“Cross-Country Canada 🇨🇦 ~Banff National Park and Lake Louise Day 3: May 26, 2023”

• May 27, 2023
• By Pen
• 3 Comments

Cross-Country Canada ~Day 3: May 26th, 2023

Banff National Park and Lake Louise

Today we were up and on our way to Banff National Park, at a decent time. We actually had some sunshine, and put the top down on Jonah, for the purpose of easier photography.
It wasn’t exactly warm, but we had jackets on.
We just wanted to make the best of the beautiful morning, that’s for sure!

It took us about 1.5 hours on the Trans-Canadian Highway, to get to the park entrance at:

224 Banff Ave, Banff, AB T1L 1B3, Canada

BUT, as the Canadian Rockies came in to view, from Cochrane, in under 30 minutes. It was really something! Quite majestic, to say the least.

Here are all the photos I took from our two times driving from Cochrane on the Trans-Canadian Highway, through Banff National Park

⬆️ Stopped to wash the front window

I purchased the park pass, online, for a specific date and got it printed out. It worked out great at the ranger window. It wasn’t that much money, either. This surprised me a little, being from out of the Country and all.

Buy a Park Pass:

 https://www.banfflakelouise.com/park-pass-purchase?gclid=CjwKCAjw1MajBhAcEiwAagW9MRxIhz772x81C3WW31amjYVTgPzzpRw2WYhGC5OYVi5gCBAK3eOSLRoCvuYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Banff National Park is famous for its vibrant lakes, majestic mountains and access to outdoor adventures of all kinds.

The park spans 6,641 square miles of striking mountainous terrain, in the vast wilderness of the Canadian Rockies.
Banff is Canada’s first national park and the world’s third.
Banff has a rich heritage as one of the world’s most awe-inspiring mountain destinations.

More than stunning turquoise lakes and breathtaking mountain vistas, Banff National Park:

*A UNESCO World Heritage Site

*Canada’s first National Park

*1,600+ kms of hiking trails

*3 world-class ski resorts

*Over 2,468 campsites

*In excess of 1,000 glaciers

After we entered from the ranger station, the entrance, it was still a bit of a drive to get to Banff Village, and much further to get to Lake Louise, after that; which is defiantly the crown jewel of this Park!

I’m glad we got to visit Banff, but it was so much driving, after entering the gate, and  we had no idea, nor did know about driving right along with big semis and their loads; driving at break neck speeds, and I found this a bit nerve-wracking. In addition, we were not given a map of the park, when we showed our pass. What? So, be sure and find resources and print out, prior.
I’ve never experienced a national park visit like this with their version of traffic-flow design.

Banff Village ⬇️

While at the two villages we stopped in, on this day, the semis were gone, but there were so many people walking and right out in front of us, clueless! Some were on bikes, as well as cars zipping around; not looking, just coming out at us! There were flaggers and more construction going on, it wasn’t very relaxing, either. Ha!

We did see a deer and a coyote which ran right out in front of us, while driving near Tunnel Road Campground, before leaving Banff Village, to head for Lake Louise.

Back out on Canada Hwy 1, we mixed in with the semi’s again, for more driving.
Both sides of the very wide highway have wildlife fences, and many wildlife overpass highway crossings, just for them!  The wildlife viewing was nil, along this highway, but that’s okay, since they remain alive, inside that fence!

I just loved seeing these! Human-Wildlife conflicts, ZERO!

⬆️ Combined with fencing to keep the animals off the road, the structures have reduced animal-vehicle collisions in the area by more than 80%—and by more than 96% for elk and deer alone. To passing motorists, the overpasses look like any other highway bridge: solid concrete arching over the highway.

We made it to Lake Louise Village. From there it was a short drive to a parking lot, and a short walk to the Lake ⬇️

Named after the nearby iconic lake, the village of Lake Louise is smaller and quieter than Banff. You’ll find a variety of restaurant and accommodation options, a grocery store, bakery, deli, sporting goods store, fuel stations, and a visitor information center.
Tucked right in the heart of nature, the Lake Louise area has long been a mecca for adventure and features incredible hiking and skiing, just outside the village.

From the vivid turquoise waters to the soaring peaks encircling the lake, Lake Louise is a stunning mountain setting. Fellow adventurers soak in the views from the shore, and bright red canoes float on the glacial waters. It’s hard to resist dipping a hand into the water, just to see if it’s actually real.
Several hikes take off from the lakefront. Begin with the lakeshore trail along the water, pausing to take in a tall waterfall and fearless rock climbers. Glacial creeks converge at the far end of the lake, and every shade of blue imaginable melds together just beyond the shoreline.

In the colder months, Lake Louise turns into a magical frozen wonderland. Find cross country-skiers gliding across the lake, ice climbers scaling frozen waterfalls and a horse drawn sleigh following the snow-covered shoreline. To top it off an outdoor skating rink welcomes skaters of all abilities with unmatched scenic views and a sparking ice castle.

Is there anything prettier than glacier lakes?
I say, no!

We enjoyed our visit to the Lake, and originally we thought we would drive on, to the Icefield Parkway, after, but more driving on that Hwy 1, just didn’t appeal, since the true beginning of the Icefield was close to another hour, further, for us.

As it turned out, our round-trip day, on the road was almost five hours. Remember, our top speed in Jonah is 60 mph, which is under the max speeding average of 120 kilometers (78 mph). Everybody was speeding on this highway, though the posted speed was 110 kilometres!
So, like in The Whale, when our top speed is 55 mph, it always take longer.

So, the new plan, is, we will attempt leaving Cochrane and driving our entire outfit to an Icefield RV Campground to spend the night, and then on to visit Jasper National Park, next week. Note: One must pay for a park pass to drive this Icefield, as well, since it is inside the National Parks.
The Icefield runs from Banff to Jasper; Jasper to Banff. It takes about 3.5 hours to drive it, in its entirety.
Hopefully we can use the Jasper National Park Pass I got, in advance, also.

Just as the clouds began rolling in and getting dark, we began the drive back to Cochrane.

⬆️ This view of mountains are “Three Sisters”

As I said, I’m glad we went to Banff, it’s totally worth it. I’m just saying I but prefer the scenic rim drives, on simple two-way roads with a speed limit of no more than the 40 mph we have gotten accustomed to, with our USA National Parks. I’ve just gotten spooked, is all.
We also love having pullouts to get to great photography points,  or a mini hike to one. There were no pullouts, anywhere!

There were many exits off of the busy expressway, but not enough information to know what that exit entailed. Truthfully, this park is so huge, it would take days to access all of them, so I get that.  

It will be interesting to see how Jasper is lined out, for driving and viewing the scenes.