A wandering Canadian: Banff Gondola, Emerald Lake & Natural Bridge (Yoho National Park), Lake Louise, & Johnston Canyon (Days 3-4)

There are many travel blogs out there, and they all serve their purpose. For me, the purpose has always been first and foremost to capture my experiences in the moment; to preserve something of the immediate, intimate nature of the present. One day, when I can no longer travel, I can read these words back and recall these lived moments in a way that will stand the test of time, long after memory has blurred around the edges.

Now that I have R, perhaps he too will one day find pieces of himself and pieces of us woven through these pages, for these are experiences he will never consciously remember, yet I like to think that these lakes, these forests, these staggeringly beautiful mountains, will make other kinds of impressions on his mind and heart; become a part of his internal tapestry and the way he views the world.

So if you are here to find travel tips for how to do Banff with kids, or to find information to perfect your itinerary, you may indeed find those things here, but incidentally. What you will find, however, is a small glimpse into how these places and landscapes have made themselves a part of me.

I would be remiss, too, if I didn't mention the other person I am writing for. She was - and always will be - this blog's biggest fan. She would read the latest installment of every blog entry with an avidness of one awaiting the next installment of their favourite novel or soap opera (and once made her son drive over from another town with his laptop when hers wasn't working so she could read the newest post). She would email out my blog entries to everyone she thought would read them. She would tell me, whenever I got back from our travels, that I should write a book.

Even though she is no longer with us, I feel compelled to write for her regardless. So Grandma U., this one's for you.

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Banff Gondola to Sulpher Mountain

This morning we set off on the Banff Gondola, which is essentially a large pod dangling from a metal rope that brings you from safe solid ground up high into the mountains, and the experience is as mildly alarming as that sounds. We were a little worried we wouldn't make our reservation in time, as Banff was full of lengthy construction delays at every turn, but we eventually arrived at parking and thankfully found a spot.

Initially R was excited by the idea of riding up to the mountain in a gondola, but as we waited in line and he observed the wild reality of it, his face turned slightly concerned, the way it always does when he is processing large pieces of information. And truth be told, we were also processing it, with J commenting "how is this safe?" Yet, safe it was, and by the time we hopped in. R was all smiles as he ate his cookie and stared out the gondola windows, and we all marveled at the incredible beauty of being so high up above the tree tops, looking down at the expanse of forest, mountains and river below.

The views at the top along the boardwalk trail were equally breathtaking. Mountains everywhere you looked - 360 degrees of them. The views of the valley below, with the Bow River and expanses of forest, made you feel so small, and the world seem so fast and big. What impression must it have on one's very being, to live surrounded by this kind of beauty? Or even by just the mountains themselves? Surely people don't walk around in wonder their entire lives, but there must be subtle changes it has on one's way of thinking and being, one's way of taking up space and moving through the world.

A view along the Sulpher Mountain Boardwalk,
looking back towards the Gondola/interpretive centre

We walked along the boardwalk at R's pace, which was remarkably fast. The child can hike for kilometers on end without stopping. His internal drive for movement, the outdoors and general discovery knows no bounds. You can take the boardwalk and stairs trail all the way to the Sanson's Peak viewpoint, which I highly recommend. The views at every turn are simply incredible. Also not to be missed is taking the elevator back at the interpretive centre up to the 4th floor, where you can come out on the roof and enjoy more 360 views, as well as watching the Gondolas come in.

Bighorn Sheep made an appearance!

Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels
will try to steal your lunch

View of the valley from the Gondola

After spending a good few hours at the top enjoying the views, we made our way back to the Gondola to head down the mountain and head to our car. Traveling with a toddler means that after lunch is prime nap-time, so we time all our excursions to involve a drive at this time so he can nap on the go. In this case, we headed over to British Columbia, an hour away, and Yoho National Park.

Emerald Lake

Emerald Lake is another popular lake in the region, and has its own shade of turquoise that attracts visitors similarly to Louise and Moraine, but we decided to try our luck with parking and thankfully were able to find a spot. After filling R up with a snack, we put him on our back in the carrier as he wasn't in the best of moods after his nap, and walked around the area a bit, admiring the views and the lake colour. (I also managed to spot a pair of loons with a tiny baby swimming beside them as well!)

Emerald Lake

Natural Bridge (Yoho National Park)

Nearby Emerald Lake, you can stop at the Natural Bridge, which is an impressive structure that was sculpted by the powerful forces of water. This quick stopping point is a beautiful place for a short walk (and maybe a picnic down on the rocks by the river's edge if you are willing to climb down a few uneven rocks).

Natural Bridge river area (Yoho National Park)

After a long day adventuring, we headed back to Canmore to make dinner (my first time boiling pasta in the microwave, it worked unexpectedly well) and get R to bed for another very early morning - Lake Louise.

We used Fairview Limo again, as even though you can still drive to Lake Louise yourself, parking is very limited and fills up way before sunrise, so a shuttle is your best bet. With a toddler we didn't want to risk trying to get the Parks Canada tickets 48 hours beforehand, and it was nice for peace of mind to have a scheduled ride. R greatly enjoyed riding on the bus, and had a fun time in the short 15 minute ride pointing out all the "diggers", pylons ("pie-yons") and "waterfalls" (small rivers moving fast over rocks) that he could see from the large windows. Definitely book with these folks if you're looking for a family-run, excellently organized, reasonably priced shuttle to both lakes. We had a great experience both times.

