One of the best things we did was go to Sunshine Meadows, a hiking and ski area just outside of Banff. We rode a gondola up the mountain for about 30 minutes and then got onto a chairlift that took us the rest of the way up the mountain to about 7,000 feet. The views were spectacular. It was a beauty day. We hiked back from the top down to the gondola station, along the Continental Divide.
Back at the lodge we stopped for some after hike refreshments. It had to be Poutine, of course.
We headed north on the Columbian Icefields Parkway. We had a 3:30 appointment with the Athabasca Glacier so we stopped along the way to enjoy the sites. Our first stop was Bow Lake, shown above. It was right off the road. The next stop was Peyto Lake. We had to hike up to the viewpoint which was mostly uphill but it was worth it.
Our next stop was the North Saskatchewan River, a Canadian Heritage River.
From there we arrived at the Columbia Icefield Discovery Center. We piled on a bus that took us out to an area near the glacier where we transferred onto an Ice Explorer bus. This special bus was developed to drive onto the glacier while causing the minimal amount of harm. The tires are massive. At one point we were going down almost vertically. Quite the ride. Walking on the glacier was much like walking on regular ice. Some people tasted the ice melt that ran along the marked off area for visitors. It was all pretty thrilling.
It was a short ride from there to the Skywalk. This is a glass-bottomed walkway on a cliff with views straight down into the valley. Not really my thing but I did get some shots.
We got back to Banff pretty late after another long day. Next up – Banff and the Bears.
I had planned on starting the trip with two days in Jasper, Alberta, but due to forest fires in the area, Jasper was pretty much shut down and my boat trip on Maligne Lake was canceled. So we flew into Calgary and drove directly to Banff. Banff is a tourist town. The main drag is hotel after hotel after hotel followed by shops shops shops. And none of it is cheap. The town actually sits within the Banff National Park and is close to hiking and skiing in the area.
Our first day we headed for Yoho National Park which is actually in British Columbia. We hiked to Takakkaw Falls, the third highest falls in Canada.
Still in Yoho we stopped at a very crowded Emerald Lake where tour buses lined the drive and parking was non-existent. There is a lodge with cabins along the lake on one side. We hiked up to get a better less crowded view. The lake and setting were spectacular.
Our next stop was back to Banff National Park and the famous Lake Louise. I was excited to go because I had heard so much about the beauty of Lake Louise for many years. At the Lake Louise Ski Resort we rode a gondola up the mountain for about fifteen minutes. At the top there was a viewing area where you could see across to the Lake and the glacier above it. There was nothing else up there.
Back down at the ski center, we had to reserve a time and buy a ticket for a bus to take us to the actual Lake. Between the gondola and the bus this put me back about $70 per person. We opted for a return ride two hours later. Luckily we were able to get on an earlier bus as that was way too long to spend at an over crowded lake with nothing else available. There is a large expensive hotel on the lake but if you are not staying there, they are not welcoming. We sat on benches by the lake and watched people take picture after selfie after picture after selfie for ever. Yes, the lake itself was beautiful and the glacier above is impressive but really way too many people. And we weren’t even at peak season. All kind of a let down. Luckily I managed to get some clear shots.
It was a long day but it seemed like everywhere you looked was another breathtaking view. Stay tuned, next we head off on the Columbian Icefields Parkway.
