Banff: A Magical Land of Turquoise Lakes

Banff is one of those places where every background looks like a screensaver. The lakes are too blue, the mountains are too perfect and half the photos look like we were standing in front of a green screen. We weren’t. The Canadian Rockies really look like this.

We flew into Calgary, rented a car from Avis and drove about an hour and a half to Banff. The drive itself was our first introduction to just how beautiful this place is. As we got closer, the mountains kept getting bigger and bigger until it felt like we were driving directly into them. I had never seen mountains that grand before, and to this day, it’s one of the most beautiful highway drives I’ve ever done.

The drive from Calgary gets prettier and prettier the closer you get to Banff.

As per usual, we arrived with basically no itinerary.

I’ve never been a packed-itinerary person. Having every hour of a trip scheduled stresses me out. I’d much rather know the things I don’t want to miss, cross them off as we feel like it, and leave plenty of time for doing absolutely nothing, preferably with a glass of wine and a view.

For Banff, my list was especially short: Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. I had also read that if you got to Moraine Lake early enough, you could watch the tips of the mountains change color as the sun came up. That was all I really cared about seeing. Everything else was a bonus.

Fairmont Banff Springs hotel

Where We Stayed: Fairmont Banff Springs

We stayed three nights at the Fairmont Banff Springs, which looks like a giant castle dropped into the middle of the Canadian Rockies.

This is exactly the kind of hotel I love because staying there feels like part of the trip. You don’t come back after a day of sightseeing and feel like the day is over. You’re still surrounded by mountains, there are plenty of restaurants and bars throughout the hotel, and the heated outdoor pool has incredible mountain views. There’s also a beautiful indoor pool if you’d rather enjoy the water without the cold mountain air.

Fairmont Springs Banff outdoor pool.

Moraine Lake

One of the very few things I actually planned was getting to Moraine Lake before sunrise.

I had read that as the sun comes up, the first light hits the Ten Peaks and the tops of the mountains slowly turn red and gold. I needed to see it. This required waking up at an absolutely offensive hour on vacation. I am in no way a morning person, but can confidently say it was totally worth it.

We arrived while it was still dark, and I was shocked by just how colorful the mountains actually got and how quickly everything changed. Within minutes, the peaks went from dark to red and gold, the sky lit up and the lake turned the brightest shade of turquoise.

There are certain places you build up so much in your head that they can’t possibly live up to it. Moraine Lake was the opposite. It was even prettier than I expected.

Sunrise over the Ten Peaks at Moraine Lake in Banff National Park, Alberta.

Watching the sunrise at Moraine Lake in Banff National Park.

Feeling accomplished after successfully waking up early enough to catch the sunrise at Moraine Lake.

A note if you’re planning a trip now: We visited when you could drive directly to Moraine Lake and park right there. Private vehicles are no longer permitted on Moraine Lake Road, so check the current Parks Canada transportation and shuttle options before you go.

Lake Louise

The other non-negotiable on my extremely short list was Lake Louise.

We went to check out the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, which sits directly on the lake, and rented one of the canoes.

If Moraine Lake was about waking up in the dark to watch the sunrise, Lake Louise was much more my speed: canoe for a little while and then reward ourselves with wine.

After canoeing, we went into the Fairmont and had drinks at the Lakeview Lounge overlooking the lake.

Canoeing Lake Louise because apparently we do outdoor activities now.

Photo taken by a stranger from another canoe after watching us struggle to take a selfie.

Numa Falls

We made our way into Kootenay National Park to Numa Falls, another one of those stops where the scenery-to-effort ratio is almost comical. You park, walk a few minutes and suddenly you’re looking down at turquoise water rushing through the rocks.

No hike required. My kind of waterfall.

Numa Falls.

Just your average roadside stop in the Canadian Rockies.

Peyto Lake

I saw a picture of Peyto Lake and immediately knew I had to see it in person. You can make a proper hike out of it, with trails around Bow Summit that can take a few hours, or you can do what we did: drive to the Bow Summit parking lot, walk 15 minutes to the viewpoint and bam, you’re in a screensaver.

Quite possibly the best view in Banff.

The view over Peyto Lake from Bow Summit in Banff National Park.

Columbia Icefield

When I pictured Banff, I pictured lakes and mountains. I had no idea visiting a glacier was even an option until we got there, so obviously we had to go. Considering I had been in a tank top earlier that day, I was wildly unprepared for how cold it was. Pack accordingly. The weather changes fast up here.

