucky to live here. I am interested in your comments on Basecamp, as we will be staying in their Golden property soon. Have a wonderful day. Allan
Brittany
Oh how exciting! We of course drove through Golden to get to Banff, but I didn’t go into the town. I don’t know much about that location, but I found ours to be lovely. I booked mine through Air B&B and was able to message with someone anytime I had questions. They were very responsive. I would stay there again.
Grace @ Cultural Life
So gorgeous!
I’m not sure how I’d feel about bears. Probably quite on edge knowing there would be a possibility of running into them! I’d definitely want to be as well-informed as possible about bear etiquette and what to do if I encountered one.
I’ve never hiked anywhere with truly dangerous animals like bears. Although, on a similar note, I’m wary of dogs in Europe.
There’s one trail I really want to hike (the Menalon Trail in the Peloponnese mountains in Greece), it looks spectacular but there have been warnings of shepherd dogs on the trail. And they aren’t the cuddly kind, they’re there to defend their flocks and are semi-wild. That put me off the trail entirely. I had an encounter with a loose dog in Corfu (I really must get around to blogging about my hikes there) and I was shaking with adrenaline and fear for about half an hour afterwards!
Brittany
Oh my gosh!! I would be just as fearful of dogs in Europe as you. People often disobey the leash laws here and let their dogs run off leash, but in my opinion that’s just not safe. Dogs in America are not well trained like dogs in parts of Western Europe. Even so, I’m not a dog person and I don’t like strange dogs running up to me.
Bear spray will work for stray dogs too, I should probably start carrying it everywhere. LOL.
Duncan
Absolutely beautiful scenery! I’m proud of you for seizing the opportunity and taking this trip. As for bears, black bears do not give me too much fear but I can’t say I would like to meet a grizzly anytime soon.
Brittany
Thanks for the encouragement to go. It allllll worked out! I hope to never meet a grizzzzz.
Allie Zottola
Ugh, sooo beautiful! I just love seeing your hiking pictures. It feels like looking at a travel guide for the PNW (or wherever you happen to travel!). I would be on edge about a bear hahah.
Brittany
I haven’t pushed my comfort zone in a while, and hiking in bear land definitely did it. 😅🤣
Roy McCarthy
Those distances are just vast Britt. I guess you’d quickly get claustrophobia on our 9 x 5-mile island. But no bear concerns.
Brittany
There is still beauty in a small space! You had me at “no bears.”
Amy
YAY!!! I’d been wondering if you ended up taking this trip after all and how it went… I’m so glad you did — and that your cute fur baby did fine while you were gone!! ♡ So excited to read your posts about your trip!
Brittany
Yes, yes, yes I made the trip!! It was so great, and I’m so glad it worked out. I’m also glad to be home with my baby and enjoy the fall/winter months with a slower pace! HA.
Amy
YAY!!!! Time to bring on ALL of the pumpkins and Halloween vibes!!
Amy
YAY!!! I’d been wondering if you ended up taking this trip after all and how it went… I’m so glad you did — and that your cute fur baby did fine while you were gone!! ♡ So excited to read your posts about your trip!
(Reposting because it looked like my original comment didn’t go through… Feel free to delete this if it did though! 😉 )