Banff to Jasper Alberta Canada
A road trip from Banff to Jasper Canada (Alberta) is like nothing else. There is not a star rating high enough to do a trip like this justice! This is one of the few places where the Instagram filters and magazine photography still fails to do justice to the wonderous scenery that is on offer. Prepare to have your mind blown at the sheer scale of the place and the pop of colour around every corner…. and of course at seeing bears merrily eating dandelions at the roadside. Some highlights: Lake Louise (lunch at the Fairmont is a real treat after hiking up to the viewpoints and Lake Agnes tea house), Moraine Lake, Lake Maligne, Emerald Lake, Lake Minnewanka, the ink Pots at Johnston Canyon falls, Athabasca Glacier and so much more!
Banff TO LAKE MINNEWANKA
Based at the Moose Hotel and Suites whilst in Banff, we took walks along Bow River up to Lake Minnewanka which is a glacial lake (far too cold for a swim) but wow look at those waters! Hire a boat to make the most of your time as this lake is huge (60km hike)
Banff - JohnSTON CANYON AND INK POTS
The trail to the waterfalls of Johnston Canyon has to be the busiest in the Canadian Rockies as hundreds of hikers follow its canyon-clinging walkways and staircases to the gorge’s Lower and Upper Falls. Its worth a visit but try and go in the evening or very early in the morning to avoid the hordes. By the way, the Ink Pots are a group of seven crystal-clear, jade-green and very beautiful spring-fed pools of water!
Banff - Moraine Lake AND Temple Lake
One of the most beautiful lakes in the whole wide world! Moraine Lake is glacially fed lake and this 2.6 km out and back trail is well worth it.
BANFF - Lake Louise AND Lake Agnes
Lunch at the Fairmont is a real treat after quite the hike up and around Lake Louise, Lake Agnes and its tea house.
YOHO NATIONAL PARK - EMERALD LAKE
Yoho National Park includes waterfalls such as Wapta Falls, on the Kicking Horse River, and towering Takakkaw Falls. A trail circles the incredible turquoise-coloured Emerald Lake.
BANFF - HECTOR CREEK And Peyto LAKE
BANFF - ATHABASCA GLACIER AND RIVER
The Athabasca Glacier is one of the six principal ‘toes’ of the Columbia Icefield and is understood to be 10,000 years old. Athabasca Glacier is a 1.4 kilometer heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Improvement District No. 12 (best to visit between May until September). Sadly, the glacier currently loses about 5 metres depth per year and has receded more than 1.5 km and lost over half of its volume in the past 125 years.
BANFF TO JASPER CANADA - MALIGNE LAKE
Moving from Banff to Jasper Canada you reach, Maligne Lake which is famed for the colour of its azure water, the surrounding peaks, the three glaciers visible from the lake, and Spirit Island, a frequently and very famously photographed islet. Warning we did get lost up a mountain here! As you’d expect the higher you climb, the more snow and at times knee deep. Perhaps paranoid, but we also sang in an attempt to scare off any bears that might have been around! All part of the experience right?!
