Jewels of the Rockies
Two weeks ago, I made a trip with my son and his daughters to Lake Louise to visit the lake itself and nearby Moraine Lake. These two lakes are among the best known icons of Banff National Park and the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
Over the past 5-6 years, awareness of the Park has grown and the number of annual visitors has snowballed to over 4 million people. It is no longer easy to visit these two scenic wonders. Typically, visitors park their vehicles in a huge parking lot about 5 km east of the Town of Lake Louise. From there, they are bussed up to the two lakes. We chose to engage a local guide and friend, Tracey Wilkens to take us in directly, a much easier and more pleasant way to go.
Our first stop was Moraine Lake, a snow and glacially fed lake in Banff National Park, 14 kilometres (~9 miles) outside the village of Lake Louise, Alberta. It is situated in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, at an elevation of approximately 1,884 metres (~6,200 ft.) above sea level. The lake rests at the bottom of the Valley of Ten Peaks, a very scenic surrounding. You need not count the peaks, only 7 out of 10 are included within the frame of this photograph.
The image of Moraine Lake is world-famous and appears in many places, including the reverse side of the 1969 and 1979 issues of the Canadian twenty dollar bill.
Our second and final stop was at Lake Louise. The photograph below features the lake, Lake Louise. It shares its name with a hamlet in Banff National Park and the Chateau Lake Louise, a 5-star luxury hotel amid unparalleled natural beauty. The following scene features the turquoise, glacier-fed lake ringed by high peaks and overlooked by the stately chateau. This scene, like that of Moraine Lake is a renowned view, visible from the hotel and its surrounding property.
After a pleasant lunch in the hamlet of Lake Louise, we returned home along a scenic stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway, an enjoyable 45 minutes of mountains, a river and the vast pine forests of the Rocky Mountains.