After a night at the spa, I woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the day. Good thing, because Alyssa and I woke up at 4 am to catch the sunrise at Emerald Lake! Do you see now why I couldn’t possibly write these posts while I was there?! đ
Emerald Lake
It took just over an hour to drive from Canmore to Emerald Lake. Since it was dawn, Alyssa and I kept our eyes extra extra extra open for wildlife. About 15 minutes into the drive, Alyssa pointed out a herd of elk. I replied, “No way. Those are just cows!” The elk were so huge that I actually couldn’t believe they were deer. We laughed about that for a while. Why would there be cows in a national park?!
The second we pulled into the lot at Emerald Lake, I knew it would be worth the early wake-up call. There were only a few other people there, which made for a very peaceful morning at the lake. We walked around the paths, and I kept my eyes peeled for bears. In case I haven’t admitted it yet, I am absolutely terrified of bears. So on many of these walks, you can imagine me looking left, right, up, and down to make sure there are no bears nearby. Aside from the elk, the only wild thing I saw was this girl in a field of flowers…
She followed me for like three days straight!
I don’t have much else to say about Emerald Lake because it truly left me speechless. So, I’ll let the photos do the talking:
Lake Louise & Agnes Tea House Hike
Our next stop was Lake Louise, which was a 30-minute drive from Emerald Lake. Before I dive into our time at Lake Louise, I think it’s worth explaining just how lucky we were to be able to visit.
Lake Louise and Moraine Lake are two of the most popular spots to visit in Banff. There aren’t many places to park, so you must take a shuttle. The most affordable option is to book tickets through Parks Canada. Tickets drop on April 15th, and if you are unable to get them then, your only other option is to try to buy the last-minute tickets that are released two days before your intended visit. Of course, there is always the option of taking a private shuttle, but those are hundreds of dollars.
Back in April, Alyssa took on the grueling task of purchasing our shuttle tickets. She lucked out and was 5,000-something in line, so we ended up getting the 9 am reservation. This was perfect, as it allowed us to spend a few hours at Lake Louise and then move on to Moraine Lake.
We spent the first hour or so sitting by the lake and then walking the trail around it. I saw a sign talking about us being in “grizzly bear country” and tried not to think about the fact that we had left the bear spray in the car đ
Before we left for Moraine Lake, I confessed that I was dying to go on the Agnes Tea House hike. I had read about it online â it’s one of the most popular hikes in Banff. Alyssa was kind enough to wait for me as I made my way up, up, up. I didn’t want to keep her waiting too long, so I put my trail running skills to use. I was MOVING.
My first stop along the trail was Mirror Lake. It was smaller than I had imagined, yet it was filled with little duckies who kept diving in the water. I say “filled”, but I think there were only three hahahaha.
I stopped and admired them for a while. As I was doing so, a little chipmunk came right up to me. So sweet!
I continued my journey up the trail.
Next, I saw horses. Now THAT would be a fun trail ride. It’s quite a steep trail, though, so you’ve really gotta trust your horse.
Before I knew it, I had made it all the way to the Tea House! The air smelled like freshly baked pastries, and the view was absolutely breathtaking. Or, maybe that was the 1,300 ft elevation gain taking my breath away.
Either way, I was happy to be there.
Oh, and there was another lake just outside of the Tea House! I think it’s called Agnes Lake.
I thought this one was especially beautiful. It feels very different from the other lakes, since the water isn’t blue at all. The mountains look extra sharp, too!
On my way down, I put my quads to the ultimate test. I ran down, down, down the trail. Everybody kept looking at me like I was crazy. I don’t know why… not like I was a young woman, alone, running in bear country without bear spray?!?!
When I thought my legs were about to give out, I took a break to admire the view.
Pretty nice, huh?!
I made it to the bottom to find Alyssa sitting along the water’s edge. She had cheese and crackers waiting for me, which were much needed. What a great friend!
Moraine Lake
Our final stop of the day was Moraine Lake. It is about a 20 minute shuttle from Lake Louise, and all I have to say is WOW. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.
This is the bluest, most gorgeous lake I have ever seen.
It reallllly makes me crave a blue Gatorade.
Alyssa and I climbed the massive rock pile that allows for this view. In addition to taking some photos, we also sat on a rock for a while and admired the scenery. Eventually, we made our way back down and did a short out-and-back along the edge of the lake. It was nice to see it from both perspectives!
That night, we decided to eat dinner at the hotel 1. for convenience and 2. because the food looked really good. I ordered the sourdough mushroom pizza. It was phenomenal. Safe to say, I will think of that pizza many times throughout my life. Why isn’t every pizza crust made of sourdough?!
If you’re looking for the answer to that question, you should really read my next blog post.
Not that I’m going to answer that question…
But you should read it anyway đ
Until next time,
Clara