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Exploring The Parks: High Season In Banff National Park

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Moraine Lake

Moraine Lake is one of the jewels of Banff National Park/Scott Johnson

Trip to the Canadian Rockies

Unfortunately, there’s only one early morning to every day.

And that’s important when you only have a little more than one full day to see the highlights of a vast, incredibly popular park. Banff National Park is certainly that. The world’s third-oldest national park (established as Rocky Mountains Park in 1887), it’s a wonderland of hiking, mountain biking, golfing, climbing, horseback riding, fishing, rafting, kayaking, skiing … you name it. With all those draws, and easy access along the Trans-Canada Highway, come millions of people – and the souvenir shops, upscale chateaus, and fancy restaurants that follow them. Balance is the name of the game in Banff: Pick your experience – rugged or luxury – or taste a little of both.

For summer visitors like my wife and I, there’s seemingly only two pieces of advice for avoiding the crowds: Get into the backcountry or arrive early. With our schedule, the backcountry was out of the question, so planning and prioritization were our best tactics. Starting in the small town of Field, we were less than a half-hour from both Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. We woke up and hit the road before the sun had risen over Mount Stephen, and even that was almost too late.

Lake Agnes Teahouse

The Lake Agnes Teahouse provides refreshment for those who hike up from Lake Louise/Scott Johnson

Lake Louise

If only one location in the Canadian Rockies could be described as “must-see,” it would have to be Lake Louise. Named for a princess and fed by glacial meltwater from the peaks that rise from its turquoise surface, Lake Louise is the heart of Banff. Framed by Mount Victoria, this must be the most-photographed spot in the Rockies, featured on the cover of many guidebooks (including the one we had). It’s also home to one of the world’s grandest mountain chateaus and the gateway to activities, scenery, and a couple of alpine teahouses. But it’s also at a hub of pavement where the Icefields Parkway, Bow River Parkway and Trans-Canada Highway meet.

We knew early arrival was essential, but we immediately faced a decision: Continue to Lake Louise or take a side trip to equally stunning Moraine Lake? In the spur of the moment, I turned on the blinker and swerved left onto a 9-mile route to Moraine, where we assumed the smaller parking lot would make access more difficult later in the day. This turned out to be the right decision.

Sunrise at Moraine Lake is stunning, with morning the perfect time to walk along the lakeshore, the surrounding mountains reflected in the still water. A lucky couple in a canoe had the lake, about half the size of Lake Louise, to themselves. As we approached the far end, we saw and heard the aftermath of a glacier calving or avalanche high in one of the Wenkchemna peaks above, as a puff of white rose from the mountain face.

Back near the parking lot, trails lead to the top of a large rock pile at the eastern outlet of the lake, granting a “twenty-dollar view” (it used to be on the $20 bill) of the deep blue water and the 10 peaks of the Wenkchemna Range, all of which rise over 10,000 feet. There’s debate about whether the pile was formed by a rockslide or left by glacial retreat, but it provides a wonderful perspective from above the lake. Tour buses were here early (before 9), and one duo was filming a video on the rocks past the park’s barrier.

As we headed back down to Lake Louise Road, park officials were setting up to guide traffic at the intersection. After a long wait to turn left toward the lake, cars lined the road at least a mile before getting to the two sizable parking lots that handle all the cars. We almost peeled off to a lot a little farther away but opted to at least make one loop through the main area. We were very, very lucky when my wife pointed out a car about to leave just in front of us, and I darted into the spot during our first circuit through the parking area. One woman said she had done five loops, and she was still looking.

The visitor center was closed, though the park set up a booth in the parking lot. We decided our best bet would be to head for the lake and hike up to Lake Agnes, where a teahouse serves up snacks and drinks at yet another alpine gem of a lake. We passed the extravagant Chateau Lake Louise, capacity 1,100, and joined the masses for the view everyone comes for. A First Peoples tribal member stood in full regalia at the shore, posing for pictures … at a price. Some wildflowers added color to a scene that had turned cloudy, somewhat dimming the brilliant turquoise of the lake.

We joined the line of people heading up the two miles to Lake Agnes. It is constant climb, but the allure of the teahouse makes it one of the most popular in Banff, and that is saying something. Many folks on the trail appeared to have never hiked this far or this high, but if taken slow and steady, anybody can do it. There are limited views of Lake Louise below, though I’m sure the shade of the trees is a relief to those hiking up on a warm day. Take a breather at Mirror Lake, then keep climbing to Bridal Veil Falls at the outlet of Lake Agnes, about 1,300 feet higher than Lake Louise below.

The Lake Agnes Teahouse was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1901. In a bit of bad timing, we arrive around lunchtime, so a line already ran down the staircase to the teahouse. If there are open tables, you can simply claim one. The long line that can form down the stairs is for a window that serves a limited menu one customer at a time. If you want anything more than a drink, I suggest finding a table. By the time we realized this, we were near the front of line. We just got some tea and hot cocoa, even though the freshly baked bread smelled amazing. You can’t ask for a much better setting for a meal. Although a woman walking down the teahouse stairs tripped and badly hurt her leg. On our way down the mountain, we heard a helicopter that surely was flying her out.

