The Canadian Rockies National Parks: Reflections of Grandeur

During August, we certainly caught the national park travel "bug" big time! Our visit to Grand Teton and Glacier National Parks only whet our appetite for more rocky hiking paths that lead to deep blue alpine lakes and distant glacier views. And so, it just seemed natural to continue our travels west through the Canadian Rockies where there just so happen to be seven more national parks that preserve the magnificent beauty of the mountains.

We visited two of these national parks, Banff and Jasper, two years ago on our way back from Alaska. This time though, it was time to visit their smaller, but just as spectacular neighboring parks ... Waterton Lakes, Kootenay, Yoho, Glacier, and Revelstoke National Parks. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here's my (not so) brief summary along with (quite) a few photos of the reflections of grandeur that we found in Canada's seven Rocky Mountain National Parks.

Waterton Lakes National Park

Waterton Lakes National Park shares a border with the US's Glacier National Park and thus is known as an International Peace Park. Like the glacial lakes that flow freely and the wildlife that roam peacefully between the two countries, this special designation reflects the partnership between the two nations to preserve our natural resources.

Highlights

The town of Waterton Park

The elegant and historic Prince of Wales Lodge overlooks the town of Waterton Park which lies on the eastern edge of this national park. A 2017 wildfire charred much of the surrounding area but thankfully spared this adorable hotel and village. The national park campground, Townsite, is located in town and provides easy access to community services. A couple of scenic hiking trails start on the edge of town. After mingling with throngs of tourists at Glacier National Park, the "laid back" feeling and lack of crowds  in Waterton Park was a welcome relief.

Cameron Lake

Beautiful scenery surrounded us as we hiked around Cameron Lake. The 1.5 mile trail hugs the shoreline and ends at a platform with the following warning: If you proceed any further through the dense forest and try to enter the United States, the "border control" wild grizzly bears will make sure that doesn't happen!

Red Rock Canyon Hike

Water's amazing power to cut through and reshape rock was once again demonstrated as we hiked along the Red Rock Canyon. Many of the park's "hardier" visitors were enjoying the warm sunny day with a dip in the cool mountain stream.

Fun Facts

Waterton Lakes National Park is well known as the place "where the mountains meet the prairies." As we enjoyed one of the best hamburgers ever at the Waterton Park Cafe, the friendly owner shared how the beef comes from grass-fed cattle on a prairie ranch just on the other side of the lake. Like the Grand Tetons, there are no foothills here as the mountains seem to just abruptly rise up from the prairies. 

These mountains would rise to even greater heights as we started to drive northwest into the beautiful Canadian Rockies!

Kootenay National Park

Kootenay National Park was established in 1920 as a compromise between the Canadian government who wanted a road through the mountains to connect to the Trans-Canada highway, and local government who wanted to preserve the mountainous region that the road would go through. The result is a scenic route through a national park that leads past hot springs, mountains, canyons, and glaciers. 

Highlights

Stanley Glacier Hike

This is touted as the most popular hike in Kootenay National Park, and we would have to agree. The trail led us through some beautiful forested areas to a stunning alpine basin.

From there we were able to enjoy the view of Stanley Glacier and watch its meltwater tumble down the massive rock walls. The 3.5 mile uphill hike to this vantage point was well worth the effort!

Radium Hot Springs

The town of Radium Hot Springs lies at the west end of the park. An easy bike ride from our "home" at Redstreak National Park Campground allowed us to enjoy the town's many amenities.  Thankfully Radium Hot Springs is also the location of a large warm pool whose water comes from the nearby hot springs ... a perfect way to rejuvenate those tired hiking muscles. 

Screamers, a cute 50s style ice cream and coffee shop located in town, also helped with the post mega-hike recovery process!

Marble Canyon

The Marble Canyon Hike is another gem not to miss. This easy one mile hike delivers a big payoff with dramatic views into the narrow limestone gorge from each of the seven bridges that cross the canyon.

