Canada Day 15 (2) - Yoho National Park - Emerald Lake

Arriving at Emerald Lake, we decided to take the 5 kilometer loop around the lake. It's a really great trail that offers amazing views of the beautiful lake along the way. Additionally, there weren't many people around, so we felt like we had the other side of the lake all to ourselves. It looked like it might rain at times, but it held off.

The trail initially took us along the edge of the lake. Once we reached the other side of the lake, there were several hiking trails that branched off into the mountains. We stayed on the loop trail, which led us through a small marsh area and then through the forest back to the starting point. The last section of the trail goes right through the Emerald Lake Lodge. It gives you a glimpse of how amazing it must be to stay there.

We definitely found Emerald Lake to be more peaceful than the other lakes. In general, it seems like Yoho National Park isn't as crowded as the other national parks, which we could confirm at least on the day we were there. However, this impression changed when we returned to the parking lot. It had been completely filled up by then, and once again there were several tour buses on site, unloading tons of Asian tourists. Luckily, we had finished our tour and were able to start our way back before the lake was completely overrun.

The loop around the lake was definitely very beautiful and can be completed in a short amount of time. It's also very peaceful and not crowded, and offers truly stunning views. We imagine that even a day hike there would be much quieter than in the larger parks. Since we still had plenty of daylight left, we wanted to visit Wapta Falls.