| |||||||
 |
| Search this Thread |  5,687 views |
23rd October 2023, 03:43
| #1 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Pune/NJ/Canada
Posts: 152
Thanked: 684 Times
| Mountains, Turquoise Lakes and Glaciers | Exploring the most scenic regions in the Canadian Rockies   If you go to google search and type Canada, most likely you will see an image of a lake with turquoise waters and rocky mountains in the background and it would be on of the lakes from Alberta, Canada. For last few years I have always thought about visiting Canada and although there were some opportunities that could have made it possible, I never took them. After living in US for almost a decade, I moved to Canada and since then a trip of this kind has always been going on in mind. Since the pandemic had started, travel had become almost negligible for me and although I made some work trips across the southern border, my and my family had not planned any major vacation trips so far. Since summer is limited in Canada (at least in the eastern part), we made a last minute plan to visit Alberta and fulfill a long pending trip to visit the blue/green lakes I had always wanted to visit. We decided on a week long trip, although a 2 week one is ideal, but considering the PTO’s needed, we thought of doing the main areas in Alberta . Banff and Jasper National Parks are two of the most popular destinations in Alberta and in general, in Canada, thanks to their stunning natural beauty. Banff is the oldest national park in Canada and the third oldest in the world, and it is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Jasper, on the other hand, is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies. A week-long trip to Banff and Jasper National Park is the perfect amount of time to explore all the parks have to offer. I had visited 4 national parks in Colorado few years back and Rocky Mountain National park was one of them, so this would be good opportunity to see the northern part of the Rocky Mountain range. The Plan One of the best ways to experience the natural beauty of any National Park is to go hiking, but when you add kids to the equation, you mostly tend to do take the least walking options. There are different ways to do this trip: Start and end in Calgary Start and end in Edmonton Start in either of the two cities and end in the other. We planned the following itinerary considering Calgary as the start and end points and because there were more flights to Calgary than to Edmonton. Day 1: arrive in Calgary, travel to Canmore and rest for the remainder of the day Day 2: Visit Lake Minnewanka and take a cruise, visit any surrounding view points and return to the lodge Day 3: Visit Lake Moraine and Lake Louise, Banff Gondola and return Day 4: Leave for Jasper and cover some view points on the way. In evening, take the Columbia Icefield and skywalk tours and arrive in Jasper Day 5: Visit Pyramid and Patricia Lakes, explore downtown area, visit Athabasca falls and take wildlife viewing tour in the evening and return Day 6: Lake Maligne Cruise and Maligne Canyon, Sunwapta falls and arrive at hotel in Lake Louise, plan for night visit to Lake Louise based on weather Day 7: Visit Takakaw falls and Emerald Lake, Johnston Canyon on the way back to Canmore Day 8: Visit Banff town and explore area, museums and any other local places and start return journey to Calgary by late afternoon. We had only a week to cover the main attractions. The ideal duration is about 2 weeks, during which you can see more and do few more activities like hiking, night sky viewing, visit few more places around the 2 parks. Day 1 We took an air Canada flight, which generally has a 100% track record of never reaching on time. We had decided to reach 3 hrs before time, though this was a domestic flight, but airports these days are chaotic, so we decided to use the lounge if we had lot of time to spare. The boarding surprisingly got complete before time and everyone thought the flight would leave before time. But then their track record would get broken. So after a delay of about 40 mins beyond the shcheduled departure, the flight finally took off. On arrival it took about 30 mins to get the bags and then we headed to the National counter. For some reason, the booking had a note that I had to go the counter instead of the Emerald Aisle. At the counter it took about 20-25 mins, after which the agent told that since my license was not properly updated, I had to come to the counter and then proceed to the Emerald lot. They messaged over the radio that the car should be brought to the counter, while we proceeded to the lot. I asked if there were any upgrades, however they indicated that they had pre-selected a nice and new car with all bells and whistles. When we reached the area specified, I saw a Volvo pulling into the parking area, which looked a bit smaller than the XC60. I had a standard SUV, so I had assumed they would give an a car similar to a RAV4 or CRV or a XC60 (essentially good boot space). However it turned out to be