Great Canadian Loop 3 - Lake Louise & More Banff + Yoho National Park

The two main attractions for Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada are Lake Moraine and Lake Louise.  While I'm partial to Lake Moraine, I think that Lake Louise draws more tourists.  It helps when you have a 5 Star hotel right next to the incredible Lake.  

We did not arrive in the Lake Louise area our second day until the early afternoon.  There is a ski resort on the other side of the valley with a chair lift that provides an incredible view of Lake Louise and Mount Victoria, and we opted to see it from that perspective before actually going to the lake proper.  We decided to escape some of the tourist onslaught by taking an hour hike that would provide a beautiful view of the lake and the hotel and surrounding mountains.  Some of the pictures show the haze that was pervasive that day.

Earlier in the day, we had taken a mile and a half hike to Wapta Falls in Yoho National Park that abuts Banff, again, to escape tourists.  As with much of what we saw during our time in Canada and Montana, there was ample water, especially at this time of year, and Wapta Falls was flowing mightily.  And the glacial colored river (green) was ample.

We had stayed the previous night in Golden B.C., but after our Lake Louise day, we stayed in Yoho National Park at an inn in the small community of Field, B.C.  I don't know that we will ever stay in quite so majestic surroundings as we did that night.  And for the record, the inn had a terrific restaurant where I enjoyed the best meal of the trip.  The name of the restaurant?  Truffle Pigs!

1&2 - Wapta Falls, powerful green glacial water

3 - A river, which centuries ago flowed over these rocks, undercut the rocks through powerful erosion and now flows under them

4 - Calm, lovely, scenic Emerald Lake, with lots of canoes

5 - Taken from the other side of the valley opposite Lake Louise, Mt. Temple, at 11,627 ft one of the highest in Banff

6&7 - From across the valley looking at Lake Louise and Mt. Victoria which is behind it

8 - Mt. Victoria, covered with glaciers

9 to 11 - The various hues or shades of Lake Louise, with the 5 Star Fairmont Hotel on its shore (notice the boats)

12 - Beautiful Lake Louise and Mt. Victoria from ground level

13 - Majestic Castle Mountain

14 - Looking out the front of our Inn in Field, B.C., home of Truffle Pigs!