Have you ever wondered how we start feeling at home after staying in a place just for a couple of days? There’s a certain sense of familiarity that develops as you start spending more time driving around the neighborhood, looking at the same landscape and probably meeting the same people everyday. That’s exactly how we felt after spending two days and three nights in our cozy VRBO apartment in Canmore.
Even though we felt a sense of restlessness as we packed for our journey ahead, we were definitely looking forward to the adventure awaiting us. We planned to spend in the next two days in Jasper National Park, further north of Banff.
Emerald Lake: True to its name it’s one of the greenest lakes I’ve seen. It is surrounded by mountains of the President Range, Mount Burgess and Wapta Mountain and is quite secluded. Located in Yoho National Park, only 20 mins away from Lake Louise, the lake gets crowded only transiently i.e. when a tour bus arrives.
We reached here in the afternoon so had to park almost a mile away. We decided against canoeing as it was not only expensive but we also had a long day planned ahead of us. So instead we spent our afternoon lunching by the lake at Cilantro. It served hearty mountain cuisine with a modern twist, along with regional micro-brewed beers (my heaven!). We even picked up a sandwich and some cookies to go (for dinner) from a side window which is open only during summer.
Bow Lake: One of rituals after reaching each location on our itinerary was to discuss if this spot was better than the ones we visited before.
The moment we parked our car and started walking towards the lake it was a unanimous Wooaahhh, this is the best place ever.
Even though it was relatively smaller and not as blue/green in color compared to the other lakes we’d visited, the 360 degree view of glaciers and peaks (Waputik Range, Dolomite Peak to name a few) made it totally worth it.
I bought an adorable mountain bracelet (the one you see in pictures that follow) at Bow Lake Gifts. We also got ourselves some much needed caffeine. As we were driving away we encountered a giant grizzly bear grazing the fields.
Peyto Lake: We witnessed a bird’s eye view of Peyto Lake from the Bow Summit Lookout on Icefields Parkway. We sat here for hours just enjoying the peace and calm till a tour bus arrived. Peyto Lake easily tops the list as one of the most beautiful lakes I’ve ever seen. Honestly, it looked like a picture postcard that came to life.
Icefield Parkway: Icefields Parkway stretches 232km (144mi.) through the heart of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks and offers a journey across vast wilderness of pristine mountain lakes, ancient glaciers and broad sweeping valleys. This travel route is one that makes the journey as exciting as the destinations. It winds way through both Banff and Jasper national park, and offers a unique and irreplaceable landscape second to none.
I’m certain it must be serving as a source of inspiration for many artists and photographers. I for one, wanted to stop at and click pictures at every turn we took.
Athabasca Glacier: The Columbia Icefield is one of the most accessible glaciers in the world. The massive six kilometer long and one kilometer wide tongue of the Athabasca Glacier flows to within walking distance of the Icefields Parkway. We reached here late in the evening so missed out on the opportunity to taking a tour bus all the way onto the glacier, so instead we hiked for about 20 mins to reach the toe of the glacier.
The end of our hike started with hunger pangs, by this time we had finished all our snacks and it was almost 10 PM, which meant all the food places were already closed. Thankfully we found ourselves a gift shop at Sunwapta falls and honestly a cold turkey sandwich never tasted better in my entire existence. We were exhausted when we reached our hotel in Hinton around 12:30 AM, where I slept like a baby.
Hoping to hear some of your experiences or your upcoming plans for Banff or Jasper National Park.
~XOXO
Style Details:
As we traveled further north I decided to opt for a comfortable yet cozy sweater from American Eagle Outfitters and a pair of high rise compression leggings from Old Navy. I felt relaxed all day and as we approached Jasper I layered up with my Columbia Jacket which is both warm and chic. The cap I am wearing is an old favorite from Gap.
American Eagle Outfitters Old Navy
EclecticBrownEyedGirl 