the XC40, which later turned into a problem. I knew that the XC40 was very compact SUV (or a SUV), so I mentioned to the agent there, that our bags would not fit into it. After struggling for half an hour he agreed that the bags would not fit, unless we pulled down the seats, but we needed one of the rear seats, so it would become a very tight seating arrangement. He immediately pointed towards at least 5 or 6 RAM 1500 trucks (almost 2 times the size of the XC40) and side, I'll throw in a free tank of gas (about 132 ltrs ~ 150-160$ worth of fuel). The trucks were more than what we needed, but they were fully loaded. The only minor (or major) problem being the boot space was open (its a truck, that most maintenance folks use, so mostly they have open spaces). we asked if they had the cover, but he said the only option that comes to mind is going to Walmart and buying a blue tarp and doing some jugaad. We eventually said no, as that was too much of headache and there was some rain in the coming days. All this took about an hour from the point we saw the car. Finally the agent said that he will check with enterprise and offer them an exchange. I had seen a Grand Cherokee, but since that was with enterprise, he had not agreed initially (to be given as an upgrade). After few mins he came back smiling and said check out the Cherokee, I'll get the XC40 next to it, so you can transfer the luggage. Within next 15 mins, we were ready to leave the airport. The Cheroke was quit spacious and since it had only one rear passenger row, the boot space was more than enough to fit another 1-2 bags. We checked it for scratches and damages, took a video and signed out of the garage. As we exited, we found a coffee shop within 5 mins and decided to take a break before going non stop to Canmore. When we were within 2 mins, we realized we we were back into the lane for the airport and that the coffee shop was within the airpot building. Frustrated that we should have thought of this before, we skipped the coffee and headed straight for Canmore, checked into the hotel, had the dinner we had brought from home and retired for the night. With my previous trips, flights always had something to remember, however this time it turned out to be the rental. View from the flight  Day 2 We had taken the pursuit passes for Banff and Jasper and since they are timed tickets, we didn’t plan many things for the days we had cruises or other rides. On the way to Banff, you will find the national park gates and you can pay the fees to take a day pass or if you have a yearly pass, you can keep moving via the dedicated lanes (which is a better option, if you can buy the pass ahead of time). The pass is needed on all days you cross Banff and go towards Jasper, so for a multi day visit, the annual pass is of more value. Lake Minnewanka is a crowded place by afternoon and parking can be a challenge in the morning also. Luckily our cruise was in the morning and we managed to find one spot, we reached on time for the cruise departure. We had taken the standard cruise for about an hour and the tour guide explained the various features of the area, before heading back. It was partially cloudy, but there was sun was coming out every now and then, so it was a good view. There is a small restaurant from where we had some sort of lunch (just to keep the hunger pangs down). After that we spent some more time at the lake and then headed to the town of Banff. On the way we stopped at the Mt Norquay lookout, which gives the view of the town of Banff and surrounding areas. It started to rain, so we didn't wait for long. Banff is crowded in summers, so we didn’t get a chance to stop at many places, but we visited surprise view corner, which is basically a viewpoint for the Fairmont hotel in Banff. Nothing extra ordinary, but you can see a European styled building in the middle of mountains (some resemblance with German castles in mountains, is what I would say). From there we went to Cave and Basin National historic site. This place has a gift shop and a sulphur spring (which has an awful smell). There is an entry fees for the cave and the exhibit area. There is also a viewing area on the second floor, which is free to enter. From there our next stop was Bow Falls. As usual the area was packed and we somehow managed to get parking after circling it for few mins. In Canada, most of the tourist places are packed with desi folks. You will see people from other countries also, but the no. of desi’s mostly overshadow all other groups 😄 . We had dinner in Banff and then headed back to Canmore (which is about 20-30 mins from Banff). View from the lodge  Lake Minnewanka  Another view of lake minnewanka  Boat Views of Lake Minnewanka Boats at the Lake Minnewanka  Banff Town from Mt Norquay lookout  Totem pole type of structure at the Cave and Basin historical site  Sulphur pool at Cave and Basin  Another external pool where algae grows on the chemicals  Views from the roof of building at Cave and Basin  Bow Falls  River view at Bow Falls  Surprise