And who doesn't love a waterfall at the end?

Fun Facts 

Kootenay, along with Yoho, Banff, and Jasper National Parks, make up the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, and they have been designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the beautiful and unique mountains, waterfalls, glaciers, caves, canyons, and fossils that are found there.

We would have to agree!

Yoho National Park

Yoho National Park was established along a stretch of the Canadian Pacific Railway's Trans-Canadian route that cuts through some of the highest peaks of the Rocky Mountains. Following its completion in 1885, the railway built a luxury hotel in the small mountain town of Field in order to draw tourists to this mountain retreat. The beautiful surroundings made Yoho National Park a "natural" choice to be named Canada's second national park in 1886.

Trains are still an important form of transportation through this area as we found out while we waited for this train with 150+ cars to pass.

Highlights

Takakkaw Falls

The drive up Yoho Valley Road may be a bit narrow and steep, but the views of Canada's third tallest waterfall made this white-knuckle drive well worth it.

Emerald Lake

We arrived early in the morning in order to secure a parking spot at this popular hiking, swimming and picnicking destination. As we hiked the two mile Lakeshore Trail, we marveled at the deep emerald water color and scenic reflections.

Learning from my past experiences that a little effort usually has big payoffs, we hiked up the Emerald Basin Trail to be rewarded with grand views of a glacial-carved basin.

Lake O'Hara

This is one of Yoho's "you better plan ahead if you want to see it" destinations. I was told that Lake O'Hara is pretty spectacular, but because the road leading up to it goes through sacred First Nation lands, it is closed to private cars, bikes, and hikers. In order to visit it, one must make advance reservations for the limited-service bus that transports visitors to the lake from the main section of the park. Maybe someday we'll get better at advanced planning ... but probably not.

We'll stick to the lakes and the trails that only require one to get to the trailhead parking area by 9 am in order to capture beautiful morning reflections.

Fun Facts

Yoho National Park lies at the highest point of the Trans-Canada Highway at 1627 meters or 5337 feet.

Burgess Shale Fossils, the oldest evidence of complex life on earth, were discovered in this area in 1909 as well as in nearby Banff, Jasper, and Kootenay. These fossils are over 500 million years old ... older than the dinosaurs. Many of these ocean creatures or "stone bugs" are so well preserved that fine details like the eyeballs can be detected.

Jasper National Park

After hearing about the devastating wildfire that destroyed around 30% of this iconic national park and wilderness this past July, I feel grateful that we were able to visit Jasper National Park in 2022 on our way back from Alaska.  I somehow missed blogging about our visit there and to Banff, but better late than never. Here is my condensed version of the colossally beautiful Jasper. 

Highlights

Jasper SkyTram

We don't often do "touristy" activities like this, but the clear skies and sunshine beckoned us to check out Canada's highest aerial tram.

  Memories of the panoramic views of Jasper from the summit seem even more precious in light of the recent wildfires.

Athabasca Falls

This short and relatively easy stroll rewards all with views of the powerful waterfall ... along with a slight dousing of its mist for those who decide to get too close. 

Mount Edith Cavell

This was one of our favorite hikes in Jasper because of how easy it was to get from the parking area to the glacial lake created by the Cavell Glacier ... and how peaceful it was as we watched the sun set behind the mountain.

Journeying a little farther over the rocky landscape that until recently was covered by glacial ice, we were almost able to touch the glacier.

Jasper Village

Probably our most fond memory of Jasper was of the quaint town of Jasper. From our campsite at the national park's Whistler Campground, we were able to bike into town along a beautiful trail. A very relaxed and unpretentious village greeted us with good food and drink (i.e. ice cream and a craft beer) to fuel the many wilderness adventures that begin just outside the city limits. Sadly, one third of the town's buildings were destroyed by the recent fire. Prayers for this beautiful area as they start to rebuild.

