Jasper, Banff – Icefields Parkway

September 6, 2019

This morning we left McBride, BC enroute to Lake Louise in Banff National Park. It was 53 degrees and sunny when we left at 9:30 AM. After driving 50 miles, we got our first glimpse of the Canadian Rockies. Looking out the front window, we could see Mt. Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. It has an elevation of 12, 972 feet. In July, we couldn’t even see the mountain due to the rain and fog! 

We continued on the Yellowhead Highway through Jasper National Park and connecting to the Icefields Parkway at the town of Jasper. We passed lots of scenic stopping points along the road, but, we only stopped for a few.  Most of the pull-outs were full of tourists and that makes it difficult for us to stop. 

The Canadian Rocky Mountains are spectacular even without snow!

On the Icefield Parkway, we passed several glaciers. Ken and I think we are becoming glacier experts, since we have seen so many on this trip! Glaciers are fascinating!

We stopped at Waterfowl Lake, an idyllic setting of beautiful blue water and beautiful forest up the dramatic snow-patched rocky mountains.

We made another stop at the turquoise-colored Bow Lake which is the head water for the Bow River. Beautiful!! We could see the turquoise blue glacial waters in most of the rivers and lakes.

Arriving in Banff, we drove to the Lake Louise “Overflow” camping lot. It was nealy full of campers when we arrived and several more arrived after us. We stayed here before and the best part is that  “Overflow” lot was only $10.80 Canadian!!! 

Our camping spot was close to Lake Louise and we drove over to Lake Louise Village. We were expecting to get turned away from the Lake Louise parking lots due to the amount of tourists in the park.  It was our lucky day!  Just as we approached the closest lot, we were directed in to take one of the 3 vacant spots.  We arrived at the same time as a tour bus, but we still managed to get some good photos of the lake. Personally, I think that Waterfowl Lake and Bow Lake were just as  beautiful as Lake Louise. Maybe Lake Louise is overrated??  In my opinion…yes!

We stopped at the Village to spend some of our leftover Canadian money and then went back to our RV for the night.