My TripAdvisor Review No.544: Columbia Icefield, Icefields Parkway, Alberta, Canada.

The Glacier Is Just One Toe Of The Giant Icefield Beyond.

Going up the Athabasca Glacier in a Snow-Coach was one of the highlights of our Rocky Mountain trip experience. In reality the glacier was just one protruding toe of the giant Columbia Icefield.

After traveling a few hundred meters up the glacier in the Snow Coach we realized the true enormity of the Columbia Icefield which stretched into the horizon between the two mountains. It is the largest ice field in the Rocky Mountains. It straddles the Continental Divide and spills over into the province of British Columbia. The Icefield feeds five other major glaciers besides the Athabasca Glacier which we were standing on.

This was our first ever experience of walking on a glacier, and we then understood the importance of preserving the icefields on the top of mountains. It is these icefields which hold the snow and ice in winter, to slowly melt and supply us with water to drink and to irrigate the land so that farmers can grow the crops and plants which feed us throughout the year.

Be prepared to face the chilly winds and maybe some snow when going up the glacier. The temperature drops quite drastically even in mid-summer.

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Date of experience: August 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.543: Athabasca Glacier, Alberta, Canada.

Walking On Cloud Nine!

Going up the Athabasca Glacier in a Snow-Coach was one of the highlights of our Rocky Mountain trip experience. We had pre-booked our SnoCoach tickets at the time of booking our bus tour so we did not have to wait much at the Icefield Discovery Centre.

First an ordinary bus took us up midway to the SnoCoach terminus where we boarded the giant coach with huge tires. It took about 15 minutes to reach the glacier where we were allowed to get down and walk on the crunchy ice of the glacier. Suddenly it was freezing cold in mid-summer, enough to make my cell-phone shut down. We were thankful to have worn warm clothing and proper walking shoes. There were flags of different countries planted in the ice, and a trickle of pure glacier melt water which we collected in a bottle to drink later.

There were signs that the glacier is receding at an alarming rate, which is a clear indication of global warming.

For us the glacier walk was like an other worldly experience, as if we had been walking on Cloud Nine!

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Date of experience: August 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.542: Icefields Parkway, Alberta, Canada.

Breath-taking Drive From Banff To Jasper.

We traveled the Icefields Parkway, which is part of Alberta Highway No. 93, north of the Trans-Canada Highway No.1. It links Lake Louise, near Banff, with Jasper in the north, a distance of about 230 km. It is always open in the summer months from May to September. In winter, chains or winter rated radial tires are required by law, and there may be road closures without warning. There is no cell coverage and trucks are not allowed on this road.

The drive from Banff to Jasper along the Parkway is known to be one of the most beautiful and breath-taking drives in the world with snow capped peaks, glaciers, forests and lakes along the route where one can stop to admire the stunning scenery. There is plenty of wildlife like bears, wolves, elk, moose, deer and many other creatures roaming the forests, but you have to be lucky to spot any if you are merely driving along. We drove under many wildlife overpasses, or corridors, which have been specially constructed and are inaccessible to the normal traveler due to it being fenced.

A Canadian national parks permit is required to travel on the Icefields Parkway, but since we did the route in a guided tour bus we left that worry to the tour company. We stopped at many of the popular tourist places along the Parkway; prominent among them being Bow Lake, Peyto Lake and Bow Summit, and the Icefields Centre at the Athabasca Glacier.

We finally stopped in Jasper for an evening cup of coffee and some shopping before carrying on further to Valemount where we stayed the night in a motel.

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Date of experience: August 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.541: Bow Summit, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada.

Bird's Eye View Of Peyto Lake From Bow Summit.

To reach the Bow Summit we had to hike up further from the Peyto Lake viewing platform which was already overcrowded with tourists. It required some more effort and time to get up there but it was well worth the trouble. The view from the summit was one of the best views in the Rocky Mountains we had so far. We got a bird’s eye view of Peyto Lake, the bluest of the lakes, and the surrounding peaks. The Bow Summit was so peaceful with hardly any crowd.

We were lucky to have travelled by bus as the parking lot for buses and handicapped cars are the closest to the Peyto Lake viewing platform, and so the walk to the summit is doable.

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Date of experience: August 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.540: Peyto Lake, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada.

True Blue.

Peyto Lake was the next lake on our itinerary after Bow Lake. It is named after Bill Peyto, a pioneering trapper and trail guide from the Banff area. Access to Peyto Lake was just off the Icefields Parkway and travelling by bus we were fortunate to get to a parking lot closer to the lake. It was a short uphill walk to get to the viewing platform.

The water was so blue, it was a sight to behold. Peyto Lake is one of the most beautiful and one of the bluest glacier fed lakes in the Canadian Rockies. The distinctive blue color is due to rock flour particles which flows down into the lake with the glacial melt and scatters reflected sunlight in an unique way.

There is a viewing platform which was overflowing with tourists, so we trudged up a little higher towards the Bow Summit to get a better and uncluttered panoramic view of the scenery.

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Date of experience: August 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.539: Bow Lake, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada.

Beautiful Lake Along Icefields Parkway.

