Canada 2017 – Day 3 – Banff to Lake Louise

To we are heading from Banff to Lake Louise. And we’re going on a bear hunt!! Mr Jetlag was still hanging around like a bad smell. I was awake at 3am. Suzanne and Max an hour later. We made no effort to get up and out quickly, so it was gone 8am before we started loading the car.

While the Icefields Parkway is the main road to take North between Banff and Jasper, The Bow Valley Parkway is the suggested route from Banff to Lake Louise. We have heard that this route is also better for wildlife spotting

We are on a bear hunt after all!

The stunning drive from Banff to Lake Louise

The drive is stunning and you are obliged to sit back and enjoy everything it has to offer. The views from the car were amazing, the views when pulled over even better.

The drive from Banff to Lake Louise was full of great twisty roads, the leaves a mixture of colours from green to gold. A whole Autumn season at the same time.

We made a couple of stops, with the main one being at a place called Johnston Canyon. We made the 1.2km ‘hike’ to the lower falls.

Emphasis on the term hike, as it wasn’t really a hike as I would see it. Any walk that is mainly paved with the ability to take a buggy isn’t a real hike.

We made it to the lower falls and fought for our position to get some decent photos, before joining the gaggle of people queuing to go through a small hole in the wall.

We had no idea what to expect the other side, but we joined the queue anyway.

As we ducked through the rock, the thunderous noise becomes even more thunderous. We popped out the other side, closer to the falls. So close in fact Max was a little scared. His mood wasn’t helped when scurrying back through the hole he slipped and landed bottom first.

It wasn’t his first stumble this holiday and surely won’t be his last.

Lunchtime. A stop off driving from Banff to Lake Louise

Two hundred yards up the road we parked up in a pull out to eat lunch out of the boot of the car. One of the rare times a pull out didn’t have a picnic table.

Had we driven another 200 yards we would have found a lovely stop with picnic tables. Or perhaps we would have chosen the next spot, another 200 yards up the road from the first one, again with picnic tables!

This was the view to be enjoyed from one of the spots with the picnic tables. It seems no matter where we stop on this holiday so far, we are smacked in the face with views so stunning they are hard to believe they exist.

We entered the parkway with excitement and anticipation but exited with sadness and disappointment.

Sadness that the amazing drive was over. Disappointment that our bear hunt thus far had been futile.

However, after many (many) photo stops, we made it to the village of Lake Louise. Small, not much there, maybe even built just to service the many tourists heading to it’s two stunning lakes.

Trying to Park at Lake Louise

Lake Louise itself, and another called Moraine Lake. More on Moraine Lake tomorrow, but the rest of today was all about seeing Lake Louise and getting to the hotel.

All of this proved to be more of a challenge than we had anticipated. It appeared we were 3 of about a million people trying to see the lake today, Sunday. As a result, there was no parking and we were told by one of the many marshalls to follow the signs for the Shuttle Bus.

There was the first sign, straight on. Then another sign. Straight on again. Ah, another sign up ahead. This must be it. Nope. Straight on. Then a sign to turn right, which took us onto the Icefields Parkway back to Banff.

Lake Louise

After a while, we thought someone was up to mischief. Surely there was a closer spot suitable for a Shuttle service?

I guess not as 2km down the road there was another sign telling us to pull in. We did, parked up, and here was our bus!

We were about to get our first ride on a traditional School Bus. We’d seen them around so often on previous trips.

Mike, our driver was very talkative, asking where everyone was from. Of course, Max wanted to have a good chat, and Mike duly obliged!

We jumped off the bus at Lake Louise and was about to have another, probably the biggest so far, of those smacked in the face moment by the stunningness of it. Yes, I think I just made that word up, but stunningness fits perfectly.

Time was getting on and after spending about an hour here, and taking probably 3 photos a minute (I’ll leave you to do the math), we headed back and joined the long line of people waiting for the shuttle.

Dinner back at Lake Louise Inn

One hour later, we were back in the hotel room and decided on a simple dinner in one of the hotel restaurants.

Explorers Lounge was doing an exceedingly good impression of a old fashioned British Legion club (if anyone can remember them).

Max was a good boy at dinner, chatting to the waitresses and generally being as cute as a tired 3 year old could be.

We dragged ourselves back to the room, and settled Max in his room.

We then pulled the bed out of the wall (not a sentence I expected to say on this holiday) and fell into it.

So the end of another day, driving from Banff to Lake Louise. Tomorrow is our busiest day of the trip. Lakes, glaciers, skywalks and scenery to feast on.

Until I write again….Richard, Suzanne and Max

Distance covered today – 95km