Chasing waterfalls in the Canadian Rockies - Vancouver Sun
A road trip to celebrate 39 years together
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We abandoned our annual overseas travel adventure, because of the pandemic, to celebrate our 39th wedding anniversary locally. We embarked on a ten-day driving trip through the Rockies to Banff and Jasper – a trip we had made 25 years ago with our 3 young children at the time, en route to Drumheller, but now undertook with just the two of us.
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September 14
We relied on our trusty SatNav to guide us to our first port of call; Grace's Bed and Breakfast in Sorrento, and were surprised when we were informed, "you have arrived at your destination" as at that point, there was nothing but bush along the highway.
Turned out that the B&B was 100 metres up the road from where our SatNav said, and was accessed by a small dirt track.
The accommodation was beautiful, and our hosts were lovely. And we had the entire place to ourselves.
September 15
Over breakfast our hosts gave us some tips on places we might want to stop en route to Golden via Revelstoke. One recommendation was Margaret Falls, about 15 minutes out of Sorrento. It's a short hike in to a lovely little falls. Returning along the same trail, we crossed the road and accessed the beach area at Shuswap Lake. A brief walk along the beach and its campgrounds and we were back on the road to Revelstoke.
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Here we stopped for our main hike of the day to the top of the mountain in Mount Revelstoke National Park. It summits at 6,360 feet but, don't worry, you can drive to near the top and hike up the last kilometre for the spectacular views. Between the many sunny breaks, we did see a little precipitation in the form of snow, so dress accordingly!
After our hike, we continued on to Golden, overnighting in another lovely B&B, the Tschurtschenthaler Lodge.
September 16
We sought tips from our host for places to stop en route to Lake Louise. She suggested three points of interest, starting with a visit to Wapta Falls. It's about a 2.5 km hike in to see the falls, but well worth the walk.
From there we carried on to Emerald Lake and enjoyed walking the 5 km loop around the lake. Then on to our final stop of the day, Takakkaw Falls – a truly spectacular setting.
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The drive to Lake Louise completed another spectacular day of scenery.
September 17
The Lake Louise area offers two main lakes – Moraine Lake and its surrounding area, and Lake Louise itself. The car parks at both lakes (Lake Louise in particular) get very busy early, a better alternative is to take the shuttle which can be ordered online.
We visited Lake Moraine first and were rewarded after a short hike up the Rockpile Trail with some breathtaking views. We then headed back to Moraine Lake for a walk on the lake trail, which provides beautiful scenery and is definitely worth doing.
We then boarded the shuttle for the 15-minute drive to Lake Louise and called in at the Fairmont for a bite of lunch at their café.
Then we went for a walk on the Lake Louise Shoreline Trail, which goes to the far end of the lake and back Рabout 4 km all in. The look back from the far end of the lake provides a great view of the Ch̢teau Fairmont, and the surrounding mountains and vistas are fabulous.
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After that it was back to the lodge for dinner and to celebrate my birthday.
September 18
We travelled to Banff, stopping off at Johnson Canyon. This is a very popular stop, and the foot traffic is high, but worth the effort.
There are two falls here; the Lower Falls is about 1.2 km in and there is a small tunnel at the viewing spot that you can go through to see the falls closer. This tends to get really busy and you may have to wait your turn. We elected to skip this and still got a good view of the falls without having to go into the tunnel.
A further 1.5 km up the trail is the Upper Falls, which was less crowded and was well worth the extra hike.
After visiting the falls, we carried on to Banff and checked in at the Moosehead Hotel. We had dinner at the Radiant: great food and we were treated to a jazz-based performance from Allison Lynch, accompanied by Mark Limacher on keyboard.
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September 19
We made the short journey to Canmore to visit one of my wife's cousins and his wife. They took us on a nice hike close to where they live, which provided a beautiful waterfall and a small lake at the top of the trail.
From there we headed to the Banff Gondola, which took us up Sulphur Mountain for stunning views of the Bow Valley.
There is a restaurant at the top, but reservations are recommended, and also a café which is more of a first-come first-serve basis, but fills up very quickly. We chose the third food option; a little store where you can get snacks and sandwiches to take out.
September 20
The road between Banff and Jasper provides endless beautiful vistas and we found ourselves stopping at many of the viewing pullouts before arriving at the Columbia Icefield.
We purchased a pass for the Columbia Icefield Skywalk, a platform where you can walk out on the glass base and view the drop to the canyon below, and also gaze out at the magnificent scenery.
After we'd completed our Skywalk, and were shuttled back to the carpark, we headed across the road where you can hike to the foot of the Icefield. What we found most interesting, and at the same time disturbing, were the various markers that were posted on route that showed where the ice came to at various points in time dating back almost 100 years. The shortening of the Icefield in just the last 20-30 years is dramatic.
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As we existed the Icefield and began our drive on to Jasper, we came across a mountain goat by the side of the road, which was our first wildlife sighting of any note – a very handsome fellow.
September 21
For our full day in the Jasper area, we chose to visit Maligne Lake, to go canoeing. Just before we reached Maligne, we noticed a few cars pulled in ahead, which is usually a sign of wildlife. Sure enough, we were treated to a moose grazing by the side of the road.
The weather at the lake was a little breezy so we went for a hike to nearby Moose Lake (about 2 km) in the hope that the winds would die down to enable us to take a canoe out. By the time we returned to the boat rental, it was still choppy, but a little calmer, so we ventured out. Luckily the wind and flow of the lake was against us on the way out so by the time we'd turned to head back, we were virtually blown back to shore.
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September 22
This day was a long driving day as we headed back home, with an overnight stop in Clearwater.
Just outside Clearwater, we detoured to Spahat Falls, which was a great little detour and a fairly short walk to the falls.
Once in Clearwater, our B&B host recommended the Hog N Hop Tap and Smokehouse for dinner. Word of advice – have a light lunch if you plan to go, as the portions are huge. Outstanding recommendation though.
September 23
Once through Kamloops, rather than take the customary route home along the Coquihalla, we took the longer but spectacular cross-country route (using Hwy-1 & Hwy-99) and spend the night in Whistler.
We found a great place to stop for our picnic lunch just outside Lillooet overlooking a beautiful lake, and then carried on to Joffre Lake, where we made a quick pitstop to view the lower lake.
September 24
Our final stop was in Whistler, and we took a quick walk around Lost Lake to stretch our legs in the morning and then carried on to the Whistler train wreck trail, which is located just outside Whistler near Function Junction.
The trail follows the Sea To Sky Trail and crosses a suspension bridge, and offers scenic views of the Cheakakmus River, before arriving at the colourfully painted box cars.
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