Among all faces of Mother nature i have seen, this place is
simply THE BEST.
I have been planning for Canandian Rockies - Banff National
Park road trip from nearly 3 years now, but somehow was not able to come up
with the right plan and offcourse this becomes more tough if you have a small
kid :). This summer, me and my wife were determined to complete this trip. We
choose one of the best time 4th July long weekend to visit the region (would
not say the best as its usual to be crowded).
Here's my - 5 Days and
4 Nights Itinerary
Day 1 - Seattle to Kamloops, BC - Around 5Hrs Drive
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| Bridal Veil Falls |
The drive from Seattle to Kamloops was pleasant. I would
suggest you to stack up Gas, Ice and other stuff before crossing the border, as
i found it bit expensive on the other side.The border crossing time was less
than 10 minutes via Abbotsford. Once you are in, we followed Trans Canada
Highway - Hwy 1 all the way to the Kamloops. Just in case you have time there
would be plenty of places to stop and spend some time. We stopped at
Bridal Veil Falls Provincial Park , Rosedale and had our lunch. Its a very short hike(.2 miles) to
the falls and was worth it. We reach
ed Kamloops by evening. Kamloops was a nice
halt and had pretty much all major stores like Costco, Walmart etc.
Day 2 - Kamloops to Golden, BC - Around 6 hrs Drive
We started from Kamloops around 9. Passed through couple of
mountain passes & trails at Mt. Revelstoke National Park region. We did two
stort trails and found them to be well maintained. This was one of our halts
for lunch. We followed Hwy 1 and reached Golden, BC around evening.
Day 3 - Golden, BC - Covering Yoho National Park and the Lakes area
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| Emerald Lake |
We started our day early towards the Yoho National Park. On
the way we bought the Banff Park pass from Field Visitor Center. The first
scenic point we covered was Natural bridge over the Kicking
Emerald Lake (British Columbia) was such a cute and beautiful place. Good and large parking lot. Only one
restaurant which welcomes patrons for lunch or dinner only. It also has a 3.1
mile flat hike around the lake just in case you want to strech your legs. We
tried Canoying for the first time here as was really fun. Next stop over was
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| Takakkaw Falls |
Horse River,the
natural bridge is ok but you can't cross it and there is some ugly cement
around, but generally a nice spot to stop on the way to Emerald Lake.
Takakkaw Falls, the
drive alone is worth the trip to see these waterfalls, especially the crazy
switchbacks! At the end of the road, there are several big parking lots and
trails. I suggest you walk to the very base of the waterfall. It was a giant
intense waterfall and and surely loud and wet. Next scenic point was Spiral
Tunnel viewing point, though i was bit curious about the name, we thought to pass it for next time and go
towards the lakes.
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| Moraine Lake |
Breathtaking
Moraine Lake: Moraine Lake is absolutely
beautiful and my favorite place in the world i have known till now. My wife and
I preferred it over Lake Louise. It is a smaller lake, but the mountain peaks
rise straight up from the lake and surround you. It is absolutely stunning. The
best way to see the lake is to take the path at the side of the car park and
especially from the Rockpile. When you get to the top of the Rockpile you have
to just sit down and take it all in. The water is stunning blue/green colour
when seen from above but closer to the edge of the water you can see that it is
crystal clear.Arriving early morning before the crowds come would be a great
idea.
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| Lake Louise |
Lake Louise + Gondola: Lake Louise is another good one. Peer
into turquoise Lake Louise three miles from the town of the same name, and be
amazed by the color. The renowned grand hotel Chateau Lake Louise sits at the
brim of the eponymous lake.You cannot go to Lake Louise without taking the
gondola :) . Buy Ride & Dine @35 CAD, you get great views from the top of the ride
and might see Bears if lucky.Be sure to take the open Gondola because you can
see much better than the closed ones. If you like hiking then you must go up to
the Beehive and teahouse. The best views of Lake Louise are actually from the
ski hill.
Few more places we though to cover like Johnston Canyon,
Norquay Drive ,Bow Falls but with limited time we left it for the next time.
Day 4 - Golden, BC - Covering Icefield area.
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| Peyto Lake |
On the way to the
Columbia Icefields, stop to see Peyto
Lake, Waterfowl Lake, Bow Lake, Crowfoot Glacier (Best for Sunrise) - which are
just off the Icefields Parkway, about half an hour out of Lake Louise. You
probably will be able to get as far as Sunwapta Falls after seeing the
Icefields.
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| Columbia Icefields |
Columbia Icefields -
This is
one of those "to say I did it" type of trips, but I'm glad I did it.
It also known as
Highway 93 north. As the glaciers are melting away, it's good to see one up close while you have
the chance. It parallels the
Continental Divide. Brewster Snow Coach Ride, The Ice field Center and the Brewster
Glacier buses are truly the highlight of the whole Ice Fields road trip.
Snocoach rides are sold on a first – come – first – served basis.
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| Columbia Icefields |
The Glacier
bus ride was very exciting. They take you over to the glacier area by regular
bus. Then you transfer over with your bus group to the snow coaches. These
all-terrain vehicles have huge wheels and can travel on the glacier. The ride
on the glacier is very exciting and then you get to a far point and get out and
walk for a little bit on the actual glacier. The information about glaciers on
the bus ride up was good, but on the way back we had some kind of a joker bus
driver who kept making one sided conversations that no one was answering and
boring jokes. The ice wall where the Columbia Icefields spill out onto the
Atabaska Glacier was pretty cool and neat to see. We very much enjoyed the
whole trip and could not believe the very cool experience of walking on the
glacier itself. Tip : Make sure to carry warm clothes though it was summer when you stand on Glacier it will be cold.
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| Columbia Icefields |
Day 5 - Golden, BC to
Seattle
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