Corner viewpoint for Fairmont hotel  Day 3 For today, we had planned to go to Lake Moraine and Lake Louise. if you recall my opening line, those are the two turquoise lakes I was referring to. In the past year, you could drive uptown both lakes, but due to overcrowding, Parks Canada have closed down the access road to Lake Moraine, unless you are staying in the Moraine lake lodge (which gets booked up almost a year in advance). The only option to see this lake is to book a Parks Canada shuttle, which also has an option to visit Lake Louise and then head back to the starting point. I’m not sure why they are unable to operate buses all the time similar to the bus system in US national parks, but I'm guessing they want to limit the no. of buses they have to operate. The cost is 8$/person, but you have to login exact at 8 AM and all the seats are gone within 2-3 mins. 40% of the seats get booked 6 months in advance and the remaining have to be booked exactly 2 days in advance at 8 AM MST. There are private operators and the city also runs buses called ROAM, which are priced higher than the Parks Canada buses. Some private companies run sunrise shuttles for photo enthusiasts to catch the morning light at 4 and 5 AM. I would have done that if I was alone, but it was not worth the effort this time. We reached the parking area at Lake Louise Ski resort just in time to catch our bus. The bus took about 25 mins to reach Lake Moraine. From the drop off point, the lake is barely 5 mins walk and there also there are 2 view points - one via a rocky path and one along the lake. The easy path runs along the lake boundary and has got gift shops and accommodation as well as a restaurant. This option also allows you to rent a canoe for an hour for about 160-170$ (tax included) for upto 3 people. You can also do this at other lakes in the area, but since it wasn't crowded, we decided to do it here itself. The canoe was easy to navigate and an hour passed just like that. They do give life jackets and safety instructions. Lake moraine is a small lake and you can reach the other end and come back in an hours time. From there we waited for the shuttle bus to Lake Louise which took about 40 mins. The timings from the ski resort are fixed but for the lake connector ones, people have to wait without any clue about the next bus. I wish Parks Canada have a better way of managing this. Making people wait for hours (during the evening rush). In general I feel Parks Canada can make changes to improve their services (not just buses), similar to how US NPS functions. The NPS runs many programs in US National parks, whereas if you see the Parks Canada, they just manage few programs with great difficulty. The cost of the annual pass is much higher than the US one (forex conversion included) and one would expect more from the Canadian folks, however like most of the other services, you feel let down. Anyway, moving on, we reached lake Louise in about 20 mins. Lake Louise is the bigger lake between the two and that means more crowd. As usual desi folks dominate tourist places in Canada and this lake is no different. The view points are bigger and the lines were long for the canoes. The sun was shining bright on the lake and the reflections were making it harder to get a good photo. You will also find the Fairmot hotel here, which is a huge building (or set of buildings). It stands up to its size in pricing (being the most expensive in any of the hotels in the region). We didn’t stay for long here as the crowds were growing and the cafeteria had barely anything to eat. The return bus came in about 20-25 mins from when we stood in the queue. Roam buses also come here frequently from various parts of Banff and probably Canmore also. From the ski resort we decided to go to Banff and luckily found street parking (which is rare on busy days). We roamed around for some time and then had dinner at Masala, which is one of the highly rated Indian restaurants in Banff. The food was good and one thing we noticed is many of the staff are from Maharashtra. In general wherever we went, we heard lot of folks speaking Marathi, so it was good to see people from my state (which was barely the case in US). After dinner we headed back to Canmore and this was the last night in the lodge before we checked out. Morning views from the lodge  Bus at Lake Moraine  View of Mountains at Lake Moraine  Lake Moraine  Gift Shop and accommodation at Lake Moraine  View from the canoe at Lake Moraine  From the Canoe Lake Louise (Wider but crowded)  Fairmont at Lake Louise  Lake Louise Ski Resort, starting point for the buses  View from Banff Gondola Summit/Sulphur mountain  Another view from the summit  Viewing deck at the Sulphur mountain  Zoomed view from the Gondola when we got stuck for more than an hour (No lights/power at the base station)  Already night at the base, when we finally came down  |
|  (8)
Thanks
|
| |
|
23rd October 2023, 04:11
| #2 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Pune/NJ/Canada
Posts: 152
Thanked: 684 Times
