Quote:
Originally Posted by klucas
Thank you all for the information. We will be there toward the end of June. It looks like I'll need a few weeks just to scrape the surface. Any good hikes that are a must do.
Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums
|
How long a hike are you interested in? And are you willing to huff and puff up a hill?
Easy Hikes that are really just walks, but very rewarding
Go to the Cave and Basin on the south side of the Bow River. After enjoying the museum, walk up to the hot springs above, and then down to the river below where the hot springs create an interesting micro-climate.
On the drive to the Banff Springs hotel, turn towards the river, and park so that you can walk alongside the Bow River towards the Hotel. This lets you see Bow Falls. The viewpoint on the other side of the river appears in some famous Japanese movies, I believe, so guess what tour buses go there. For many years, and it may still be true, Japanese is the dominant second language in Banff (surpassing Canada's other official language of French). I think that the Chinese have started to take over from the Japanese, though.
Drive north from the town of Banff to the Norquay ski area and turn off at the Fenland trail. There is an easy walking loop there to see nature. Then, proceed farther north to the next exit before the Transcanada Highway and you will be able to drive alongside Vermillion Lakes with lots of spots to stop and look for wildlife and get great views of Banff and the mountains (one of my Rundle pictures is from there). Keep your eye out for Bald Eagles at the east end of the lake.
At Lake Louise, walk alongside the lake from the Hotel to the Plain of Six Glaciers.
At the nearby Moraine Lake, go to the left and walk around the big rock pile (thought to be a moraine, of course, but some people think it is just a rock slide). You will get slightly elevated, and beautiful views of Moraine Lake.
On the Icefields Parkway to Jasper, take the turnoff to Peyto Lake. Absolutely gorgeous turquoise colour as you look down on it.
Moderate elevation gain to get a rewarding view
In Banff, go to the Banff Conference Centre and take the walk up to the top of Tunnel Mountain. In my books, it isn't a mountain, because it has trees on top. But, it is called a mountain, and it certainly is a mountain compared to Mount Royal in Montreal.
Drive the Bow Valley Parkway (Hwy 1a) between Banff and Lake Louise. Stop at Johnson's Canyon and hike up alongside the river and water falls. Note how the walkway is bolted into the side of the canyon walls. Continue past the falls up to the Ink Pots.
Go to the Sunshine Village ski area parking lot and take the gondola up to Sunshine Meadows for a rewarding hike. This year, they even let you take an upper ski lift to get up into the meadows more easily. The conservationists are fighting against this.
At Lake Louise, divert your walk to the Plain of Six Glaciers to walk the switchbacks over the Beehive to get to the Lake Agnes Teahouse. You can also hire a horse to do this.
At Moraine Lake (near Lake Louise), take the hike up to Paradise Valley. You can turn back at the saddle point. Along the way, you get great views of Moraine Lake, and the mountains around it. It is also called the Valley of the 10 Peaks and it used to grace the Cdn $10 bill. This hike is spectacular for its yellow Larch trees in the Fall. There are often grizzly bears in the area and you are usually required to hike in a party of 4 or more. And, if you spread out, the Park Wardens can fine you. (I've seen them escort sour-looking people back to the bottom.) Also, parking at Moraine Lake can be scarce, especially when the Larch trees are out.
More vigorous hikes that may involve scrambling
Visit the Burgess Shale, which was the first find of soft-bodied fossils. Up to this point, only fossils with hard shells or bones had been discovered. It started a rethink of the existing Darwinian models, since it uncovered some species that died off and don't survive today. Google Burgess Shale to book the hike with a guide, since it goes to a restricted area. You start at the beautiful Takkakaw Falls and hike up to beautiful views of Emerald Lake. This starts from Field BC, which is the first town on the west side of the Continental Divide. That means it is actually in Yoho Park.
The following two hikes I haven't done:
From the Banff Springs hotel, find the trailhead to hike up Mt Rundle. This is the slab side, not the rampart side.
From the town of Canmore, find the trailhead to go up Ha Ling peak.
Linear Mode
