Cascade Ponds Beach in Banff

Managed by North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper

Cascade Ponds Beach and Swimming Area is like jumping into a painting. The scenery and setting is mountain meadow at it's best and is easy to access from the Banff townsite on the way to Lake Minnewanka. Like any mountain pond and lake, choose a hot day for swimming in the crystal clear waters because it can be chilly. The pond has a small beach area, picnic area, public washrooms and easy access from the parking lot.

There is no marked swimming area or supervision but the waters have a more gradual slope in the beach area. Photo credit to Pam Loewen from Flickr.

To get to the Cascade Ponds area, take the Minnewanka loop road from the interchange on the Trans-Canada Highway a few kilometres northeast of Banff.

Contact: Town of Banff, 403.762.1200

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COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is essential right now. Follow the advice of the health experts. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Heading to the beach should only be considered an option if social distancing practices can be followed. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter the efforts to curb the virus’ spread.

For more information, please visit the World Health Organization public resource on COVID-19.

Water Quality

No data available
Special Status
This means the affiliate organization managing a beach has set the beach status based on special local knowledge or information. Check the beach description and the Sources section for details.

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Current Weather

5°C

Mostly clear

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Water Quality Graph

Other Beaches Near This One

Beach	Location	Water Quality
Quarry Lake Recreation Area near Canmore Canmore, Alberta	Canmore, Alberta	Special Status
Johnson Lake in Banff National Park near Banff, Alberta	near Banff, Alberta	Special Status
Ghost Lake Provincial Recreation Area Beach Cochrane, Alberta	Cochrane, Alberta	Special Status
James Chabot Provincial Park Beach - East Invermere, British Columbia	Invermere, British Columbia	Historical Status

	Green means the beach’s most recent test results met relevant water quality standards.

	Red means the beach’s most recent test results failed to meet water quality standards.

	Grey means water quality information for the beach is too old (more than 7 days old) to be considered current, or that info is unavailable, or unreliable.

	Green means the beach passed water quality tests 95% of the time or more.

	Yellow means the beach passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time.

	Red means the beach failed water quality tests 40% of the time or more.

	Green means the beach has historically excellent or pristine water quality, but there is no current data.

	Red means the water at the site has water quality issues or there is an emergency.

	Grey means there is no current water quality information, the beach is under construction, there has been an event that has rendered water quality information unreliable or unavailable.