Banff National Park, Canada
(July 15, 2007)
(July 15, 2007)
Lou says....
One thing I didn't mention when writing about Waterton Lakes was the fact that all the national parks in Canada have a daily use fee. For seniors the daily fee is about $6.00 per person. An annual pass, for two people, is also available for $125.00. If you opt to pay by the day you can accumulate your receipts and apply what you paid toward the purchase the annual pass, as long it is within 30 days. Our stay was long enough that we opted to purchase the annual pass.
The Townsite ( that is what they call the towns in the National Parks) in Banff was quite different from Waterton Lakes. Waterton was more like a European village where Banff was more traditional with few outside cafes. It is also much larger.
Once we arrived we decided to explore the town. The main street was under construction and traffic was a mess. The side streets were blocked so we wound up crossing the Bow River bridge on main street. The Bow River runs through the town and on the other side of the bridge we found the Bow River Falls. Some of walkways were closed because of high water and we learned that there had been a record 25 year snowfall that was causing much higher than usual water levels throughout the Canadian mountains. The abundance of water also made this one of the best wildflower years in a long time.
All of the scenic places we visited in Banff National Park, with the exception of Vermilion Lakes, were along the Bow Valley Parkway which runs from Banff to Lake Louise.
For us the most enjoyable stop along the parkway was Johnston Canyon and falls. The hike to the falls is mostly a board walk (see the side picture) built into the side of the canyon walls. It is an easy trail with great views and plenty of wildflowers to photograph.
I also highly recommend going to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake early in the morning if you wish to get some great photos. In the late morning or very early afternoon fair photos are possible but after that the sun will in be in your face, which not good for photography.
One thing I didn't mention when writing about Waterton Lakes was the fact that all the national parks in Canada have a daily use fee. For seniors the daily fee is about $6.00 per person. An annual pass, for two people, is also available for $125.00. If you opt to pay by the day you can accumulate your receipts and apply what you paid toward the purchase the annual pass, as long it is within 30 days. Our stay was long enough that we opted to purchase the annual pass.
The Townsite ( that is what they call the towns in the National Parks) in Banff was quite different from Waterton Lakes. Waterton was more like a European village where Banff was more traditional with few outside cafes. It is also much larger.
Once we arrived we decided to explore the town. The main street was under construction and traffic was a mess. The side streets were blocked so we wound up crossing the Bow River bridge on main street. The Bow River runs through the town and on the other side of the bridge we found the Bow River Falls. Some of walkways were closed because of high water and we learned that there had been a record 25 year snowfall that was causing much higher than usual water levels throughout the Canadian mountains. The abundance of water also made this one of the best wildflower years in a long time.
All of the scenic places we visited in Banff National Park, with the exception of Vermilion Lakes, were along the Bow Valley Parkway which runs from Banff to Lake Louise.
For us the most enjoyable stop along the parkway was Johnston Canyon and falls. The hike to the falls is mostly a board walk (see the side picture) built into the side of the canyon walls. It is an easy trail with great views and plenty of wildflowers to photograph.
I also highly recommend going to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake early in the morning if you wish to get some great photos. In the late morning or very early afternoon fair photos are possible but after that the sun will in be in your face, which not good for photography.
Issue #5
July 15th 2007
July 15th 2007
Page 3 of 4
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