Day 4 - A Visit to Lake Louise
About 30 minutes north of Banff is Lake Louise, a turquoise glacier-fed lake surrounded by mountains whose beauty is legendary. On a somewhat overcast Wednesday we decided to visit the region.
Our first stop was the Lake Louise gondola. This area is actually a ski resort east of Lake Louise, and in the summer they keep one of the lifts running for tourists to view bears upon the mountainside as well as to take in a sweeping panorama from the summit.
The mountain top was quite brisk and we were glad we had light jackets. At this altitude there was still snow on Dave with snowball the mountain...and of course the opportunity for a small snowball fight in July! It also was evident that we were up pretty high as the air was definitely a bit "thin", making you a bit winded when hiking any sort of an incline. The resort turns the lodge at the top into a center to learn about the area's wildlife and does a really nice job, especially on how to help preserve and protect the bear population.
From here we went down the road and over to Lake Louise. This is a very popular spot, so much so that there is actually a bit of a traffic jam as you wind your way up to the resort's parking area. To be honest the lakeside teeming with tourists plus the sounds of construction as a new facility was being erected really detracted from the experience. It was truly beautiful but it somehow lacked the serenity and majesty that was to be seen at other stops on our visit to the Rockies.
From Lake Louise we traced our steps back down the mountain and took a side trip to Lake Moraine. This is another glacier-fed lake framed by snow-capped mountains. It was our last stop on the day's activities and was not to be missed - we only wish we had had more time to possibly rent a canoe here.