For all the pomp and beauty of Lake Louise, we spent almost no time at the lake itself. Once you get past the pavement, these are spectacular places, perhaps unparalleled in their abundance of scenery. You just have to be willing to put up with and break through the traffic jams.

After eating a quick snack in our car that didn’t smell nearly as good as the food at Lake Agnes, we left Lake Louise (a grateful driver had been waiting to pull immediately into our spot) and passed traffic control at the turnoff to Moraine Lake Road. That lot was full, and access was being limited. Our sights were set on the Bow Valley Parkway and Johnston Canyon, but ultimately, facing another jammed parking situation, we pushed forward to Banff townsite and our campground, with a plan to beat the crowd to Johnston Canyon the next morning.

Two Jack Lake

Two Jack Lake is not far outside Banff townsite/Scott Johnson

Banff Townsite

Despite the popularity of Lake Louise, the main population center is 35 miles south in Banff townsite. A stop here is completely avoidable if your primary goal is an outdoor experience, but we decided to check out the town after setting up at our nearby campsite. The main artery, Banff Avenue, is everything you’d expect: a string of hotels, restaurants, trinket shops, and other tourist traps. It’s also the route to the famous (and massive) Banff Springs Hotel, which alone can house 1,100 guests in 578 rooms. If possible, avoid needing to make a left turn onto Banff Avenue.

The downtown area lacked the charm and breathing room of Jasper to the north. As I perused a photo gallery next to one of the busiest intersections in town, honking drowned out the elevator music every couple of minutes. We hoped to check out the Banff Park Museum (and there are a handful of worthwhile museums in town), but it had just closed for the day. And we passed on some of the popular attractions near town, such as a gondola ride and a tour of Cave and Basin National Historic Site, where the park and, ultimately, Canada’s national park system was born.

We did, however, cross a pedestrian bridge to leave downtown and take a pleasant stroll along the southern bank of the Bow River, which cuts through town. The wide, well-maintained dirt path can be hiked or biked, though there are a couple of viewing platforms with stairs. After about a half-mile, we got a close-up look at 30-foot Bow Falls, more a massive channel of whitewater rapids than your typical waterfall. Here, we also caught our only glimpse of the Banff Springs Hotel peeking over the trees.

Fortunately, in my mind, we weren’t staying the night in town. Only a couple weeks before our arrival, we were lucky to reserve one of the few open spots at the Two Jack Lakeside Campground, unanimously described as the best near Banff. Just seven miles from the hustle, horns, and hotels of town, it feels much farther away.

In contrast to campgrounds like Tunnel Mountain and Two Jack Main, which host hundreds of sites, Two Jack Lakeside has only 74 spots, 10 of which are oTENTiks, A-frame tents on raised wooden platforms. Inside, they feature lighting, electricity, hot water, beds, a table, and chairs. Outside, there are barbecues and propane. They sleep up to six and cost $120 CA per night. Considering the lakefront setting, I’d take this over anything at one of the huge chateaus.

But we just had a regular old campsite, which was perfectly fine. Trees towered above us, and there was plenty of room between spaces, though I recommend against reserving a site right next to the bathrooms, as they are equipped with noisy air driers. Two Jack Lake, where motorized boating is prohibited, was a short walk from our spot, and a trail hugs the shore with views of nearby peaks like Mount Rundle.

Being so close to town, Two Jack is ideal for new campers, and we were surrounded by them. One sweet young couple who spoke very little English had never built a campfire before, so we gave them some newspaper, a lighter, and kindling to get started. They had their fire roaring in no time. Another group bypassed newspaper entirely and poured automobile fuel on their wood before lighting it. I must admit, I was scared for their (and our) safety, but it all worked out. Another family arrived well after dark, clearly making the most of their time in the park.

In the morning, perhaps the sunniest during the week, the mountains reflected in the still of the lake. We couldn’t have asked for a better place to spend our last night in the Rockies, although I wouldn’t have turned down one of the beds in the oTENTiks.

Johnston Canyon

A catwalk hugs the walls of Johnston Canyon/Scott Johnson

Bow Valley Parkway

After being driven away the previous day, we started our final day in the Rockies by heading back to Johnston Canyon. The Bow Valley Parkway (Highway 1A), finished in 1920, was the first road between Banff and Lake Louise, but became a scenic detour when Highway 1 opened in 1958. The drive along the parkway takes longer: The road is narrower (and thus, a slower speed limit), the views are generally better, and there are great opportunities to see a variety of animals. In fact, the road closes from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. between March 1 and late June to protect the wildlife, so plan accordingly if making an early-season trip.

