CANADA: BANFF & LAKE LOUISE

To catch you up on the first part of this trip, we flew into Calgary, rented a car, drove to Montana, and spent a few days in Glacier National Park. That part of the trip was what Matt wanted to do, so he was in charge of planning it. The second part of this trip was all mine!

The drive to Banff is only an hour and a half from the Calgary Airport. And our destination, Lake Louise, is another half hour beyond that. The drive was uneventful until we you get to drive on a major highway through National Park land. For ages! It’s beautiful. There are high wire fences on both sides of the highway to keep animals away from the cars, but there are also wildlife overpasses to allow the animals to traverse over the road. It’s wild.

Upon arriving at Lake Louise, Matt and I immediately went to the Lake Louise Campground where I had made a reservation for the next two nights. We vividly remember checking in and being asked if we were planning on having any fires during our visit. When we said yes, the worker suggested that we pay $5 CAD more per night to use the unlimited supply of cut wood on the premises (!!!). That was next to the free indoor shower building (!!!). Just outside of our electric-fenced in campground (!!!). Where were we?? All that for roughly $27 Canadian dollars per night (about 30% less in USD).

Note: Some people may get upset about an electric fence being used in the wild, but it is there to protect the bears more than it is there to protect the people. Trust me—I read the pamphlet extensively. But the fence sure did help me sleep easier!

We set up at the campsite and then drove farther up the road to Lake Louise. Even though we were staying at Lake Louise Campground, it isn’t actually within walking distance to Lake Louise. The only thing that is is the Fairmont Chateau, which is a 5-star hotel with views of the lake. Incredible. I mean, incredibly expensive. But they did have one thing that I wanted—canoes. It’s possible to rent canoes for about $125 CAD per hour, but the best deal is getting into a sunrise session. The price was about $85 CAD for an hour and a half, as the sun came up, with breakfast snacks and coffee/hot chocolate included. The kicker is that this perk is reserved for hotel guests.

So, we went to the hotel to ask if we could be put on the list for the following morning’s sunrise canoe outing (this is the only way to get on that list). I was told that we would be one of the last ones on the list, as long as no hotel guests decided to sign up before 7 p.m. The hotel staffer asked for a phone number to call later that day to confirm, but I didn’t have international calling set up! After planning to return to the hotel at 7 p.m., Matt and I figured we had about 3 and a half hours to explore. The following day was going to be all about Lake Louise, so I wanted to drive a bit farther to a hike that looked rewarding.

Weird thing about Lake Louise is that it is a hamlet in Banff National Park. And it’s near Yoho National Park, Jasper National Park, Kootenay National Park, Waterton Lakes National Park, Glacier National Park of Canada, and others. And it’s impossible to tell when you leave one and enter another, aside from road signs. I honestly don’t know why they aren’t designated as one huge park, though I think the first four really get clumped together frequently.

So, Matt and I drove down the Trans-Canada Highway from Alberta to British Columbia and into Yoho National Park (really y’all, it was 15 minutes) to Sherbrooke Lake Trailhead. From there, we hiked to Paget Fire Lookout, about 5 miles round trip, with 2,000 feet elevation gain. Since we were on a deadline we hoofed it up and down. Honestly, one of my fastest hikes ever. And it was 100% worth it!!! Side note: I could write this entire post with an exclamation point at the end of every sentence. It was all. so. exciting. and. beautiful.

After getting back to the car, stopping by the hotel to find out we made it in the sunrise canoe group (woohoo!), and stopping by the grocery store, Matt and I laid low at our campground for the rest of the evening, burning that fire wood! Because we were pretty far north, and it was late June, the sky was light past 10 p.m. I was glad to have brought my eye shades.

The next morning, we woke up around 4:30 because we had to meet at the canoes by 5:30 a.m. We canoed for an hour and a half, from one end of Lake Louise to the other and back again. It was excellent. Would recommend to a friend. Here are some of the million photos I took to soak it in. Words do this experience no justice.

Once we were off the lake and the sun had come up, starting to warm the day, we stopped by the car to drop off some layers and pick up hiking gear. Just as we started our hike, we noticed a small crowd and figured out that there was a momma grizzly bear with her two cubs. Apparently, because we were visiting earlier in the calendar year, there weren’t enough flowers and berries at higher altitudes yet, so it was common to see the grizzlies closer to where the people were. We stopped and watched for a few minutes, while talking to one of the local rangers who was kind enough to answer our incessant questions.

We continued on the trail to Plain of Six Glaciers Lookout. I say that like it’s nothing, but it was about a two and a half hour hike from the car for us. The trail was a bit difficult to follow along the second half, but luckily we chose the correct route.

Once we took in the end of the trail, we turned around and traveled back a bit until we got to the Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House, a quaint Swiss-built 2-story structure, constructed in 1924 by the Canadian Pacific Railway. Their offerings were rather minimal yet expensive. But, that’s fair since it has no electricity or running water, and supplies are flown in by helicopter at the start of the season, with additional goods being packed in by horses or staff. Also interesting fact is that the staff works on multi-day rotations and they sleep in the structure next door because it’s such a big trek. We got water, coffee, and a sandwich. All was great until we discovered that they don’t take cards—cash or check only. Which we didn’t have on us… So, we swore up and down to the manager that we would get cash at an ATM and pay our bill at the Fairmont Chateau when we completed our hike, and they were happy with that! At the time, it seemed like a big mess up, but once we were giving our money to the hotel staff, they were very clearly familiar with the process and had a box of money from others who had committed the same crime. So, I felt less bad about that snafu.

We kept traveling, and made our way up the Big Beehive, which offered a stunning view down onto Lake Louise. There were tiny dots way down there in the water that are canoes! That’s where we were just a few hours ago on our sunrise canoe excursion! And the water it so stunning. On the right side of the lake, we could see where the glacial waters are pouring in, creating more of a green color.

After the Big Beehive, we continued on, down some really treacherous switchbacks and around Lake Agnes to another tea house! Lake Agnes Tea House is similar to the previous one but, in my opinion, not as cute. And way more crowded. Which makes sense, because it’s easier to get to (we were definitely traveling the long way). It was built in 1901 and also had no electricity or running water.

On the final part of our hike, we passed a waterfall that cascades out of Lake Agnes, Mirror Lake, and, finally, Lake Louise again. All in all, the day was at least a 9.5 mile day. My feet were trashed. So, we headed back to the campsite and called it a day. A very good day!

The next day was our last day in Canada, with our flight taking off around dinner time. We slept in until 7 a.m., packed up, tried to see Moraine Lake but was turned around because the parking lot was already full, and headed to Banff. Along the way we saw more grizzly bears (to bring our total up to 7!) and many people getting too close to said bears. We watched from the comfort of our car, then continued on. In Banff, we did the touristy things—walked around, shopped (Roots), got lunch (Nourish Bistro-yum!). We even made time for an extra little walk along a stream. It was a great way to finish our too-short-trip. And now seems like a great point to end my too-long-post.

Love, Shauna