Upon arriving at Lake Louise (around 8:45am), we quickly headed over to the boathouse to get in line for a canoe. This was a bucket-list item for me, after seeing so many iconic photos of people canoeing on this lake. Thankfully, the line was still very short, and it wasn't too long before we were donning life jackets and out on the water.

Sometimes, when life is full of stress and chaos and there are so many things you can't plan for or control and so many disappointments and unexpected thwarted plans, having an experience like this is just what you need to have faith that sometimes, everything just works out. Dipping my paddle in the pristine turquoise-blue waters of this famous lake, helped me remember that again.

The colour of the water was impossibly beautiful, and incredibly clear. We picked up a bunch of rocks for R to throw from the canoe, and we could see the rocks fall down into the depths of the water. The mountains ahead of us were stunning, their reflections on the water mirror-like, and the lake was calm and quiet out at the end, a temporary escape from the crowds of tourists at the other end.

Canoeing on Lake Louise

Happiness is a funny thing - external joys like these are temporary and fleeting, yes. But they also help reset you, remind you that there is joy and stillness inside you that you can access at any time. These memories of clear blue waters, cool water dripping from the paddle, mountain ranges on every side, will stay with me. When life gets difficult I can close my eyes and remember this feeling, the way my breathing stilled, the way the towering rocky mountains reflected off the water's surface, the way it felt to have a small dream come true for a moment, and bring myself back to a grounded state.

This is what travel does for me. From the silence and solitude of the rocky red shores of Pass Lake, to the heat and endless lands of the Serengeti, to the incredibly stark and stunning landscape of Iceland, to the winding roads of northern Portugal, to the lush island of Fiji, to the oceans and rolling hills of New Zealand, these places and experiences are all still with me, a card catalogue of reminisces I can draw from at any time. (That metaphor won't stand the test of time, but there's an almost tactile deliberateness about access these memories that referring to them as "computer files" just doesn't capture).

After our beautiful paddle, we headed off on the Lake Louise Lakeshore trail. While there were definitely more people at Lake Louise than Moraine Lake, the further you got along the hike, the number of people greatly diminished, and by the end of the hike there were only a handful of others there. The hike is incredibly easy, all flat packed earth, and it's about 4km round trip. R hiked it like he was on a mission, granting him amused comments from other hikers, and delighted in finding all the little creeks that fed the lake. Going at toddler pace doesn't always work when you're on a time crunch, so we popped him in the backpack for the last bit of the hike.

Lake Louise Lakeshore hike views

The end of the lake was a magnificent place to have a picnic lunch, and we set up on a rock by the lake shore. R found a large branch to play in the water with afterwards, while we took turns walking out onto the mud flats and soaking in more beautiful views of the lake looking back towards the Fairmont Hotel.

Lake Louise Lakeshore hike

On our hike back to get our shuttle, we (aka me) were delighted by the surprise appearance of a Stellar's Jay, an absolutely gorgeous iridescent dark blue and black bird. It was hanging out on a bench on the trail for a few moments before heading back into the dense forest. That, plus the surprise Canada Jays and the abundant Black-billed Magpies, made a birder-girl's heart very happy indeed.

Stellar's Jay

Canada Jay

Black-billed Magpie

View from Storm Mountain lookout on Bow Valley Pkwy

After saying goodbye to Lake Louise and taking the shuttle back to our car, we went into Banff and stopped at Trailhead Cafe to get some incredibly delicious iced coffees and baked treats, and then took the daily drive-for-nap along the Bow Valley Parkway today, which is a nice alternate to the Trans Canada Highway, and we stopped at a few lookout points to enjoy the views (one person would stay in the car with it running so as not to wake him while the other went out, and then we'd swap). My favourite spot was the Storm Mountain lookout, and I highly recommend it. You can actually see the Via Rail train tracks below and if you're lucky (as J was), you'll see the train pass by while you're there.

Johnston Canyon

When R woke up, we set off on the Johnston Canyon hike to see the Lower Falls. The child was full of energy and bounded ahead of us on the trail (which appeared almost entirely do-able by stroller, but we didn't bother bringing ours). The picturesque hike through the canyon is definitely worth it, and again quite an easy walk through the woods. The falls itself were small but beautiful, and just to the right of the falls there is a hole in the rock that forms a small cave where you can go out and get very close to the falls for an immersive experience. This hike is actually where we encountered the most people of all our day trips so far - there weren't more people here overall, but the narrow trails made it so that it would easily get crowded. To go into the little cave and experience the falls up close involved waiting in a line across the bridge over the falls, which was astounding to me, but thankfully there weren't many people today so we decided to do it. It was a lot of fun! R was excited about going in but the reality of the loud crashing water and the water spray quickly changed his mind so we weren't there for more than a minute, but it was still worth it.

Johnston Canyon Lower Falls

We didn't have time to do the Upper Falls so we headed back to the parking lot, with R hiking the whole way back as well - 2.6km in total! What a little trooper. After making dinner back at the hotel, we took him out for a well deserved ice cream in the mountains at Lovely Ice Cream, a small-batch locally produced ice cream. There's nothing that says vacation quite like an evening ice cream treat with a mountain backdrop! Tomorrow, we are leaving Canmore and heading down the Icefields Parkway for the second half of our vacation in Jasper.

Whoever you are out there reading, I hope I've done these places a bit of justice and shown you their reflections through my eyes. See you again in a few days.