IIRC Banff to Lake Louise is about an hour's drive. There's the main "highway" or you can take a secondary road past Moose Lake for the scenery. One of the summer things to do is to drive up the mountain (to the ski area) to see the longhorned sheep and other wildlife. Jasper and the glacier seem farther.

I would guess that you can still see the elk at Banff in town, on the golf course, and up the hill at the conference center year round, although there won't be any cute little babies in winter. Bears should be hibernating.