In recent years, the Canadian Rockies have gotten a lot of attention and rightly so. It was time that I visited the place for myself and here are all of the things that we did on our first visit to this famous Canadian National Park.
Day 1: Lake Louise
Morning – Drive to Lake Louise:
With excitement of the trip on our side, we decided to start our morning early to get one of the coveted parking spots at Lake Louise. Since we stayed in Banff Town, it was about a 38 minute drive from town to Lake Louise. In order to get to the lakeshore by eight, we set our alarms for six in the morning. Wiping the bags from our eyes, we headed northwest on the Trans-Canada highway.
My favorite part about driving this relatively easy stretch of road was how the wildlife was considered during the construction. In order to minimize animals being hit by motorists, the have installed crossing bridges over the highway with trees and grasses so that the animals can cross safely. The rest of the road was lined with electrified fences. It seems intense, but much better than the alternative.
Despite the fact that there was a warning sign saying “Lake Louise parking lot full,” we thought to continue to the lakeshore just incase. I am so glad that we did. Though the first parking lot was full, we were able to continue up to the upper lot where there were at least a few dozen more spots. It is $21 per day to park in the lot, which we paid at a station near the walking path.
Even through it was overcast that morning, we were nothing short of awestruck at the beauty of this lakeshore. No wonder it is so iconic. This breathtaking lake is surrounded by equally stunning mountains making for the perfect photograph that cannot even pretend to capture the full beauty. I will admit, the lakeshore was a little bit crowded with people clamoring for their Instagram moment. That said, we were able to find an empty spot to snap a few photos.
Then it was time for us to enjoy a hike. We were motivated to hike to an outlook or a location so we set out to hike to one of the two famous teahouses nestled in the mountainside. Here is where I am going to give you some advice upfront. There are TWO teahouses. One is the famous Lake Agnes Teahouse, with a pleasant 3.5 km (2.17 mi) hike with some reasonable elevation gain and some hidden lakes. We mistakenly followed the path for the Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse which was a 5.3 km (3.29 mi) one way hike. If you are standing at the crossroads near the edge of Lake Louise, LEFT takes you to the Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse and RIGHT takes you to the St. Agnes Teahouse.
Midday – Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse
Nonetheless, we absolutely loved the homemade scones and tea. It was a perfect refreshment and place to rest after the slightly more-challenging-than-expected hike. I strongly recommend either of these hikes if you have decent physical fitness to hike that distance and elevation gain.
We were pretty tired after our hike and wanted to head straight back down to Lake Louise. Had we had some more energy, I would have suggested hiking to the other mentioned teahouse at St. Agnes. Guess we will have to go next time! On our way back, the sun had come out to give the lake even more of that green-blue glow. No wonder the crowds were packing the shoreline to the point we were thankful to have gotten there early. We stopped in at the Fairmont Lake Louise to admire the luxury hotel if even just from the lobby.
Evening: Rest and Relaxation in Banff Town
We stopped at Three Bears Brewery for a lemon shandy which was extremely refreshing. Then we had dinner at the other brewery in town called the Banff Ave Brewing Company. The rest of our evening was spent meandering through the shops along Banff Avenue. There were some really fun shops to look at, we even played an arcade game to get our fortune read because why not?!
Day 2: Lake Louise + Lake Moraine (optional)
We got really lucky on our Friday at Lake Louise. However, heeding the advice of the Canada travel websites, we did pre-book a spot on the Roam transit bus so that we could visit both Lake Louise and Lake Moraine. I have separate comments on this entire day and what I would do differently here. That said, since 2023, you can only visit Lake Moraine by bus. That means, no private cars can be taken to the lake. If you want to visit the “20-dollar view,” you need to do some preparation.
Day 3: Icefields Parkway
Morning: Head out to Icefields Parkway.
The Icefields Parkway is a 232 km (144 mi) stretch between Jasper and Lake Louise. Along the way are a variety of hikes and points of interest. It was another early morning to make sure that we could get enough time to see all of the notable spots:
- Bow Lake
- Peyto Lake
- Mistaya Canyon
- The Weeping Wall
- Panther and Bridal Veil Falls
- Parker Ridge Falls (we decided to skip this hike due to the rain but it is HIGHLY recommended)
- Athabasca Glacier and Columbia Icefield
Evening: Another Relaxing Evening in Banff Town
Since this drive took all day, we returned to Banff Town tired and ready to relax. We stopped for some pizza at the Three Bears Brewery because we had missed out on trying their pizza the first night. We were not disappointed. Then it was a quiet evening to rest up for the next day.