Fun Facts

Jasper is the largest of the Canadian Rockies national parks and boasts of having 1762 lakes within its borders. We were able to enjoy the reflective beauty of five of these lakes during the Valley of the Five Lakes hike.

Icefield Parkway

The road that connects Jasper to Banff National Park showcases the incredible beauty of both parks. Icefield Parkway is a 145 mile highway that travels along the Continental Divide past mountain peaks, glaciers, and deep blue lakes. It's been named the "Drive of a Lifetime" by National Geographic and with awe-inspiring views like this etched in our memory, we would have to agree.

There are numerous places that one can stop along the way with the Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre being the most popular. Once again, there was no way these non-planners could snag a spot on one of the popular Columbia Glacier hikes. But we were just as happy to drive a bit further down the road to the Parker Ridge Trail.

While I didn't get to walk on ice, the distant glacier views were just as spectacular.

Banff National Park

Banff is considered by many to be  the "crown" of Canadian national parks. It became Canada's first national park in 1885, and it continues to attract millions of visitors each year as it did us in 2022. From its abundance of hiking trails to its glacier-fed deep blue lakes to its striking mountain vistas, Banff's beauty surrounds you.

Highlights

Lake Louise

 Lake Louise's magical beauty easily makes this the #1 destination when visiting Banff National Park. Because of its popularity, it's best to make advance reservations for the bus that will take you from the town center parking lot to Lake Louise and the adjacent Moraine Lake. And you guessed it ... these non-planners were (thankfully) able to get a parking spot nearer to Lake Louise by heading up to the area bright and early in the morning. 

After admiring the incredible views of the lake, we began an uphill climb that led to a few smaller alpine lakes before ending at the iconic Lake Agnes Tea House.

Do you want a tea and pastry to go with that view? For sure!

 The touristy town of Banff

The architecture of the famous Banff Springs Hotel

... as well as Banff's "main" street, made it easy to imagine that we were suddenly transported into a cute village in the middle of the Swiss Alps. 

Spectacular views and hikes from our Campground

We stayed at one of the national park campgrounds just on the outskirts of town.

There were beautiful views in the campground as well as along the trail that we followed three miles downhill from our campground into downtown Banff. And after we had our fill of the town's food and attractions, we were able to catch the city bus to take us back up the mountain to our campsite. 

Bow Valley Parkway and Johnston Canyon

Bow Valley Parkway runs parallel to the Trans-Canada Highway from Banff to Lake Louise. While this route is slower, it is also more scenic and lined with hiking trails. We chose the popular Johnston Canyon Hike that was fairly easy except for the large number of tourists moving slowly along the narrow trail alongside the even narrower canyon. And we visited on a drizzly morning ... I can't imagine hiking it during better weather.

Fun Facts

Lake Louise is the most photographed lake in the world.

And we understand why!

(Canada's) Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park, like its US "twin" of the same name, is the perfect destination for mountain and outdoor lovers.

Highlights

Bear Creek Falls

Bear Creek Falls is beautiful and unique at the same time. It is one of the only waterfall hikes that we have ever done in which we had to hike down to the waterfall from the trailhead. By this time on our Rocky Mountain journey, grabbing the bear spray became second nature for Doug, as he should have especially given the name of this creek. Thankfully it was not needed.

Grand Glacier Hike

This hike is a "must do" when visiting Glacier because seeing the Grand Glacier is kind of a big deal around here. Starting from the Illecillewaet Trailhead we traveled through a moss covered forest before the trail started going up and up and up

... until we reached the "official" end of the trail which meant that more fun was in store for me as Doug convinced me to do a bit of rock scrambling in order 

... to get an even more perfect view of the glacier, waterfall, and  distant mountains.

Rock Garden Trail

Doug may have never promised me a rose garden, but he gladly let me wander through Mother Nature's fascinating rock garden. It's mind-boggling to imagine the power of the glaciers that shaped this rocky playground.

