Our Short Trip to Banff

We went to Banff, Alberta in June. It was a very short trip. We landed at the Calgary Airport, picked up the vehicle we rented from Hertz and made our way to Canmore, AB. We stayed at the Lodges at Canmore. 

You are required to purchase a 'National Park Pass', we were able to do so once we arrived at the parking lot of Lake Louise. They do confirm the purchase of the pass before letting you into the lot.  Lake Louise was the first stop on our itinerary. The commute was a little less than an hour with no traffic. We arrived around 9:00AM and it was quite busy. Around 11:00AM it jam packed with people and their beautiful dogs. We basically walked straight to the lake. There was no hiking involved for us. There were crowds of people surrounding the lake. If you are going for pictures (that was the sole purpose of our trip) I suggest getting there at least by 7:00AM. We were able to grab a few spots and everyone stepped aside as they thought we were all apart of a wedding photo shoot, so that was splendid. 

After shooting for a few hours, we decided to head into Banff for a break as it was too bright for pictures. We walked through the streets of Banff and had lunch at The Eddie Burger + Bar, I had poutine and this drink called 'The Trash Can', it was good. However, the rest of the group didn't think the food was that special. We then headed back to Canmore to rest up before heading back. We decided to head back to Lake Louise during the later afternoon, it was definitely quieter and even more beautiful than it was in the morning. 

Next up on the itinerary was Moraine Lake. From Lake Louise, we headed down the street, took a right and were on our way. The parking lot here was not busy during the evening. When we drove past it in the morning, they had closed the parking lot as it was full and were directing people to the parking lots that are along the highway. Anyways, it felt like a lengthy commute, I think it was about half an hour with the vehicles in front of us being slow. WHICH is the safest bet. There is tons of wild life up there, and windy roads, please drive carefully. We ended up shooting here until after sunset. Another thing I suggest is bringing bug spray.

The following morning we drove to Peyto Lake. This was a lengthy drive from Canmore. If you are going in separate vehicles, stay in touch with each other prior to and make sure you set a meet up spot. There is absolutely no service on the way to Peyto Lake. This felt like the busiest lake. For this, I would suggest wearing a sturdy pair of shoes (hiking shoes). The lake was surrounded and the best spots for pictures had line ups. Peyto Lake was truly the most beautiful lake we visiting in our short trip. I would suggest arriving super early for this one as well. 

Our flight home was from the Edmonton Airport so we had a few more hours to drive and take in the  spectacular views. We drove down the absolutely stunning, Ice Fields Parkway. Please be sure to drive with caution here too, we did see quite a bit of wild life. The weather did fluctuate a lot. All in all the we got quite a bit done with the limited amount of time we had during our weekend. If we have the opportunity go back, I would definitely add Emerald Lake to the itinerary.