For good reason (including that it’s only 15 miles west of Banff townsite), Johnston Canyon is one of the area’s most popular hikes, with a pair of large waterfalls and a stunning-but-gentle 1.6-mile pathway through the limestone canyon. It’s a great option for families, but also tour groups, as evidenced by the resort and coffee kiosk near the trailhead. After leaving Lake Louise the previous day, we planned to hike the trail in the afternoon but decided to pass as cars lined both sides of the parkway for a quarter mile in each direction. Even around 8 a.m. the next morning, the fairly sizable parking lot was beginning to fill. Still, like Lake Louise, arriving early or late is your best bet for an optimal experience during the summer.

During our first day in Jasper National Park, we visited Maligne Canyon. And while impressive, the scope of the canyon couldn’t be appreciated because you can only see it from the rim. Johnston Canyon, on the other hand, invites you to experience it fully. The trail runs along rushing Johnston Creek, catwalks built onto the canyon offer the perspective of one of the ferns growing out of the wall, a short cave allows you to soak in the chilly mist of Lower Falls, and atop the rim, there are views down to the curving, crystal-clear creek and the brink of Upper Falls.

The engineering of the trail was as impressive to me as the two main waterfalls. The path starts in a forest and soon enters the namesake canyon, where the trail takes on catwalk form and hugs the eroded rock wall above the creek. I saw a couple folks clinging to the handrail as they tentatively moved forward, seemingly affected either by the height or narrowness of the trail.

In less than a mile, Lower Falls is tucked nearly out of view behind a protrusion of the canyon. I carefully tip-toed through a short tunnel to a small viewing area with a front-and-center view of the falls. At 100-foot Upper Falls, the deepest section of the canyon, we took a river-level catwalk out into the creek, and at the very end, after waiting for a few others to take pictures, a full view of the falls opened up. A short trip farther up granted a view across the canyon and to the waterfall at the height of its brink.

When we finished our hike around 10 a.m., the lot was packed and cars were already parked along the road. It is worth beating the crowds, as the viewing platforms for the two main falls are very small (only a handful of people can see Upper Falls from the lower viewing platform at one time), and the catwalk trail built along the canyon wall is only wide enough for two people. One way to avoid jockeying for a parking spot is to camp across the parkway at a Parks Canada campground or stay at Johnston Canyon Resort. But if midday is your only opportunity, this hike is worth the hassle. In a park known for its majestic peaks and brilliant lakes, Johnston Canyon might be the most enchanting trail in Banff.

Aside from the canyon, the parkway offers access to nearby peaks and views across the valley to the river and railroad. True to its scenic nature, the road even splits on a couple occasions to provide different perspectives depending on which way you’re driving. Wildflowers lined sections of the road, with brilliant blooms ready for inspection at some of the overlooks. Even though we passed through the parkway fairly early in the day, we didn’t see any bears, wolves, elk, or the like. We stopped at a spot called Moose Meadows a few times between the two days, but my wife never got to see her moose.

Paint Pots

The contrasting colors of the Paint Pots/Scott Johnson

Kootenay National Park

Our route home took us through Kootenay National Park, nestled west of Banff and southeast of Yoho National Park. Founded in 1920 in conjunction with the construction of Highway 93, Kootenay stretches out five miles on either side of the pavement. However, that’s essentially the only road in the park, and Kootenay, like Yoho (in fact, probably even more than Yoho), is a backcountry wonderland. Running from near Castle Junction in Banff for 58 miles down to Radium Hot Springs, there are no communities within the park boundary, just portals to wilderness.

With at least eight hours of driving ahead, we took advantage of one last chance to stretch our legs. A short trail (less than an hour out and back) leads to three mineral-rich green pools called the Paint Pots, which contrast with the red color of the surrounding iron-infused earth. The area is significant to First Nations peoples like the Ktunaxa, who used the red clay to paint their bodies, clothes, and teepees, and to draw pictures on the rocks. In the early 1900s, a failed mining enterprise attempted to use the clay as pigment for paint.

Check the map at the trailhead because, after crossing a picturesque suspension bridge over the Vermilion River, the trail splits, with one path heading back north along the river toward Marble Canyon. For better or worse, someone had carved an arrow into the well-worn park sign. After emerging from a forest, a sort of boardwalk leads through the orange-tinted mud and pools of the Ochre Beds. Not much farther, up a hill, the Paint Pots themselves are more interesting and novel than awe-inspiring. But they are a sample of the diversity of the Rockies landscape.

Although I saw this trail described as wheelchair-friendly, there are stairs on either side of the bridge, and the path through the ochre beds can be very bumpy and muddy.

Back at our car and with the clock ticking, we passed by more stunning, glacier-capped mountains and numerous other attractions before descending into the valley to popular Radium Hot Springs, where we left the Canadian Rockies, which had towered over us for the past week, in our rear-view mirror. Next time, we know to set aside at least two weeks to revisit some of our favorite places and venture out to the many locations we couldn’t get to this time.

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