| Re: Mountains, Turquoise Lakes and Glaciers: Exploring the most scenic regions in the Canadian Rocki Day 4 Today we planned to travel to Jasper, while stopping at some points midway and visiting the Columbia icefield. After checking out of the hotel, we decided to take the Bow Valley Parkway, which is a popular place for seeing wildlife close to the road. The speed limits are lower than the adjacent trans Canada highway, but we still thought of giving it a try, just in case we were lucky to see any bears or other wildlife. After an hour of driving, google was trying to re-route us to the main highway, since that inner road is only for limited distance. The roads were kind of empty, so we gave up the thought of seeing any wildlife and opted for a way out to the main highway. The trans Canada highway doesn’t go till jasper, rather it goes west towards British Columbia, so we had to take an exit that lead us to the Icefields parkway (a short while after Lake Louise). The Icefields parkway is one of the most scenic roads in Canada and possibly in the world also. You pass through tall mountains on either sides and in front and behind of you, so the view is really breathtaking. Our first stop was the Bow Lake Viewpoint. The weather wasn’t great as it was raining and was cloudy, so all we saw was foggy mountains and the bow lake(one of the blue lakes in Alberta). There is a small parking on the other side of the road for some cars and there’s practically no hike needed. Some people were trying to hike down the slope to get a better view, but as it was wet, we decided to move on. The next viewpoint not too far from here was Peyto Lake. Also know as the lake that looks like a maple leaf or the head of a fox. This lake is a mesmerizing lake, should it be a sunny day. However for us, we had to content ourselves with a cloudy/foggy view of the lake. Nevertheless, the lake was still beautiful and it took us about 25 mins to reach the viewing area. The hike has steep inclines, so that is why it takes time to reach. There are 2 viewpoints, however we decided to stay at the one where there is a proper platform and after spending about 15 mins, we hiked back and took off. Further ahead there is a viewpoint for Mt Patterson glacier, however we had to reach Columbia Icefield by 4:30 PM, so we kept going with maps showing us an ETA of 4:00 PM. There are numerous lakes and Mountain View points on the way like Mistaya Lake, Waterfowl Lakes, Mistaya Canyon if you have time. The highway passes through a circular bend called Big Bend, which is an almost circular road. Just a short distance away we realized that there was a big traffic jam and after an hour, we found out that there was some construction on the bridge and that they were allowing only 1 lane to pass through. This added almost an hour to our arrival and that meant that we were going to miss our timed ticket for the Columbia Icefield trip. With great difficulty we reached around 5 PM, literally running towards the ticket center only to find out that there were many people who got delayed due to the construction blockade. While the staff knew about this, no one had communicated this to any of the customers and many of the folks were trying to escalate the matter at the ticket counter. Finally the staff agreed to put many people on standby after all regular timed customers have checked-in. We finally got seats on the last bus around 5:30 and thanked our stars (the only other option was to come back the next morning as there were no other tickets available). The icefield adventure ticket is a combo ticket, which takes us on the glacier in ice explorer trucks with are massively huge trucks that are allowed to go onto the glacier surface. They can handle inclines of uptown 37 degrees and in this case the incline was only 32 degrees. The tour bus took us to the other side of the road where the ice explorers are parked and then almost 50 people board a single truck (they had about 12-15 trucks there). It took about 15-20 mins to reach the glacier. The trucks stop there for 30 mins during which time people are allowed to get onto the icefield and move around to take photos. There are private treks that take people on a glacier hike, but they follow a different path. After 30 mins, people started to head back into the ice explorer's and we started our journey back. Once at the drop off point, the tour buses took everyone to the Sky walk, which a platform built into the canyon walls and glass floors. For some it's scary, for some it's no different to regular walking, but the views are definitely good. All this took around 3 hrs and the everything at the center was closed, so we left the icefield center and headed to Jasper, where we were going to stay for 2 nights. We had booked a night sky photography tour, but the weather wasn’t looking great, so the guide left a message about cancelling the tour. With no other plan for the night, we had dinner and hoped that the weather would be better the next day. Things to do on Icefields Parkway Full