After visiting Bow Falls we departed from Banff and traveled along the Icefields Parkway towards Jasper. Our next stop was at Bow Lake which happened to be along the Icefields Parkway in Banff National Park. It is the lake closest to the headwaters of the Bow River which runs down past Banff town to Calgary and beyond.

Bow Lake is a small but beautiful lake surrounded by the high peaks of the Waputik Range of mountains. Water in the lake is the meltwater from the Bow Glacier and is turquoise in colour with a bluish tinge. We walked down from the parking area to the historical Num-Ti-Jah Lodge, a quaint wooden building with a red sloping roof, to the lakeside. The water was very calm and serene and reflected the images of the mountain peaks.

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Date of experience: August 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.538: Bow Falls, Banff, Alberta, Canada.

Bow Falls Is Worth A Wow!

Bow Falls presented a spectacular sight with the Bow River gushing down from the higher reaches of Banff town. The water was cascading down with a roaring sound. We walked along the trail next to the parking lot and then climbed some steps to get a view of the cascading water from a vantage point.

The Falls are located between the famous Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel and the Banff Springs Golf Course, and less than a kilometre from the Banff Avenue Bridge across the Bow River. There is a small parking lot next to the viewpoint.

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Date of experience: August 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.537: Banff Avenue, Banff, Alberta, Canada.

Pot Of Gold At The End Of The Road.

We stayed one night at the ‘Banff Voyager Inn’ which is located at the north end of Banff Avenue, in the picturesque town of Banff, Alberta. It is the main street of the town along which most of the hotels, restaurants, shops, museums and art galleries can be found. We walked about 2 km to the end of the Avenue to the bridge across the Bow River. There is the beautiful and serene Central Park and The Bow River Trail at the south end of Banff Avenue.

We were blessed with a beautiful rainbow while we were walking, and captured it on our cameras so that we could track our pot of gold at the end.

On the way back we visited the IGA Superstore and picked up some groceries to take back to our room. It was truly an enjoyable walk with the views of the snow-capped peaks all around us.

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Date of experience: August 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.536: Moraine Lake, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada.

Get The Best Views On The Rocks.

After visiting Lake Louise our bus took us to Moraine Lake about 14 km distant. The colour of the water here was slightly more blue than the waters of Lake Louise which was more a shade of emerald. These unique colours are due to the reflection and refraction of light from the rock flour sediment particles suspended in the water.

We could not help but compare the two lakes. Both the lakes were equally crowded with tourists, but the scenery around Moraine Lake was very different because it was surrounded by a pile of rocks which afforded some unique hiking trails up the rocky pathways to the top within a short distance around the lake. After climbing up the 'Rockpile Trail' we got stunning views of the lake from the top. The lake is surrounded by mountains and is known as 'The Valley Of The Ten Peaks'.

Moraine Lake is so called because of the pile of rocks (moraine) brought down by the glacier which offered a unique vantage point for grand views. It is definitely one of the prettiest lakes in Banff National Park, not to be missed just because of its slightly smaller size.

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Date of experience: August 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.535: Banff Voyager Inn, Banff, Alberta, Canada.

Decent Overnight Stay.

We stopped at the Banff Voyager Inn during our bus tour of the Canadian Rockies for one night, with all our bus co-passengers. We had a decent 2-queen bed room for the three of us. The room had a flat-screen TV, a common bed side table with lamps and intercom, a mini fridge, a microwave oven, a chest of drawers and a round corner table with two chairs. There was a sit-out balcony, but it did not have much of a view since it was facing the wall of another wing.

The hotel has a heated swimming pool and gym but we did not use it as our stay was too short. The hotel is located at one end of town so we walked down the street, known as the Banff Avenue, to the other end, and went to the IGA Banff superstore where we bought some salami, cheese and burger buns for dinner.

The next day we got complimentary breakfast which included coffee, fruit juices, sausage, cereal and milk, bread with jam or butter, and scrambled eggs with toast and was quite good.

We had a comfortable night’s stay at the Hotel.

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Date of stay: August 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.534: Fairview Lookout (Lake Louise), Alberta, Canada.

What A View!

With the limited time at our disposal and the need to exercise our limbs due to a long bus ride, we decided to do the 2 km trek up to the Fairview Lookout. It seemed to be the shortest trek option from the many trail options at Lake Louise.

As we climbed up the narrow trail, through the dense tangle of branches of the forest trees, it gradually became steeper, and we had to stop and rest a couple of times. It took us about half an hour to reach the view point, but it was well worth the effort. We got a bird’s eye-view of the turquoise coloured lake and the Fairmont Chateau Hotel at the north shore end of the lake. It looked beautiful.

We were glad to have taken the effort as we got a stunning of the full oval shaped lake, and we got to escape the madding crowd of tourists stuck on the lake shore. Of course, we had to rush back down to be in time for our bus.

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Date of experience: August 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.533: Lake Louise, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada.

Dream Lake.

After visiting Emerald Lake our bus took us to Lake Louise just across the provincial border in Alberta. The colour of the water here was very much the same shade of emerald. This unique colour is due to the reflection of light from the rock flour sediment particles suspended in the water.

