A sample trip
Three days in Banff
Banff National Park, Alberta · planned by four people
This is one trip filled in the way a real one gets filled in, including the parts a shared link keeps private. Prices, receipts and names are invented for the sample. The features around them are not.
Banff Avenue to The Maple Leaf, ending back in the village.
Who is on it
- LH Logan Owner Driving, booked the lodge
- MR Maya Editor Food and the sunrise call
- DK Devon Editor Hikes, fill-ups, gear
- PS Priya Viewer Along for the ride
Budget
Pro$2,036.20 of $2,400
$363.80 still to spend
- Lodging $1,140.00
- Activity $423.25
- Food $407.60
- Fuel $33.35
- Transport $32.00
Fuel
ProWhat the driving costs
Treader already knows every drive leg in the plan. Add the car and it turns those into fuel, money and per person, then checks itself against the fill-ups you log. 2019 Subaru Outback, regular, 9.4 L/100km, $1.62 per litre.
- Driving in the plan
- about 211 km
- Fuel burned
- 19.8 L
- Estimated cost
- $32.13
- Each, split four ways
- $8.03
One fill-up covers it. A full tank goes about 585 km in this car.
Estimate against reality. The fill-up logged came to $33.35, $1.22 over the estimate.
Distances here are straight-line plus the usual road correction, which is why they say "about". Open a day in the app and its legs get routed properly.
The itinerary
The three days
Times, and the travel between each stop. Every stop carries who put it there, because the trip keeps a changelog rather than a mystery.
Day one, town first and then the mountain
- 09:00 1h
09:00 · 1h
Banff Avenue
Sight · main street
Coffee and a slow wander before the crowds arrive.
LH Added by Logan10m walk
- 10:30 45m
10:30 · 45m
Cascade of Time Gardens
Park & nature · public garden
Free terraced gardens with the best view up Banff Avenue to Cascade Mountain.
PS Suggested by Priya8m walk
- 12:00 1h 15m
12:00 · 1h 15m
Park Distillery
Food & drink · distillery restaurant
Campfire-cooked lunch. Try the smoked trout.
MR Added by Maya Open in Maps8m drive
- 14:00 2h 30m
14:00 · 2h 30m
Banff Gondola
Must doActivity · gondola and summit boardwalk
Ride up Sulphur Mountain. The boardwalk to Sanson Peak is worth the extra half hour.
LH Added by Logan Open in Maps7m drive
- 17:30 30m
17:30 · 30m
Bow Falls Viewpoint
Park & nature · river viewpoint
Quick stop on the way back into town.
DK Added by Devon10m drive
- 19:30 1h
19:30 · 1h
Vermilion Lakes
Park & nature · lakeside pullouts
Sunset over Mount Rundle. Bring a tripod.
MR Added by Maya9m drive
- 21:15 10h
21:15 · 10h
Banff Park Lodge
Stay · hotel
Two nights, booked before the itinerary was finished.
LH Added by Logan Open in Maps
Day two, the big one. Early start, the shuttles fill fast
- 07:00 2h
07:00 · 2h
Moraine Lake
Must doPark & nature · glacial lake
Sunrise over the Valley of the Ten Peaks. Book the shuttle ahead, private cars are no longer allowed up.
MR Added by Maya Open in Maps35m transit
- 09:35 45m
09:35 · 45m
Lake Louise Lakeshore
Sight · lakeshore trail
Walk the shoreline path past the canoe docks.
LH Added by Logan1h 30m walk
- 12:00 2h
12:00 · 2h
Lake Agnes Tea House
Must doActivity · backcountry tea house
A 3.4 km climb to tea and fresh scones at 2,135 m. Cash only.
DK Added by Devon Open in Maps1h 15m walk
- 15:30 1h
15:30 · 1h
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
Food & drink · hotel lounge
Late lunch in the lakeview lounge. You earned it on the descent.
PS Suggested by Priya Open in Maps20m drive
- 17:30 30m
17:30 · 30m
Morant’s Curve
Sight · roadside viewpoint
The classic railway photo stop on the Bow Valley Parkway.
DK Added by Devon Scout suggested42m drive
- 19:30 11h
19:30 · 11h
Banff Park Lodge
Stay · hotel
Second night. Same room, no repacking.
LH Added by Logan Open in Maps
Day three, slower morning, big views, one last dinner
- 09:00 2h
09:00 · 2h
Johnston Canyon
Activity · canyon trail
Catwalks bolted to the canyon wall, waterfalls at the top. Go before 10 to beat the tour buses.
MR Added by Maya Open in Maps35m drive
- 12:30 1h 30m
12:30 · 1h 30m
Lake Minnewanka
Park & nature · lake and boat cruise
The biggest lake in the park. The cruise runs hourly in summer.
LH Added by Logan Open in Maps6m drive
- 14:30 1h
14:30 · 1h
Two Jack Lake
Park & nature · lakeside picnic area
Picnic tables right on the water, Mount Rundle straight across.