Day 4: Surprise Corner
Morning: Breakfast and walk to Surprise Corner lookout.
Our morning started at a local breakfast spot for some coffee and tea. It was a perfectly clear and sunny morning so we were very excited for what the day would offer us. After breakfast, we decided to do the 1.7 km (1 mi) walk along the Bow River to the Surprise Corner lookout. This was a mostly flat walk along the river where they were featuring some local artist installations along the trees. Then there was some slight elevation as we climbed up some stairs and along the road for about 100 m. From there, you get a pretty impressive view of the Banff Springs Hotel that ‘surprise’ emerges from the treeline. This was a great, easy hike that could also pretty easily have been done via car.
Day 4: Banff Town
Morning: Bow Glacier Falls Hike
We couldn’t leave Banff without attempting another hike. Without wanting to hike too far, we found a good hike along the Bow Lake. We hiked along the the lake first, which was populated with tourists looking for a great shot along the teal-blue waters. As we continued further along the water, eventually the crowds disappeared. This because even more so as we climbed through a small wooeded area.
It came to the point were we could no longer see the lake anymore, as we walked along the riverbed. Then we approached some wooded stairs that led us up to the viewpoint to see the Bow River Falls. Here is where we were willing to accept that none of us were real avid hikers and once we could see the waterfall again, we were very happy to turn around and go back.
Midday: Banff Gondola
We made early reservations for the Banff Gondola. The only thing that is predictable about mountain weather is that it is unpredictable. Remember how I mentioned how sunny and pleasant it was the previous few days? This particular day, it was foggy and cold. Nonetheless, we prepaid for our spot on the Banff Gondola, a decision that saved us about $14 per person. We took the Roam transit bus up to the Gondola center. I will admit, for the weather, it was no surprise that it was a little bit slower that day. Once we made it up the gondola, aside from the gift shop, three restaurants, there was unfortunately no real view as the mountaintop had become surrounded by clouds. But hey, it still felt cool to be amongst the clouds.
Evening: Comfort food and shopping
Our evening was spent enjoying some comfort food at one of the three Indian cuisine restaurants. Less about quality and more about quantity, we chose Indian Curry House because they had enough seating to easily seat us without a reservation. There, we enjoyed some curries and comfort foods.
Day 5: Johnston Canyon and Lake Minnewanka
Morning: Johnston Canyon
We started our morning with the short drive to Jonhston Canyon. Though by 9am, the lot closest to the canyon was closer, we were happy that there were plenty of spots in the lower parking lot. It was a short walk to the beginning of the trail where we walked by some really cute resort cabins. Then the path turns into catwalks along the canyons.
While it is 1.2km (.74 mi) one way, this hike took a little bit longer than expected simply because of the crowds. This hike was more easily accessible for others considering how it was mostly the boardwalk. I would still say that this was not 100% accessible, there is some stairs and decent amount of incline. We waited in line to view the Lower Johnston falls. We wondered if it would be worth it, but walking through the small “cave” to the up-close view of the waterfall was fun and felt a little bit like an attraction in itself. Then there was yet another line for the upper falls. Once we got to the front of the line for the upper falls, I was simply “whelmed.” I thought that the view from the top of the falls was more impressive than waiting in line for it. That’s just me
Midday: Lake Minnewanka
The air quality was not great this day as smoke from nearby wildfires was setting in. We drove along Lake Minnewanka to see this famous lake. Unfortunately, with the smoke, the mountains were faded behind the smoke. It still make for a really interesting views but we were a little more limited on hiking options simply because of the air quality. We also drove along the Vermillion Lakes to watch some wildlife and waterfowl in the Vermillion Lake.
Evening: Dinner at Banff Springs Hotel Waldhaus
Then, with time to kill before our dinner reservation at the Waldhaus German Restaurant at the Banff Fairmont Springs, we drove along the golf course where we were able to view wildlife such as elk grazing on the course. There was even allegedly a bear in the area which we hesitantly decided to make our way back a little closer to civilization.