BLOG 4 - Banff National Park

After generally being advised not to drive to the destinations in Banff National Park with your own car (some parking lots are said to be closed due to overcrowding as early as 6 a.m.), we book the shuttle from 'BanffHopOn', which visits the main points of interest and allows some flexibility in the duration of stays.

As predicted, there are an extremely high number of visitors here again this year, with an estimated 80% originally coming from China or India.

We start early in the morning, taking the 'school bus' on the Bow Valley Parkway, first to a viewpoint for 'Castle Mountain', which was named 'Mount Eisenhower' from 1946 to 1979 after the American general and later president. Due to significant pressure from the public, the name was then changed back, with only one rocky peak called 'Eisenhower Tower'.

This is followed by a brief stop at the Lake Louise Ski Resort, which, like all ski resorts, is rather bleak in the summer.

Our journey continues to Moraine Lake, which offers a beautiful view of its turquoise water against the backdrop of the partially snow-covered or glaciated 'Ten Summits'. The best view is from a small hill on the south shore, but you have to navigate the crowds and compete for the best photo spots. We manage to take a short walk along the lake, where the density of people quickly decreases.

The next stop is Lake Louise - after the awe-inspiring Moraine Lake, we are not as impressed here, especially with more people and the large complex of the Fairmont Hotel, which is not quite to our liking.

On the way back to Banff, we take a short hike into Johnston Canyon, all the way to the lower waterfall. It's a pleasant hike after the heat of the day, but it's also quite crowded.

We end the day with a leisurely stroll along Banff Avenue, which is lined with souvenir shops, restaurants, and pubs.

Since it is generally advised not to drive to the destinations in Banff National Park with your own car (some parking lots are said to be full and closed at 6 a.m.), we book the shuttle from 'BanffHopOn', which drives to the main points and allows a certain flexibility in the length of stays.

As it was generally predicted, an extremely large number of visitors are out and about again this year, with an estimated 80% originally coming from China or India.

We start quite early in the morning, with the 'school bus' on the Bow Valley Parkway, first to a viewpoint for 'Castle Mountain', which was called 'Mount Eisenhower' from 1946 to 1979 after the US General and later President . Due to massive pressure from the population, the name was then changed again, only one rocky peak was called 'Eisenhower Tower'.

This is followed by a short stop at the Lake Louise Ski Resort, which, like all ski areas, is rather unattractive in summer.

For us the journey continues to Moraine Lake, which offers a wonderful view of its turquoise water in front of the 'Ten Summits', which are still partially covered with snow or glaciers. The most beautiful view is from a small hill on the south bank, you just have to “fight” through the crowds for the best photo spots. A short hike along the lake is still within our schedule - the crowd density decreases very quickly there.

Next stop is at Lake Louise - after the overwhelming impression of Moraine Lake we are not so impressed here, also more people and the large complex of Fairmont Hotel, not quite ours.

On the way back to Banff we do a short hike into Johnston Canyon to the lower waterfall, pleasant after the heat of the day, but also very busy.

The end of the day is a short stroll along the Avenue in Banff, especially souvenir shops and various restaurants and pubs.