Timelapse of the drive Bow Lake Viewpoint (just off the road)  Peyto Lake viewpiont  Peyto Lake views Rear view when traffic came to a standstill  Traffic Jam front view  Columbia Icefield, from the parking lot of the adventure center  Ice Explorers at the pickup/drop-off point near the icefield  Truck on the icefield  Few more trucks parked  360 degree view at the icefield Reversing, while going back to the skywalk  The trucks that finished their job for the day (we got lucky with the last tour)  Skywalk  Another View of the skywalk  View of icefield while returning from skywalk  Snowmobile model at the adventure center  View of the parking  Day 5 The hotel we booked had a small kitchen,so we had breakfast and got out to head to two small lakes closeby called Pyramid and Patricia Lakes. The weather had not improved ,so we didn’t have a choice but to make the best of whatever we could see. From there we headed towards Jasper downtown to have lunch. While it’s called downtown, it's everything along the main road, where you will find restaurants, shops and hotels. Most of the town is full of hotels, it becomes hard to differential what is a hotel or lodge vs a residential area. We found a small Indian restaurant that wasn’t crowded and run by a couple, guess what - from Maharashtra 😀 The buffet was just basic items, but value for money. After the lunch, we decided to head to Athabasca falls, which was about half an hour from Jasper. The falls are an easy walk from the parking lot. We spent sometime here before heading back to Jasper. We had booked a wildlife tour for the evening (definitely not recommended spending the money as the tours are just on the main roads of the park). A mini bus came to pick us up from the hotel entrance and kept picking up few more people around the town. The guide explained some things about the flora and fauna of Jasper. We wanted to see some bears but the next 3 hrs were spent in just going around the lakes, then in the Maligne Valley towards Maligne Lake. We heard someone telling on the way that they had seen a bear along the road, so our guide turned around and headed towards that area, however luck wasn't on our side and the only two animals we saw were 2 Elks and 2 mountain goats. Wildlife is quite unpredictable so we can’t blame the tour company, had we known the route, we would have saved money and went there ourselves. Nevertheless we didn’t have to do the driving, so not a bad evening. The guide dropped us back at the hotel and we prepared for the next day as we were going to leave Jasper after taking the cruise at Lake Maligne. Maligne is French means evil or bad. Irony is, there are many good things named with Maligne in the Jasper area (Valleys, lakes, canyon etc). Cloudy morning at Pyramid Lake  Another view of pyramid lake  Indian buffet  A train engine in Jasper  Athabasca Falls  Another view of Athabasca Falls  For some reason this looks like Lord Ganesh's head   Viewpoint near Athabasca Falls on the main highway  Athabasca Pass somewhere in the distance  Maligne Valley views  Sheep horn (from the tour operator)  The first animal we saw on the tour  Another Elk  Eagle's nest near Medicine Lake  Another animal (the last distinct animal we saw)  Bull Elk in the Maligne Valley Last edited by aditya_rao : 23rd October 2023 at 09:14. Reason: Links not working |
|
| (6)
Thanks
|
|
23rd October 2023, 04:49
| #3 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Pune/NJ/Canada
Posts: 152
Thanked: 684 Times
| Re: Mountains, Turquoise Lakes and Glaciers: Exploring the most scenic regions in the Canadian Rocki Day 6 We got ready, had breakfast and while packing up noticed some movements from the windows and saw a large family of Elk behind the hotel (turns out the best place to see them is behind hotels which are close to the mountains). We loaded our luggage in the Cherokee and decided to head to Pyramid lake again (the previous day was mostly rainy in the morning). This visit turned out to be good, though we didn’t go into the island in the lake, but it was sunny with some clouds in between. From there we decided to head to Maligne Lake for the cruise. It took us about an hour to reach. Parking is difficult at any tourist place in Canada and cruise areas are no different. With lot of searching with manned to find some parking a the third overflow parking lot, which was like a 5-10 mins walk. We barely reached on time to catch the boat. The cruise runs for an hour and half out of which about 15 mins are spent on Spirit Island. The guide spoke about the area and the features of the lake and the mountains. We reached back had some quick snack and started to head back toward lake Louise, which was our destination for the night. Lake Louise was about 3.5 hrs from Maligne Lake, so we would have an hour or two to stop in between for any missed attractions. We decided to stop at Sunwapta falls which was about 45 mins from Jasper. The falls view points are a short walk from the parking and there are multiple view points there. After taking photos