By Jill Stolz
If you are looking for an outdoor vacation spot for this summer, consider a trip to the Canadian Rockies, a picture-perfect postcard of breathtaking scenery, cool mountain air, and unlimited outdoor activities. Located where Alberta and Britis
h Columbia meet at the Continental Divide, Banff is an hour and a half drive from Calgary, the capital of Alberta and home to the famous Calgary Stampede. A popular skiing destination in the winter, especially heli-skiing, I heartily recommend coming in July or August when the snow is just melting and the cold mornings turn sunny and warm by the afternoon. It stays light until after 10 p.m. in the summer, allowing for more leisurely activities as the days stretch out before you.
Banff is a bustling ski town, much like Park City, with a downtown consisting of eclectic cafes and restaurants, shops, boutiques, and sporting goods stores. The town is anchored by the baronial Fairmont Banff Springs hotel, which was modeled after a Scottish castle. It is a complete resort, offering world-class golf, tennis, horseback riding, bicycle rentals, and even a bowling alley. There are a number of restaurant options as well as boutiques, but a 15-minute walk into town gives you much broader and less expensive options. There is plenty to do in Banff itself, including all levels of hiking, mountain and road biking, rafting on the bright green Bow River that flows throughout the National Park, and gondola rides to the top of Sulpher Mountain where the snow-capped peaks are everywhere you turn, and so much more. Wildlife can be seen here, as well as in other locations in the park.
We found ourselves just feet away from a large elk on the path behind our hotel on the first day. Other wildlife we saw on our trip include marmot, bighorn sheep, moose, hummingbirds, a black bear, and a grizzly bear family. However, to really capture the immense beauty of this area, you must spend some time in the Lake Louise area. It’s a 45-minute scenic drive from Banff, or you can stay in the majestic Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise which, you guessed it, was modeled after a French chateau. Arriving at Lake Louise is like jumping into a postcard.
The clear, blue, glacial lake is surrounded by snow-capped mountains, offering jaw-dropping views, which can be seen from the easiest walks around the lake to the most difficult hikes up to the top of the peaks. One of my favorite hikes was the Plain of the Six Glaciers hike, a two-hour climb rewarded not just by the view of six glaciers and the back of Lake Louise, but with a homemade lunch at the historic tea house perched at the top of the trail, run by generations of a family that opened it in 1924. Canoeing on the lake is also a popular, and very Canadian, activity. We drove about 20 minutes to take out a canoe on Lake Moraine, which was a deep turquoise color and less populated than Lake Louise.
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Popular activities in this area include white water rafting on the Kicking Horse River, with rapids ranging from class III to VI, horseback riding, kayaking and canoeing, glacier skiing for those who dare (and are in shape to climb up and ski down), multi-day hiking, and helicopter sightseeing. We arranged a heli-hiking expedition for an entire day, led by a certified heli-hiking guide. A helicopter flew us to the top of a mountain, which felt like landing on another planet. Over the course of a few hours, we made our way across the mountain and down towards a small lake surrounded by shrubbery and wildflowers. We stopped for a delicious, homemade lunch and took time to enjoy the magnificent views and breathe the cool, fresh air. Our helicopter was waiting for us and swooped us up, giving us a tour of the area from above before landing.
Had we stayed more than a week, we would have traveled further into British Columbia to Jasper National Park is filled with more pristine glacial lakes, mountains, and waterfalls to explore. Still, in one week, we managed to fit in a variety of activities, take a multitude of pictures and just relax and take in one of the most beautiful areas I have ever seen. Whether you come for rigorous hiking, outdoor adventures, excellent golfing or just a beautiful place to unwind, the Canadian Rockies have it all.