Banff National Park – Part I – Slo Pace Adventures

What an incredible place. Banff is Canada’s first national park created in 1885, surrounded by gorgeous lakes and mountains. The park encompasses 2,564 square miles with 96 percent wilderness. The resort town of Banff has about 8,000 residents which must meet a “need to reside” requirement, i.e. they must work within Banff. Visitors primarily stay in hotels and campgrounds or come for the day, with Banff only about an hours’ drive from Calgary. Between 43,000 and 50,000 people are in Banff each summer day. Wowza. One of our shuttle drivers said right now visitors are running at about half of a busy summer day. I can’t imagine what it is like in the summer. The town and the popular spots were very busy to us. But then, we just spent the last few months in the gorgeous (and pretty quiet) State of Alaska.

We packed in the activities on our first full day in Banff. As I closed the last blog, we first stopped at the Wild Flour Bakery for a Morning Bun and other delicious pastries. We then headed over to Vermilion lakes and enjoyed our treats. The road along the lake was quite busy with cyclists, joggers, and roller skiers training for cross country skiing. While eating our delicious treats, we watched 2 kayakers launch their boats. The surrounding Rocky Mountains added to the allure of the lake.

Next, Greg drove us along the Lake Minnewanka scenic drive. We could only stop for a few quick pictures, as finding parking was difficult. The place was packed with so many people enjoying the lake. Paddle boarding seemed to be a very popular sport. If you look closely at the picture, you will see a few on the lake.

On to another “top 19” activity – the Banff Gondola, which takes you to the top of Sulphur Mountain. Well, we thought we were at the top until we got off the gondola and had to walk another 367 steps to the top! What a magnificent view of the valley and the town of Banff below. If you zoom in the picture from the Gondola, you can see the iconic Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, built in 1888.

After an awesome Korean lunch, we headed on the Bow River Trail to see the Bow River Falls, located in the town of Banff. There was an “Art in Nature” display along the trail which showcased many fun art objects. One of our favorites was the “bear-tage”, two bears with a canoe on their back, a take on the word “portage” (meaning to carry a boat between two navigable waters). The bears scratching their backs on trees was fun too.

We had planned to go to Banff Upper Springs (located in the Fairmont), but it was a warm afternoon and sitting in hot springs just wasn’t very appealing. So, we headed back to our campground, with a stop to pick up Murphy at Veronica’s Doggy Day Care. He had a blast! They said he was the best lab they have ever had visit. Way to go Murphy!

On to Day 2. Time to visit two very popular destinations in Banff National Park – Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, both glacier fed lakes. They are so popular that you can’t drive to either and must take a bus or shuttle. Greg & Helen were able to take a Parks Canada bus and we were lucky to find a company that allows dogs on their shuttles.

At Lake Louise, the glacier you see in the very back is Victoria Glacier, named after Queen Victoria. Dave and I hiked around the shoreline and I was able to go a bit further and see the receded Glacier and its river. After we returned from our hike and people watched in front of the beautiful Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise (which you see in many of the pictures), I then hiked up to an overlook (Dave’s ankle was quite sore after our first hike). Greg & Helen spent their time at Lake Louise by hiking up to Mt Agnes with a great view and another gorgeous photo. Mt. Agnes was named after the wife of Canada’s first Prime Minister; Susan Agnes Macdonald. She visited the lake in 1890. We all had a great morning at Lake Louise. Sorry for so many pictures. It was just gorgeous. Just click on the first and scroll through.

Dave, Brenda & Murphy arriving to Lake Louise

After our Lake Louise activities, the four of us took our respective modes of transportation and met at Moraine Lake to enjoy a hike together. We first hiked up to the Rockpile for a great view of Moraine Lake. Since that hike, although short, had quite a bit of rock stairs, Dave decided to forgo our second longer hike and he and Murphy enjoyed a flatter hike along Moraine Lake. Greg, Helen, and I had a nice 4-mile hike to Consolidation Lakes. Between all the walking & hiking at both locations, we had almost 10 miles in for the day. Pretty good! Oh, and we plan to do an 8-mile hike the next day. We shall see. The weather and the gorgeous scenery really makes you want to be outside.