we started our journey back stopping at few view points. We reached the hotel around 8 PM, checked into it and headed out to the nearest restaurant to have dinner. Another Elk View from the previous day  View from the balcony in the morning (why did we spend money on taking a tour  ) Patricia Lake without the rain  View from Pyramid Lake  Medicine Lake  Boats at Maligne Lake  Glacier views on the boat tour  Spirit Island  Another view  View from the boat during return journey  Few more views with the sky  Boathouse view  An Elk taking a stroll on the road  One of the falls at Maligne Canyon  View from a quick stop  Another view from a viewpoint  Sunwapta Falls  Another view of Sunwapta Falls  Views of Sunwapta Falls Road below from a viewpoint  Timelapse of drive from Jasper to Lake Louise Glacier visible from Lake Louise Inn  Day 7 We were back in the Banff region, to cover any remaining key attractions. Since we were in the Lake Louise area, there were two places we wanted to visit - Takakaw falls and Emerald Lake. Both are part of Yoho national park in British Columbia (but close to Alberta). Both are within an hour of Lake Louise. We first went to Takakaw falls, as it gets crowded by afternoon. While we went in the morning, there were no parking spaces, so after circling for about 10-15 mins, we found a car that was going to move out. We had to wait for another 5 mins, before they packed up and left. People behind us probably kept circling for few more mins. From the Parking, the falls are about 15-20 mins by walk (easy trail). There are place to sit on the way, but after crossing the river, there is no place to sit, except for rocks. After reaching the falls, there were people everywhere, so it took sometime to find a good viewpoint and and take photos and then we headed back to the parking. From there we headed to Emerald Lake. The Emerald lake is call so, due do the glacial powder that reflects the green spectrum of light. The lakes in Alberta reflect the blue spectrum, hence they are blue in color. There too, parking was a big problem, and people had lined up all the way on the road itself (where generally there is not allowed). But no one seemed to care and this went on for almost a km. after going up and down couple of times we found a spot close to the lake and managed to park there. Buses have a separate parking area close to the lake, so for tourist on these buses, it's a very short walk. After taking photos, we went into the restaurant and had some food as it was already afternoon. The service was really slow and there was only one person, trying to take orders, who had no clue on what was going on the kitchen. Some people were waiting for almost 30-40 mins before getting their orders, and there were only 5-6 tables that were occupied. Anyway, we ordered basic items, so after about 25 mins we got our food, which was finished in about 10 mins. We paid the bill and left from there. There are are lodges in the same place, where many rooms get lake views. However while checking online, I noticed that the rooms get booked well in advance and there may not be anything available in the last few weeks before departure. From there, we headed back towards Lake Louise. We decided to go to Banff as there was nothing else planned for the day. It took us about 30-40 mins to reach banff and luckily we found some on street parking near Banff Avenue. Banff avenue is one of the most photographed places in Banff as most visitors in the town walk on this stretch of road, which is blocked off from regular vehicle traffic (except buses in some sections). On one end of the road, you can see the mountain, so it is quite scenic throughout the year. Banff has got few Indian restaurants and Masala is one of them. Even though we reached earaly, there’s always a long queue of people waiting to get inside. After about 30 mins we got a table and after some tasty dinner, we started to head towards Canmore, which was our place of stay for the night. We wanted to find hotel in Banff, however the rates were pretty high (compared to what we had been paying in the last few days, so we decided to stay in Canmore (which often gets overlooked as its further away). While Canmore is not cheap, it's slightly less expensive than Banff, and at times you can find a good deal. Takakaw Falls  Another view  Emerald Lake  The only part of the order that was tasty, at Emerald Lake restaurant  Another view of Emerald Lake  Emerald Lake Views Welcome to BC Board  Welcome to Alberta board  Train lookout at Morant's Curve  Johnston Canyon Entrance  Waterfalls at Lower Canyon  |
|
| (5)
Thanks
|
|
23rd October 2023, 05:27
| #4 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Pune/NJ/Canada
Posts: 152
Thanked: 684 Times
