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Summary

People Are Sharing Their Weirdest Tourist Encounters In Banff & They're So Cringey

Who hasn't mistaken a mountain goat for a polar bear?

Creator

Most people have an embarrassing tourist tale or two — whether it's something they've been guilty of themselves or something they've merely witnessed. But if it happened in Banff, there's a good chance some Albertan is roasting them about it right now.

A whole Reddit thread dedicated to embarrassing tourist stories in Banff popped up this week after someone took to the platform to explain a bizarre encounter they'd had with a solo hiker while on the Sawback Trail.

According to the post, the man was definitely not prepared for the hike — wearing vans and a cowboy hat and carrying his bag in his arms.

When the concerned group offered the man a can of expired bear spray to help prepare him for the journey, he refused it claiming he was "good with animals," the Reddit user added.

It goes without saying, that probably isn't going to save you if you come across a bear on your travels!

The person asked Redditors about the most ridiculous things they had seen tourists do while in Banff and people had some truly wild stories to share.

One user said they once saw a tourist mistake a mountain goat for a polar bear. Now that's a new one.

Another apparently thought the Aurora Borealis would be visible every single night, regardless of the forecast.

One user remembered a story about a family showing up in full skiing gear to the Lake Louise resort for a fun snowy vacation. The only problem was it was actually July. While skiing in July can happen, it's pretty rare so you might want to check the forecast.

from Banff

Another Redditor said they were asked a truly bizarre question about the colour of Lake Louise and Moraine Lake.

from Banff

Others said they'd seen a lot of risky encounters with wildlife, from people following bears to literally trying to put their child on a bighorn sheep for a photo.

from Banff

A common theme that came up was American tourists not realizing that Canada is its own country and therefore it has its own currency too.

from Banff

If you're heading to Banff any time soon, you might want to avoid doing any of these things and save yourself the embarrassment.

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    • Creator

      Charlie Hart was a Calgary-based Creator for Narcity Media. Hailing from London, U.K., Charlie moved to Calgary with a passion for learning more about what Canada has to offer. She studied Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University and has over five years of experience for titles including Supply Management, Elle UK and InStyle UK.

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