The ultimate photospot - Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks 340
What and Why
Banff National Park, is one of the six national parks around the Canadian Rockies that form the UNESCO WHS Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks. Banff National Park is actually the first national park of Canada, established since the late 19th century CE, and is famous for its very picturesque landscape, especially the glaciers, snow mountains and alpine climate. Banff is actually the most visited national parks in Canada and bring in more than 3 million tourists annually. Lake Louise is also one of the most photographed landscape in Canada and has become an icon for the state of Alberta.
As mentioned this WHS actually includes six national parks. This one is only the first of the series, probably the most scenic.
Toponymy
The area was named Banff in 1884 CE by George Stephen, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, recalling his birthplace in Banff, United Kingdom, which in turn may have been derived from the Scottish Gaelic banbh meaning 'suckling pig'.
See
The map of the national park. Banff National Park is a relatively narrow park with literally one single main trunk road connecting all the main sites.
We shall go through the sites from Banff town along this main highway from the right-hand bottom of the map, going North along the way.
Banff Town
The town of the Banff is a pleasant town with a Swiss flavour, offering all the varieties of accommodations, shops and restaurants for tourists. The town also houses the Banff Park Museum, and of course the usual visitor centre.
Sanson Peak and Banff Gondola
The closest attraction from the town is the gondola ride to the Sanson Peak which used to be an observatory. Once you reach the top with the gondola, one will enjoy a full panoramic view of the Banff town.
The mountain is also called the Sulphur Mountain, and as the name suggests there are a number of hotsprings near the lower slopes. These hotsprings are still in operation.
On top of the mountain, there is the gondola summit, pictured below, housing a small museum, and the usual cafes and giftshops.
A short boardwalk-walk from the gondola station will bring you to the summit, with the treat being a breathtaking view of the nearby Rockies and Banff town. Spectacular view honestly.
Hoodoo
With a big sign citing, 'What the heck is hoodoo?', this is an area that draws tourists as it is near the town. Hoodoo is a tall thin rock spire made of sandstone with a hard and dense rock sitting on top, usually formed due to prolonged weathering. They are generally formed within sedimentary rock and volcanic rock formations, with a significant signature of layering lines. There is no evil spells involved.
The trail, called the Hoodoo Trail is a good hiking trail to witness this hoodoo.
Johnston Canyon
A short drive away from the Sanson Peak will bring one to the entrance of Johnston Canyon, which effectively is a creek from main mountain.
The creek cuts through the limestone rocks to form sheer canyon walls, as well as spectacular waterfalls, tunnels, and pools.
The entire canyon is well paved by boardwalk which makes the hike very easy. In fact you hardly put in a sweat with the one-hour journey.
The final treat is the Upper Fall at the end of the boardwalk, although one can continue hiking towards the higher mountains.
Very scenic view from the canyon. The lazy view below is from the drive, not the canyon hike.
Moraine Lake
Moraine Lake, while not particular big, is another major magnet in the park due to its very unique turquoise blue colour. The lake, while glacially fed, does not reach its highest water level until mid to late June. When it is full, it reflects its unique colour is due to the refraction of light off the rock flour deposited in the lake on a continual basis by surrounding glaciers. We were lucky as we were there in June.
If the lake catches your eye and brings a sense of déjà-vu, it is because it is one of the login screens for Windows 10. By the way, the colours of Moraine Lake makes it just as instagrammable as other parts of Banff, including Lake Louise, though Instagram was not anything popular during our time of visit back in 2013.
Around the lake are very good meadow vistas with a good chance to meet a number of wild animals.
Lake Louise
Hands-up or down, here is the ultimate photospot. Similar to the other two lakes, Moraine Lake and Peyto Lake, the lake appears turquoise blue due to limestone flour from the glacier flow. The lake is named after the Princess Louise (née Louisa Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria (née Victoria Hanover), and the wife of John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, who was the Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883 CE. The lake is probably the photographed landscape of Canada and remains the brand of Banff and Alberta.
Around the lake there is a good hiking trail and there are plenty of activities available to enjoy. To me, sitting there and walking around the hiking trail is already like walking in paradise. Here is the scene around the lake, the word picturesque is the best and only description on the landscape.
The luxury hotel, Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, is located right in front of the lake and provides unrivalled view to the lake. Clearly people like me cannot afford to stay in this hotel and we can only enter the hotel to take photographs.
Near to the lake, there is the train station for the ultimate luxury: the train dinner in a luxurious train called the Royal Banff Dinner Train - Royal Canadian Pacific. Again something that we can take photograph only but not to actually dine there.
Peyto Lake
Similar to Moraine Lake, the Peyto Lake give a turquoise bluish colour during June due to the limestone flour inside the lake.
As in other parts of Banff, plenty of wild animals in sight. Here we identified a walking moose.
...and antelopes...
Buy and Do
Banff town is the main town that offers a large number of souvenir shoppes. As usual do not expect things to be cheap.
Eat and Drink
We had a good dinner in the Old Spaghetti Factory, which is a chained restaurant. The food is great, albeit there is no specialty in the dish variety, except perhaps beef, which is fairly common in North America anyway. The interior rustic decor of the restaurant is a joy to be in. Banff can be an expensive place to dine though.
Stay
We stayed in the Aspen Lodge, which is very posh but affordable hotel in the town of Banff. On the other hand, we never actually used another amenities of the hotel except the bed during the night.
Getting There and Around
Banff is around 1.5 hour drive away from Calgary where most people fly in. As in other North American national parks, drive is the only option. Banff National Park deserves at least three or four days of visit, longer if you are mesmerised by sceneries. The entrance fee to Banff National Park is CAD $10 per person.
UNESCO Inscription
The contiguous national parks of Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho, as well as the Mount Robson, Mount Assiniboine and Hamber provincial parks, studded with mountain peaks, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls, canyons and limestone caves, form a striking mountain landscape. The Burgess Shale fossil site, well known for its fossil remains of soft-bodied marine animals, is also found there.
References
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