Cascades of Time Garden
Welcome to the Cascades of Time Garden in Banff National Park, Canada's first national park established in 1885.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
This location was originally the site of the Banff Sanitarium Hotel. Built in the 1880s by Dr. Robert Brett, a doctor for the Canadian Pacific Railway, the hotel took advantage of the recent discovery of the nearby natural mineral hot springs to attract visitors from all around the world. The business continued until 1933 when the hotel suffered a catastrophic fire.
Parks Canada then turned this location into what you see here today. The large building to the north, the Parks Canada Administration Building, was built using local stone, and is surrounded by this five acres of beautiful greenspace named the Cascades of Time Garden. Ironically, the Cascades of Time name actually has nothing to do with Cascade Mountain to the north.
Designed by Harold C. Beckett, an architect from Ottawa, Ontario, and completed in 1936, each pool of water in the garden was meant to represent a different geological period in the development of the Rocky Mountains. The plan was to create each pool using just rocks from each of the specific geological eras while the water cascaded through time flowing from one pool to the next.
After almost 70 years, the Cascades of Time Garden underwent extensive repairs from 2004 to 2018 and has been restored to its historical glory. Please feel free to walk around and explore the garden. The Administration Building and three of the pavilions are recognized federal historic buildings.
The Cascades of Time Garden is commonly enjoyed by many visitors for viewing the plantings, picnics, weddings, and wedding photos. The pathways take you around a carefully manicured garden maintained by Parks Canada staff. The garden includes over 50,000 flowers, multiple pools and water features, and various sitting areas to relax and take in the tranquility and peacefulness.
The ideal time to come to the garden may be the summer months when the flowers are in full bloom but the views from the location are spectacular year-round. If you go to the front of the Administration Building, you'll see probably one of the most photographed views in Banff (and who knows, possibly the world?), looking across the Bow River Bridge, down Banff Avenue, and with Cascade Mountain in the background. It's not hard to see why so many people want to take that picture.
Objective:
The posted coordinates for this cache should lead you to the Cambrian Pavilion within the Cascades of Time Garden. The Cambrian Pavilion is the largest pavilion in the garden and one of the four officially Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings on site. Built in 1934-5, it is sometimes known as the chapel because it is used to host weddings. Hopefully it isn't in use when you come. To log this cache as found, please collect the following details from the Cambrian Pavilion:
- How many wooden benches are located inside the Pavilion?
- How many stone arches are part of the Pavilion?
- How many log beams/rafters (look above you) are part of the Pavilion's structure? To clarify, these are the beams to count:
Source: Parks Canada
Then click here or on "sapienworks" at the top to email or message your answers to the above questions.
Do not post the answers to these questions in your cache log
even if they are encrypted!
While it is not mandatory, you are certainly welcome to also post a picture in your log of yourself and/or a personal item with your caching name written on it from this location. However, please do not publish any spoiler pictures that show any of the answers to the above questions. For example, consider taking a picture of yourself or your GPSr or even your hand with your geocaching name written on it with one of the other gazebos on site, or with the Administration Building in the background, or in that iconic picture from in front with the Banff townsite in the background. The options are practically endless here.
PLEASE NOTE: While the garden is free for everyone to enjoy, a Parks Canada Pass is required to visit Banff National Park. For further details, please click here.
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.