We had about an hour to roam around, have our lunch, use the washroom and dash back to the bus. It was quite crowded with parking available for cars quite some distance away. Luckily we were in a bus which could get nearby parking. At the lake shore we went for a trek up a trail to the Fairmont View Point from where we got an excellent bird’s eye view of the lake and the Fairmont Chateau from an elevation. We had to rush down to get back to the bus in time. We had our packed picnic lunch at the trail side, sitting on a rock under a cedar tree, keeping one eye open for prowling bears.

Lake Louise is supposed to be the most photographed lake in the world. It is surrounded by mountain peaks in a heavily forested valley. Being a beautiful site of natural wonder has its own drawbacks in that it attracts such huge crowds from all over the world. Finding parking is big problem during daylight hours unless you come before 8 am or after 3 pm. Bus tours get preference to the parking lots nearby. If you are staying at the Lake Louise Village or at Banff it is advisable to come by the shuttles or Roam Transits.

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Date of experience: August 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No. 532: Emerald Lake, Yoho NP, BC. Canada.

Gem Of A Lake.

This was the first in the series of beautiful lakes that we visited on our bus tour of the Rocky Mountains of Canada. It is located in Yoho National Park, about an hour’s ride from the town of Golden on the way to Banff. Our bus stopped here for about an hour and we had sufficient time to take a walk around the pretty lake surrounded by snow-capped peaks.

The colour of the water was a sparkling turquoise green, a colour which we have never seen in any other lake before this. This remarkable colour is believed to be due to the suspended particles of glacial sediment or rock flour which gets into the water when the snows melt in the summers.

Boats and canoes can be hired for a serene ride in the lake. There is an impressive chalet type hotel, The Emerald Lake Lodge perched at the edge of the lake. There was sufficient parking space near the lake and public washrooms as well.

We enjoyed our brief visit and leisurely walk around this stunning lake.

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Date of experience: August 2019

My TripAdvisor Review No.531: Rogers Pass Discovery Centre, BC, Canada.

Like A Museum Visit.

There is a Visitor Information Centre here, which has a good display of stuffed wildlife found in the region, as well as information about the history of the Pass. The taxidermist had done an excellent job of stuffing the animals and the displays were almost life like.

In addition there is a lot of information about the history and construction of the Trans-Canadian Highway and the Canadian Pacific Railway, both of which traverse through the Rogers Pass. Many lives were lost due to avalanches during the construction, and to this day there is always threat of avalanches. You will find a couple of artillery guns stationed at the site, to be used whenever there is a threat of an avalanche.

There is a large and clean public washroom, but no coffee or snacks shop. There is a large rest area with plenty of parking space.

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Date of experience: August 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.530: Roger's Pass Summit, Glacier NP, BC, Canada.

Breath Taking Views At This Pit Stop.

We took a break to stretch our legs at this remote but historic site on the Trans-Canada Highway, Rogers Pass Summit, in the Selkirk mountains of BC Rockies. It is located in the heart of Glacier National Park, and is about two hours drive from Revelstoke on the way to Golden, on the Trans-Canada Highway.

There are beautiful views of the mountains all around. These mountains are popular for ski mountaineering, camping, hiking and mountain climbing. There is a Visitor Information Centre here, which has a good display of stuffed wildlife and information about the history of the Pass. There is a public toilet, but no coffee or snacks shop.

It is a calm and scenic place with a good rest area and plenty of parking to stop while driving along the highway.

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Date of experience: August 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.529: Last Spike (Craigellachie), BC, Canada.

Uniting Canada.

We took a break to stretch our legs at this remote but very historic site on the Trans-Canada Highway, at Craigellachie. It lies midway between Sicamous and Revelstoke in the British Columbia Rocky Mountains. The railway line runs alongside and if you are lucky you may see a train go by.

This place is famous as the historic site where the ‘Last Spike’ of the Canadian Pacific Railway was driven in, in the year 1885. It signaled the completion of the CPR, Canada’s first transcontinental railroad, joining eastern and western Canada, thus uniting the two remote parts of the nation.

There were many placards explaining the significance of the site. There is a nice little gift and souvenir shop, and a large and clean washroom, but there were no snacks or coffee shop, though there is a rest area besides the railway track. The senior staff are friendly and happy to meet the visitors.

Not many tourists stop here, so it is a calm and scenic place to rest while driving along the highway.

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Date of experience: August 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.528: Downtown Marina Kelowna, BC, Canada.

Marina And Promenade By The Lake.

We stopped at Kelowna for lunch during our bus tour of the Rocky Mountains from Vancouver. After lunch at the Craft Beer Market we strolled down to the Downtown Marina nearby. It is a great place for a walk on the promenade by the Okanagan Lakeside. The Kelowna City Park is also located here.

What attracted us to the place was a tall white fibre-glass sculpture of the ‘Sails’, a piece of artwork created by R. Dow Reid, a well-known local sculptor. The Downtown Marina from where you can hire boats is located just besides this forty foot structure. It is a well planned marina from where you can enjoy a boat ride around the huge scenic lake.

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Date of experience: August 2019

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