It’s been exactly a year since this eventful trip and even more since I published my last post! We live in times when travel has not only reduced all over the world, but the foreseeable future will see a drastic change in the way most people travel. As we all adapt and learn to deal with a new normal, I myself am trying to find time to do more of what I loved and cherished – blogging :)..So here is a post to reminisce about a trip with breathtaking vistas and exhilarating experiences.
We spent a week in the Canadian Rockies last summer, driving from Calgary to Jasper, and back down to Banff to Calgary staying in the towns of Jasper (3 nights), the Glacier Lodge at Columbia Icefields (1 night), Lake Louise (2 nights) and Banff (1 night). Sharing glimpses of some of the most iconic and picturesque landscapes from the trip
Maligne Canyon – Jasper National Park
The heavily trafficked Maligne Canyon loop was our very first hike in the Canadian rockies, extremely friendly for families with young kids.
We started at the bridge off the parking lot, the canyon is deep and narrow with majestic views of waterfalls all throughout.
The limestone gorge provides spectacular views through most of the hike.
We were fortunate to spot plenty of wildlife just driving by from one point to the other!
Maligne Lake and Spirit Island – Jasper National Park
Maligne Lake is the longest lake in the Canadian Rocky Mountain area and home to the world-famous Spirit Island, the island is only accessible via a boat cruise (unless you want to kayak or canoe all the way). Since the regular cruise tickets were sold out, we had to opt for a special cruise, and that turned out to be an absolute blessing because our boat was the only one on the island after 90 minutes of cruising. I highly recommend paying extra for the special cruise since it halts at the island for 30 minutes instead of the 15 minute halt, providing photographer plenty of opportunities..
The place is so beautiful, no wonder it is one of the most photographed places in the world. Honestly, the pictures we took don’t do enough justice to the grandeur of the lake and its surroundings.
Whistlers Mountain Summit Hike – Jasper National Park
We spent one of our days in the Canadian Rockies hiking to the top of the Whistlers mountain range. We took the Jasper tramway to the upper terminal and climbed to the peak of the summit, about a 200 m steep incline.
Views of the upper terminal and the town of Jasper from the trail were stupendous.
The hike provides great views of the glacier lakes, though we couldn’t spot Mt Robson, highest peak in the Rockies range since it wasn’t a clear day.
My 5 year old was elated on making it to the top, we spent plenty of time taking in the vistas before heading back down!
Athabasca Falls – Jasper National Park
Athabasca falls was our last hike walk before we drove down to Columbia Icefields via Icefield Parkway. The waterfall is known for its sheer power and volume of water.
There are multiple view points along the path and this makes for a great stroll with the little humans.
We had a lot of fun throwing rocks in the Athabasca river and admiring the majestic views.
Athabasca Glacier – Columbia Icefields
The Athabasca Glacier is one of the most accessible glaciers in Canada, and it is receding due to climate change. We were fortunate enough to walk on the glacier. Since we stayed at the Glacier Lodge, we took a private tour with the guests after all the tourist buses have left and were able to spend more time at the glacier.
The highlight of this adventure was drinking fresh glacier water followed by hot cocoa 🙂
This experience was definitely one that we were able to check off our travel bucket list.
Peyto Lake – Banff National Park
After spending 4 incredible days in Jasper, we kept driving South to experience the stunning beauty of the glacier-fed lakes of Banff. The lakes gets their color from the large amount of glacier rock flour that flows in it during the summer months. Our first hike was to Peyto Lake, an easy ~4 mile round trip to a turquoise lake shaped like a fox (or a wolf? or a dog? – you pick!).
Lake Louise – Banff National Park
We spent a couple of days in the town of Lake Louise relaxing, strolling and picnic(ing) around more turquoise lakes. Banff/Lake Louise are more popular because of their vicinity to Calgary which meant, we spent a lot of time in parking lots waiting for tram shuttles!
Moraine Lake – Banff National Park
Yet another calendar poster that one might recognize, it took us 7 tries (IIRC) before we were able to get to the parking lot at Lake Moraine for a sunset hike! It is recommended to go really early in the morning or right before sunset, but because of the popularity of the place, patience is a must. Our hike to the top was well worth the wait, most people call the views jaw dropping and we were glad we didn’t give up on driving back again and again until we were cleared to drive to the lot 🙂
Lake Minnewanka – Banff National Park
We hiked around a lot of waterfalls, canyons and lakes, but Lake Minnewanka was special because it was less crowded and we enjoyed
Along the Bow river, between the towns of Lake Louise and Banff is the famous Morant’s curve where the Canadian Pacific railway passes through. This should be easy view point to add on the drive!
Johnston Canyon – Banff National Park
Just like we started our Canadian Rockies trip with a hike to a canyon, we ended it with a hike to Johnston Canyon. We hiked all the way to the upper falls, but didn’t venture to the ink pots.
This trail is heavily trafficked and we had to wait plenty to get to view points, but the views of the gorge and rushing creek water are refreshing.
We also spotted marmots on the trail and plenty more waterfalls.
The Canadian Rockies are a dream come true for any nature lover and we genuinely enjoyed every single hour we spent there. Every turn of head was a vista different from the previous one. At the end of the trip it felt that we had just dipped our feet in the shallow waters and there is an ocean left to explore for another time – more hikes, some kayaking, may be setting up a camp and lots more wildlife viewing.
Memoir's Galore 