Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta

Sunday, July 1, 2018 - Canada Day

Day 17 

Lake Louise

105 miles

British Columbia advertises itself at “The Best Place on Earth.” I can’t vouch for that claim, but it does have some beautiful locations.

It was 47 degrees when we left our campground in Golden, British Columbia headed to Lake Louise, Alberta.







We drove through part of Yoho National Park but didn’t take time to check out any of the lakes or other attractions. There will always be more to do on another trip!








Early Sunday morning, we parked in an overflow area south of the village.   



I selected a parking spot right next to another couple from Florida who had spent the cold night in the same parking spot. They had rigged up a carrier for the from of their truck on which to transport a scooter. Hmm.






If we had known about overnight parking in this lot, we might had done the same thing. There was a minor boondocking fee involved and no utilities except for an outhouse.

We took a free shuttle (school bus) into the town of Lake Louise and had breakfast with a single lawyer from Texas. We enjoyed sharing our experiences with him and hearing about his travel goals. Our next stop was at the Visitor Center information desk to plan our next few hours.

Lake Louise is the highest community in Canada, at an elevation of 5,018 feet above sea level. Its mountains of shale, limestone, and sandstone are among the tallest peaks in the Rockies.

We took another shuttle up to the lake, and many other tourists had this as a destination for their Canada Day observance. In 1882, a surveyor for the Canadian Pacific Railway named it Emerald Lake because of its brilliant color. The name was changed in 1884 to Lake Louise in honor of Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the daughter of England’s Queen Victoria and the wife of the Governor General of Canada, the Marquis of Lorne.





Some of the tourists took advantage of the opportunity to rent canoes to get out on the lake. The first visitors likely arrived in this area 10,000 years ago. Aboriginal people have lived in the Rocky Mountains since the retreat of ice age glaciers. They likely visited this lake on hunting or spiritual journeys. When newcomers arrived in the Rockies, they valued the guiding skills of aboriginal people.













Other tourists took advantage of this day to create very special memories.













It was an overcast day so we didn’t have a clear view of the tall peaks surrounding Lake Louise:  Mt. Fairview (9,005 ft.), Mt. Lefroy (11,230 ft.), Mt. Victoria (11,365 ft.), Mt. Whyte (9,787 ft.), Mt. Niblock (9,764 ft.), and Mt. St. Piran (8,661 ft.). Mounts Victoria and Lefroy form part of the Continental Divide—the backbone of North America.





Ice-age glaciers sculpted this famous Rocky Mountain landscape beginning about two million years ago. They carved the mountains and gouged the valley into a deep basin. The Victoria Glacier once filled this valley. About 10,000 years ago, the glaciers melted back and left behind a pile of rocky debris that dammed the lake. In recent years, a warmer climate has accelerated glacial melt and recession. It is predicted that one day the glaciers will be gone.






The need to protect Lake Louise was recognized from the early days of tourism in the Rockies. It was initially preserved as a forest park in 1892 and became part of Canada’s first national park in 1902. Banff National Park is now part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site. This grand landscape may look powerful, but its ecosystem is surprisingly sensitive. Taking care of special places such as this is a big challenge and a responsibility we all share. 

Meltwaters from six glaciers at the head of the valley feed the lake, so the water is cold—less than 50 degrees Fahrenheit in summer. The lake can be frozen from November to June. In mid-winter, the ice can be more than a meter thick on the lake, which is 70 meters (230 feet) deep. The glaciers grind the rock beneath them into a fine powder, called rock flour. Meltwaters wash this powder into the lake. The resultant silty water absorbs all colors of incoming light except the striking turquoise and vivid blue that reflect back into our eyes.





The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise grew from a simple log chalet and the vision of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). Following the completion of the transcontinental railway in 1885, the CPR began to build hotels along the main line to attract wealthy clientele. The first chalet was built in 1890 and provided rustic accommodation for a handful of guests. The oldest part of the current hotel was built in 1913 and the newest section in 2004, and the hotel has 548 guest rooms.






We had a delicious lunch at one of the Fairmont’s restaurants while visiting with a couple from Australia. I had Canadian Seafood Chowder, Daisy had Stout Beer and Onion Soup, and we shared Marinated Salmon Handrolls. And we weren’t driving for awhile, so local beer was an appropriate beverage for her to enjoy.

Daisy and I thought of all of our Canadian friends and hoped they were having a wonderful Canada Day! We enjoyed our first experience of being in Canada to observe the anniversary of our northern neighbor and closest ally. As part of the festivities we witnessed when we were at Lake Louise, we saw these young women and several others taking the “Polar Bear Dip,” but we didn’t join them! 

When we got back to the campground that evening, we were able to see the Canada Day fireworks from the town of Golden, below us, through the trees. The sun didn't set until about 10:30, so it was after 11:00 for the finale of the fireworks.

That evening I called Fran Larson, a good friend from Minnesota.  We found out that she and her son John were in Canal Flats, BC (4 hours east) on their way to Lake Louise and then north.  Being flexible, we made plans to meet up with them the next day in the same overflow area we had been in that day, then go to lunch together.  We knew Fran was planning a trip north, but not that she would be in the same area where we were. Good stuff happens.

Monday, July 2

Day 18

Lake Louise then Canmore, Alberta

107 miles

On July 2, we took a clear, cold late morning drive back south to the overflow parking area where we had arranged to meet Fran Larson and her son John. 







Fran spends the winter in a campground in southern Texas where I stayed a couple of winters, and she is work camping in Idaho this summer. She and John were on their way to Alaska, and it was great that we could meet them briefly along the way. It is a small world! 








This photo was taken in front of the shuttle bus we took to the village of Lake Louise for a meal with a view.

We had lunch with them in town and pre-guided them to the sites we had seen the day before. They would do these and Daisy and I would continue on our way to Banff National Park.  We took one shuttle bus back to our truck camper and they took another shuttle bus to Lake Louise for a short day's visit. 

 














As Daisy and I left with appreciation in our hearts, it was our intent to take a more scenic rural route south down Bow Valley but the road was closed. So we backtracked a bit north before going south on Trans-Canadian Highway 1.  No problem.

One plus feature we saw as a result of this detour was this tunnel structure. It is an overpass that is landscaped on top to be a highway wildlife crossing.





We arrived at the Spring Creek RV Park in Canmore, Alberta at 3:30 pm.  This would be our base for visiting Banff National Park.




The diary of that part of our trip will follow next.