So excited to be sharing our banff and Jasper guide with all of you. It was such an amazing but short trip and has been on our bucket list for a while to go. If you haven’t been we highly suggest it.
We went from May 24th-28th and the lakes were actually still a little frozen but the piercing blue really came through and it still looked stunning with ice on it. We suggest not going any earlier than the 2nd to last week in May if you really want to see the pretty lakes. Most places said if we came back a week later everything would be melted. So if you want to see everything completely melted we suggest the second week in June to be safe.
We started off our trip in the city of Banff and stayed at the Best Western there. We rented a car there and we highly suggest it if you really want to see what you want to see instead of following a tour schedule. We always find it is better to do it this way as you get to spend your time your way. The Best Western was in a great spot in the middle of town and was a really great price. The room was large and spacious so we had rooms for all of our bags and plenty of room to walk around. The balcony looked out to the mountains which was stunning. Also breakfast was included which is always a huge plus!
Lake Louise
We headed off to our first stop for the day which was Lake Louise. If you are staying in the city of Banff, Lake Louise is about an hour drive to get to and is around a lot of beautiful sites. On the way to Lake Louise you can stop off the side of the road and see Castle Rock which is stunning. You are surrounded by the Rockies so any picture you take looks stunning with the mountains in the background. Once we arrived at Lake Louise (we suggest getting there in the morning as it gets crowded) it was just a short walk up from the parking lot. There is an overflow parking lot you can park in incase this lot is full. We suggest not doing that if you don’t have to because they only bus people back and forth to Lake Louise and not Lake Moraine. We walked around the lake but there are also a few trails. One is to a tea house on the mountain which we heard is amazing but it still had snow on it and were on a short time frame so we didn’t do that one or the longer hike they offer looks completely over lake Louise. We heard this hike is a must but it also still had snow and we really didn’t have the time. (I think it was around a two hour hike). They also have canoes you can rent on the lake when the ice is melted.
Lake Moraine
Next stop on our list was Lake Moraine. Which is 15 minutes down the street from Lake Louise and in the same town. When you walk from the parking lot of Lake Moraine to the lake there will be a small trail to the left- take it! This is a short walk up a few stairs to get to the top and over look the lake. We aren’t sure if there are other trails here but just walking around this lake was stunning. When we left here we headed into town and grabbed a bite to eat at one the restaurants in this area (sorry don’t remember the name but it wasn’t anything crazy). We found that most restaurants in Canada resembled the US but we didn’t go on this trip for the food!
Emerald Lake
After that we headed towards Emerald Lake which is actually in Yoho National Park. It’s about an half hour from Lake Louise so an hour and a half from the city of Banff. This was a site to see! Again no need to hike anywhere as the parking lot leads you right to the lake. If you want to hike though the trail is about two hours to walk around the whole lake. Again unfortunately we didn’t have time so we just walked a little in the area. They also have canoes here. They are $60 Canadian dollars to rent for an hour. We would have done this as well if we had more time. We asked them if they would let us rent it for a half hour instead but they wouldn’t which was upsetting.
Natural Bridge
On the way to Emerald Lake there is a little stop off point called natural bridge. It used to be a waterfall but the water pressure gradually broke down the rock and formed what it is today. If you look at the photo it looks like there is a bridge of rock over it. Not a super crowded area but a cute stop off.
Johnson Canyon
On our way back to the city of Banff we stopped at Johnson Canyon. It’s about 20 minutes from the town of Banff and took us about an hour to get to from Emerald Lake. Here there are two trails you can take. One is to the small falls- the sign says it takes about 30 min but it took us maybe 15 minutes to walk to. The next is to the large falls. This one I think did take us an hour 15 or so to get to. When you get to the large falls there’s two paths you can take. One is an overheard view of the falls and one is a direct view. We suggest both! We did get a little wet but it was worth it for the shot. You can also go see the Inkpots. It’s about another hour and a half walk but it was getting late so we had to skip this. We also read online that it was not worth it but we didn’t go so not sure if it is or not!
Lower Falls
Upper FallsTwo Jacks Lake & Lake Minnewalka
Our last stops of the day we’re two jacks lake and Lake minnewalka. These we 15 minute from our hotel so super close and they are also right next to each other. We went to these around 9pm as the sun doesn’t set until around 10:30 pm. Two jacks lake was really pretty and you can paddle board on it. 5 minutes down the street is lake Minnewalka. You can take a boat tour on this lake ( we wish we got to) and there are also super cute chairs to take pictures on hah!
Two Jacks Lake
Lake Minnewalka The next day we woke up really early as well and headed towards Jasper taking the Icefields parkway. Did you know that this is the 11th most scenic route in the world? It really is so beautiful and a must see. It’s a one lane road on both sides with points where you can pass. It’s also great because every stop off point is labeled so you know when to pull over to see something. It is really built for tourists ha and I think only tourist were on it. There is also a lot of wildlife on this road. We saw bears, goats, and rams so keep your eyes pealed for them.
Bow Lake
Our first stop was bow lake. I think it was about an hour 45 from the town of Banff. Driving to Jasper you will first pass a lookout point for bow lake and we suggest stopping here to get a beautiful picture. 2 minutes down the street there is also a little town, turn in there too! There is a cute little bridge you can take pictures on (see below). There is also a trail to a waterfall if you have time. They lady said it was about a two hour hike. We stuck our toes into the glacier water here and boy was it cold. Supposedly the lake water in Banff never actually gets warm since it’s coming from the glaciers.
Peyto Lake
About 15 minutes down the street you will see a sign called Bow summit. We actually almost didn’t stop here because we weren’t sure what it was. Thank god we did because it was our favorite stop! It was Peyto Lake which is why we didn’t know why it was called bow summit on the sign. When your turn into the lot there are two options 1 to hike the tail up or 2. To walk up the other half of the closed off road (this night open later in the season but was closed off for us). Walk up the closed off road it’s about a 15 minute walk to get to the upper parking lot. Once there you can go either to the right or straight. Go to the right to get straight to the view of Peyto Lake. Also when you get there there is an opening to go out to the rock where you can get the best pictures (or just climb over the fence).
We will be writing the second half of this post soon but in the meantime feel free to ask us any questions. There were a few places we didn’t get to see in Banff like the Hot Springs, The gondola to the top of the mountain, and a few hiking trails but we hope to go back here one day anyway.
Hope this was helpful!
XoXo
Kelly & Alex
Kim Schreiner
June 12, 2018 at 11:10 amAfter you left Lake Louise did you walk to Moraine Lake or drive? Said it took 15 minutes but not sure if that was walking or driving time as from what I understand it is hard to get parking at Moraine Lake. Thank you.
livelycraze@gmail.com
June 29, 2018 at 2:42 pmHi Kim, this was driving time. It is definitely hard to find parking. We got to Moraine lake at about 12 and we were able to find parking but it also wasn’t peek season then. You could go to Moraine lake first and then head back up to Lake Louise! We hope that helps, let us know if you have any other questions.