DK Added by Devon Scout suggested12m drive
- 16:30 30m
16:30 · 30m
Surprise Corner
Sight · viewpoint
The postcard view of the Banff Springs hotel above the river.
PS Suggested by Priya5m drive
- 18:30 1h 30m
18:30 · 1h 30m
The Maple Leaf
Must doFood & drink · Canadian restaurant
Farewell dinner. Elk striploin and a Caesar, the Canadian way.
MR Added by Maya Open in Maps
Receipts
ProWhat it actually cost
Planned spend is a guess. Receipts are not. Type one in as you go and it lands in three places at once: the budget above, the fuel estimate's reality check, and the split below. A fill-up is just a receipt that knows how many litres went in.
| Where | Category | Paid by | Subtotal | Tax | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banff Park Lodge INV-88214 · Two nights, two rooms | Lodging | LH Logan | $1,017.86 | $122.14 | $1,140.00 |
| Parks Canada DP-4471 · Discovery Pass, four adults | Activity | PS Priya | $151.25 | — | $151.25 |
| Banff Esso 4471-02 20.6 L at $1.62, day 1 | Fuel | DK Devon | $31.76 | $1.59 | $33.35 |
| Park Distillery 00-1183 | Food | MR Maya | $91.19 | $4.56 | $95.75 |
| Banff Gondola BG-77120 · Four adult return tickets | Activity | MR Maya | $259.05 | $12.95 | $272.00 |
| Parks Canada SH-20841 · Moraine Lake shuttle, four seats | Transport | MR Maya | $32.00 | — | $32.00 |
| The Maple Leaf 00-9042 · Farewell dinner, four covers | Food | MR Maya | $297.00 | $14.85 | $311.85 |
| Spent so far | $2,036.20 | ||||
Settle up
Four people, $2,036.20 spent, $509.05 each. Treader works out the fewest payments that square it, so nobody reconstructs a week of card statements on the drive home.
The roster is not the collaborator list. Add anyone to it by name, with no account and no invite, and a passenger who never opens the app still owes their share.
- DK Devon pays Logan $475.70
- PS Priya pays Maya $202.55
- PS Priya pays Logan $155.25
Together
Four people, one plan, no group chat archaeology
Everyone edits the same trip live. The trip remembers who did what, and the argument about the 7am start lives on the 7am stop instead of scrolling away in a thread.
While you were away
Devon, Priya and 2 others made 5 changes
- MR Maya added Moraine Lake to day two Tuesday, 9:12pm
- DK Devon moved Lake Agnes Tea House from day three to day two Tuesday, 9:20pm
- LH Logan set the trip budget to $2,400 Wednesday, 7:45am
- PS Priya suggested Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise for day two Wednesday, 8:02am
- DK Devon logged a fill-up at Banff Esso, $33.35 Saturday, 11:31am
On one stop
Moraine Lake, day two, 7:00am
- DK Devon Seven is brutal. Can we not do eight?
- MR Maya Shuttle seats are gone by eight and the light is flat by nine. Sleep on day three.
- PS Priya Fine. I am not talking until the tea house.
Scout has already read the itinerary
15 free a month, 300 on ProWe leave the Fairmont at 4:30. What are we missing on the way back?
Morant’s Curve is 20 minutes down the Bow Valley Parkway. Stop there at 5:30 for the evening light and day two still ends at 7:30pm at the lodge. That is a long day after a 7am start, so I have left the evening open and moved the good meal to day three, where you end in town anyway.
- Added Morant’s Curve to day two, 5:30pm
- Moved The Maple Leaf to day three, 6:30pm
Applied in one tap. Undo puts the plan back.
Day of
Then the day goes sideways
A plan that only works when everything runs on time is a document, not a tool. On the day itself, Treader rewrites what is left from where you actually are.
Rain from 2pm to 3:30pm
The Banff Gondola sits right in it. Dodge the rain sends you up Sulphur Mountain before lunch and puts you at Park Distillery while it rains, so Bow Falls and Vermilion Lakes stay dry.
Dodge the rain
You left Lake Agnes 40 minutes late
Everything after it shifts. The Fairmont lounge still works, Morant’s Curve is tight but makes it, and you are back in town by 8.
Push the rest from now
Next fill-up in about 180 km
On the tank in the car and the driving still to come, the last station before the Icefields Parkway is the one to use.
Show it on the map
The fine print
What is real here, and what is not
The four travellers, the receipt numbers and every amount on this page are invented for the sample. So are the prices next to the real businesses named in the days, which are not quotes from them.
The features are real, and so is the arithmetic: the fuel figures, the split and the totals above are produced by the same code the app runs, over the sample data.
A trip you publish from Treader shows the days and the stops, and never the money. That is why this page exists instead of a link to a shared trip. If you want to see the plain published view, the same Banff trip is live as a real shared link.
Where to first?
Type a place and your first trip is made with your account. Everything after that is the fun part.
Or start from a ready-made trip