Columbia Icefield along the Icefields Parkway. Yes, I was as cold as I look.

Wildflowers and glacier views at the Columbia Icefield in the Canadian Rockies.

Columbia Icefield.

Vermilion Lakes

Vermilion Lakes was one of the quieter stops of the trip and one of the most beautiful.

There’s a simple wooden dock jutting out over the water with the mountains behind it. Nothing to reserve. Nothing you need to accomplish. Just pull over and take it all in.

Golden hour at Vermilion Lakes.

Johnston Canyon

We also stopped at Johnston Canyon, where we hiked to Lower Falls. And by hiked, I mean we walked about 0.75 miles from the parking lot.

There’s a very clear path to the falls, but it’s woodsy enough that I felt like I was one with nature. We even caught a tiny rainbow in the falls, which felt like a pretty good reward for all that strenuous “hiking.”

A tiny rainbow over the turquoise water at Johnston Canyon’s Lower Falls.

Banff Gondola at Sunset

One of my favorite things we did was take the Banff Gondola up Sulphur Mountain for sunset. I should mention that I’m terrified of gondolas, so calling this one of my favorite things is really saying something.

The ride up is only about eight minutes, which was approximately eight minutes too long for me. I somehow still enjoyed the views while being painfully aware of the fact that we were dangling from a cable thousands of feet in the air. I had never felt braver than when I got to the top and exited that cable car.

You can see Banff and the Bow Valley below, surrounded by what feels like endless layers of the Canadian Rockies. We happened to be there for sunset, and watching the mountains change color as the sun went down was completely worth the ride up.

Sunset from the top of Sulphur Mountain.

The view from a lookout points at the top of Sulphur Mountain in Banff.

We walked around the top, watched the sun go down over the mountains and then had dinner at Sky Bistro.

There are restaurants with a view, and then there is eating dinner at the top of a mountain in the Canadian Rockies. Definitely make a reservation if you can or stop in for a drink.

Dinner with a view at Sky Bistro, 7,500 feet above Banff on Sulphur Mountain.

The Nights Were Pretty Good Too

Banff didn’t exactly stop showing off once the sun went down. With so little light pollution, the sky was filled with stars. I’ve never seen a sky so bright.

Starry night in Banff National Park.

Eating & Drinking Around Banff

Downtown Banff, where even a walk through town comes with a Canadian Rockies backdrop.

The town of Banff is adorable and very easy to wander around for a few hours. There are tons of shops, restaurants and places to stop for a drink, all with the mountains casually hanging out in the background.

We grabbed coffee at Whitebark Cafe, ate at Bear Street Tavern and Block Kitchen + Bar and obviously made the obligatory Canadian pilgrimage to Roots.

Back at the Fairmont Banff Springs, we had dinner at 1888 Chop House. We also spent some time in nearby Canmore, where we stopped at Tavern 1883 and Grizzly Paw Brewing Company.

Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary

As an animal lover, I’ll always make time to stop at a local sanctuary or try to spot some wildlife. Lucky for me, Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary was on our way back towards Calgary, so obviously we had to break up the drive.

I grew up obsessed with wolves after watching White Fang and Dances with Wolves, so I was especially excited about this one. And at the time, wolves were having another moment thanks to the direwolves on Game of Thrones.

Remember Ghost? The direwolf from Game of Thrones? Well, I met his cousin, Nova. How’s that for six degrees of separation?

Nova at Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary, cousin of the wolfdog who played Ghost on Game of Thrones.

Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary wolfdogs.

And Then There Was a Meteor

As if the Canadian Rockies hadn’t shown off enough already, on our drive back toward Calgary we saw a huge meteor streak across the sky.

Not one of those tiny shooting stars where you spend the next five minutes debating whether you actually saw something.

A giant, unmistakable meteor.

We just happened to be driving at exactly the right moment to see it but obviously I was not quick enough to snap a photo of is. You’ll just have to take my word for it.

Would I Go Back?

Immediately.

Banff is still one of the most naturally beautiful places I’ve ever been. And considering we didn’t do any crazy hikes and somehow found a way to drive almost all the way to some of the best spots, I think it would be such a great trip to do again with kids.

The odds of seeing another giant meteor streak across the sky on the drive home are probably pretty slim, but I have to imagine the Canadian Rockies will be every bit as spectacular as they were the first time we saw them.

And I’d go back just to find out.

Canadian flag flying over the Canadian Rockies in Banff National Park, Alberta.