Turquoise Peyto Lake in Banff
This time last year we were eagerly planning for our first visit to the majestic Canadian Rockies. We would be spending a week in July, camping and hiking in Banff and Jasper National Parks in Alberta, Canada. These two jewels of Canada are world renowned for their glacier-capped mountains and glittering turquoise and emerald-green lakes.
Moraine Lake in Banff
Our itinerary in a nutshell – after flying into Calgary, we stayed our first night at the conveniently located Lakeview Signature Inn in Calgary. Early the next morning, we headed to Banff National Park where we camped at Lake Louise campground for 3 nights. We spent the days exploring Banff National Park and getting our fill of its famous glaciers and jewel-toned lakes.
Lake Louise campground in Banff
After breaking camp, we dedicated that day to driving along the spectacular Icefields Parkway. The next 3 nights we camped at the gorgeous riverside Wabasso campground in Jasper National Park. 3 days was barely enough to see all the wonders of Jasper, we left promising ourselves that we would be back.
Wabasso campground in Jasper
Read more about how to make camping reservations in advance to get the campsites you want! After exploring Jasper to our heart’s content, we spent our last day in Banff and Jasper taking in the jaw-dropping scenery along Icefields parkway on our drive back towards Banff. We also hiked on the Athabasca Glacier and got to ride in a specialized explorer vehicle which can drive over crevasses.
Calgary Stampede Festival
We stayed the night at the charming Victorian style Georgetown Inn in Canmore, near Banff. Serendipitously, the Calgary Stampede festival was starting the day we returned to Banff, so we got to spend the entire day experiencing the festival. It is rightly called the “Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth” and was an unforgettable experience.
Bighorn sheep along the Icefields Parkway
The Canadian Rockies are renowned for their immense variety of flora and fauna. Not a day went by without us spotting at least a couple black bears. We spotted several momma black bears with their cubs and later in the week we spotted a momma grizzly bear with two cubs. We saw lots of bull and female elk and mule deer when driving and hiking in the valley. We also came upon a herd of female bighorn sheep which were clambering down a precipitous mountain slope. As we looked on, the herd parted to reveal two baby bighorn sheep, hidden in their midst. The baby sheep were white as snow and fluffy as cotton candy. As long as we kept a safe distance, the animals did not feel threatened and went about their daily activities.
Bull Elk seen when hiking on trails in Jasper
While hiking in the mountains, we always had company from alpine creatures like marmots and male bighorn sheep. Camping introduced us to more little creatures of the woods like golden-mantled ground squirrels, magpies and bluebirds. Being the season of spring onto summer, wildflowers were all out in full glory – from tiger lilies to bluebells to Indian paintbrush, buttercups and pretty daisies!
Peyto Lake, Banff National Park
The Canadian Rockies are paradise on earth when it comes to hiking. Numerous well maintained mountain trails led into valleys where we discovered rainbow colored glacial lakes, surrounded by jaw-dropping vistas. There are countless day hikes in both Banff and Jasper, some are 10+ miles round-trip, taking at least 8-12 hours due to the steep mountain ascent. We did some of these and combined it with several half-day hikes, which allowed us to explore more places.
The view from Lake Agnes Teahouse as we ate our sandwich and sipped on tea
In Banff National Park, one of the most memorable hikes we did was the 10 mile loop which started at Lake Louise, went up to Lake Agnes high in the mountains, where we stopped at the unique Lake Agnes Teahouse for some sandwiches and of course, tea! Refreshed, we continued via the Highline Trail onto the poetic sounding Plain of the Six Glaciers, stopping at the Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse, and hiking back via the Plain of the Six Glaciers trail to Lake Louise. This is an all day hike and a moderately strenuous one. But the scenic vistas are well worth it as is the experience of sipping tea at the mountain-top teahouses. On other days in Banff, we hiked at Lake Minnewanka, Moraine Lake, Bow River Loop, Louise Lakeshore, Larch Valley and Peyto Lake.
Standing on Athabasca Glacier in Jasper
In Jasper National Park, most of our time was spent exploring the glacier-studded Columbia Icefield, especially the hike upto the toe of Athabasca Glacier and the ride onto the top of the glacier. We also did the hike to Wilcox Pass, Maligne Canyon, scenic Maligne Lake, Medicine Lake, Sunwapta Falls, Athabasca Falls, Mary Schaffer Loop and took the Tramway to Whistler mountain and hiked to the summit of Whistler. On a side trip to Yoho National Park in the same ecosystem between Jasper and Banff, we squeezed in a day to explore the highlights in Yoho. This included Yoho Valley, Natural Bridge, Emerald Lake and the very tall Takakkaw Falls.
Scenic lakes and and mountain reflections along Icefields Parkway
Highway 93 also called Icefields Parkway is one of the most scenic drives in the world! The 2-lane highway curves and hugs the Canadian Rockies, as it goes North from Banff to Jasper. Approx 150 miles in length (one-way), the Icefields Parkway starts in Banff, with scenic vistas of the Canadian Rockies on either side of the road, as it continues past spectacular sights to the Icefield Center in Jasper. The Icefields Center is right past the border between Banff and Jasper and is the starting point for all adventures for exploring Athabasca Glacier. Hwy 93 aka Icefields Parkway offers spectacular and jaw-dropping views of glaciers – with imaginative names like Crowfoot Glacier and Snowbird Glacier, as well as plenty of wildlife sightings.
Columbia Icefield
The drive itself takes 4 hours if driven non-stop, but nobody would ever do it that way! Most people take an entire day along the highway, spending plenty of time exploring the nearly 13 must-see sights, all of them mind-blowing and beautiful. Turquoise lakes, enormous glaciers like Crowfoot hanging right above our heads, the famous Peyto Lake, Waterfowl lakes, Mistaya Lake & Canyon and serene vistas of mountains capped with unimaginable thickness of snow. The Columbia Icefield is home to Athabasca Glacier that we can actually drive up to and touch the toe of. We even did the Glacier Walk on Athabasca which involves traveling in a special vehicle called Ice Explorer – only 23 of these specialized vehicles exist in the world and 1 is in Antarctica used by scientists/explorers and the rest of the vehicles (22 to be precise) are all at the Icefields Center for visitors to explore glaciers like Athabasca. The first sight of Athabasca Glacier is one we’ll never forget. We had never seen anything like it before. We got to walk around on top of the glacier, drink pure glacier water, and touch the pristine blue ice. Hikes like Wilcox Pass allowed us to explore the Columbia Icefield from a spectacular vantage view, as we hiked to the top of a nearby mountain and got an expansive view of the glacier capped valleys of the Columbia Icefield which feeds Athabasca and several other nearby Glaciers. The Icefields Parkway is definitely a drive to remember for all time. Read more about our hike on Athabasca Glacier here.
Lake Louise as seen from the Plain of the Six Glaciers trail
Banff and Jasper National Parks in the Canadian Rockies have plenty to see and do. A week is barely enough time to scratch the surface. But one thing is for sure, after your first visit, you will be yearning to go back and visit again. Have you been to the Canadian Rockies? What was your favorite part?
Happy Hiking!
~ Trupti