Fun Facts

The railway contributed to the creation of Canada's Glacier National Park. After  finding a way through the elusive Rogers Pass, the Canadian Pacific Railroad was finally able to start bringing tourists to this snowy, mountainous and scenic area in 1885. Stone remnants of rail trellises and foundation of the luxury hotel known as "Glacier House" are all that remain here today. In this avalanche-prone area, the hotel was cut off from the train when the route over Rogers Pass had to be changed in 1916. With a drastic decline in visitors, the hotel was demolished shortly after.

The Trans-Canadian Highway which allows auto traffic to travel the whole length of Canada was completed here at Rogers Pass in 1963.  From the looks of it, a lot of creative craving was necessary!

Surrounded by steep mountain slopes, the roof of the park's visitor center is sloped to withstand the 400 to 600 inches of snow that Rogers Pass receives in a year.

Covered roadways like this along the Trans-Canada highway help to keep the passage open and travelers safe from avalanches that the mega-amounts of yearly snow can produce.

Mount Revelstoke National Park

Mount Revelstoke was the last of the Canadian Rockies national parks on our journey. While it's a relatively small national park, it preserves important flora and fauna found on its mountain slopes.

Highlights

Giant Cedars Boardwalk

One of the world's only inland temperate rainforests is located in Mount Revelstoke National Park. Receiving a majority of its moisture from the winter snows, this forest has ideal growing conditions for the giant Cedars that we found here.

Driving to the Summit of Mount Revelstoke

This national park's main "star" is The Meadows in the Sky Parkway. This road starts at the river valley and travels up towards the alpine summit with scenic vistas around every curve.

Once at the top, we did have to put a little effort into reaching the "true" summit,

... and the payoff was well worth it!

Fun Facts

This is one of the few occasions where local citizens took the initiative to persuade the government to create a national park in their backyard. The townspeople of Revelstoke wanted to preserve the beauty of Mount Revelstoke, and so they petitioned the Canadian government to make it a national park in 1914.

Revelstoke became one of the first ski destinations in North America in 1915 with the development of the longest natural ski jump in Canada. Today the mountains in this area are popular for heli-skiing in winter and heli-hiking in summer. Would I let Doug talk me into having a helicopter drop us off on one of the mountain summits and then make our way down???  Sounds like an amazing adventure ... that would have been more feasible in our younger years! For now, we're happy to enjoy the views from afar and enjoy the beauty that is found on our more "mellow" hiking trails.

Are you still here???

Yes, this "brief" summary turned out to be a little longer than I originally envisioned. So many beautiful memories to reflect on as we spent two weeks traveling through The Canadian Rockies National Parks

Comparisons ... and Conclusions

 Comparing our visits to the Canadian national parks to our recent visits to Yellowstone, Glacier, and Grand Teton, we found many similarities and some very nice differences.

The similarities included plenty of hiking trails filled with amazing scenery.

Of course, resting on the iconic "red chairs" while admiring the beautiful scenery is a uniquely Canadian experience!

The differences that we noticed:

For the most part, there were less visitors to contend with on Canada's national park trails, and parking at trailheads was generally easier to find.

The Canadian national parks almost always have a reasonably sized town in or very near to the park, whereas many United States national parks are out in the middle of nowhere. And usually civilization means Internet service ... always a plus after a day in the wilderness.

Canada's national parks can be more expensive as they charge a daily entrance fee ranging from 6$ to 11$ per adult depending on the popularity of the park. Therefore, if you are going to be visiting a park for seven or more days, it is better to buy a yearly pass for 151$ ($110 usd) 

Doug was able to snag some last minute cancellations at the Canadian national park campgrounds that we stayed at. While there is no "half price" camping for us "seniors" like there is in US national park campgrounds, the average nightly cost was around $35 (usd). And that included "luxuries" such as modern bathrooms and free showers,

... and magnificently wooded sites that warmly welcomed us "home" as we enjoyed

... Canada's Reflections of Grandeur.

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