| Re: Mountains, Turquoise Lakes and Glaciers: Exploring the most scenic regions in the Canadian Rocki Day 8 We had free breakfast at the hotel included in the room rate (lot more options than what we had expected), so after having eating and packing up we started to head towards Banff. We had left the last day for shopping and just walking around in Banff. The plan was to head towards Calgary later in the afternoon, so after doing some shopping, we did a final pack-up and left for the airport. It took about 2 hrs to reach as we had to stop for refueling also. The return process was quick with National, since I didn’t take any extra insurance, they did a quick check of the vehicle. I always take photo and videos of the rental cars while picking them up, just incase there are issues later on (I had almost got a 2k bill from a car rental in Montreal, which I disputed, as I had taken photos and shared them with the rental just after pickup). From their bag drop was quick and the security queues were practically empty. The flight was slightly delayed, but we didn’t have a long delay and reached after midnight in Toronto. While 7 days is not enough to cover everything in Banff and Jasper, but we still managed to see many places. A 2 week trip is ideal, if you are willing to spend extra (time and money). There are many more places to see in Alberta, however Banff and Jasper take in most of the visitors compare to the off beat locations, which are less touristy. Vermillion Lakes Viewpoint  Banff Avenue  Another view of Banff Avenue  The beast  View from park in Banff town  At rental return  From the air  Watching the sunset from air  Last edited by Aditya : 23rd October 2023 at 17:32. |
|
| (8)
Thanks
|
|
23rd October 2023, 17:34
| #5 |
| Team-BHP Support  | |
| (3)
Thanks
|
|
24th October 2023, 07:20
| #6 |
| Team-BHP Support  | |
|
| (3)
Thanks
|
|
24th October 2023, 22:51
| #7 |
| Distinguished - BHPian   | |
|
| (1)
Thanks
|
|
25th October 2023, 09:52
| #8 | ||
| BHPian Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Pune/NJ/Canada
Posts: 152
Thanked: 684 Times
| Re: Mountains, Turquoise Lakes and Glaciers | Exploring the most scenic regions in the Canadian Rock Quote:
Quote:
 I would say that west coast in both countries is beautiful, due to the mountain ranges and varying landscapes. I did a Washington and Oregon trip in 2019, the national parks there are beautiful. Banff and surrounding areas are unique due to the rockies, glaciers, blue/green lakes and I don't think US has anything similar. Maroon bells is good in Colorado, but not quite the same. Banff/Jasper have got more things to do for different interests compared to other parks. I've heard British Columbia also has good landscapes (which is my plan for next spring) Yes, I live in the GTA region now. While Canada is slightly bigger, the no. of parks are probably less than US and the variation in landscape is not as much as US and accessibility is still not as good as the US ones. The other thing I noticed is Parks Canada are not that organized as compared to NPS. There are very few ranger led programs and when I asked if they had a passport stamp booklet, they look puzzled and said we don't do it like the US. Personally, I like the US parks and I want to visit each one of them in next few years (not discounting the main Canadian ones). The unique thing about Canada is Northern lights, which are hard to catch in US, unless you are in Alaska, but here every province has a northern region where you can see them (subject to being able to reach there easily). Canada also has landscapes outside the national park system, some of which are covered in provincial park systems and some open to everyone without any restrictions, like driving on Dempster highway, exploring Quebec and the east coast | ||
|
| (2)
Thanks
|
|
25th October 2023, 10:13
| #9 |
| Newbie  Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 7
Thanked: 7 Times
| |
|
| (1)
Thanks
|
|
26th October 2023, 03:02
| #10 | |
| BHPian Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Pune/NJ/Canada
Posts: 152
Thanked: 684 Times
| Re: Mountains, Turquoise Lakes and Glaciers | Exploring the most scenic regions in the Canadian Rock Quote:
On the main highways, you may never encounter any wildlife, Bow Valley Parkway is one road that goes parallel to the main highway and has reported bear sightings, but we travelled 2 times on it and didn't spot even a fly  Bears generally won't spring up on you suddenly on the road (in deep forest, chances are high), in most cases you'll see them well ahead of time and Parks Canada rules require people to be at a minimum distance from the wildlife (my guess is 100 m or something like that). There are many bikers who travel in that region, so you should be good (just don't go close in the direction of any animal if you see it, as it may treat you as a threat) | |
|
| (1)
Thanks
|
|
26th October 2023, 03:13
| #11 | ||
| Distinguished - BHPian | Re: Mountains, Turquoise Lakes and Glaciers | Exploring the most scenic regions in the Canadian Rock Quote:
Quote:
 | ||
|
|
| |
|
26th October 2023, 03:38
| #12 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Pune/NJ/Canada
Posts: 152
Thanked: 684 Times
| Re: Mountains, Turquoise Lakes and Glaciers | Exploring the most scenic regions in the Canadian Rock One thing I forgot to mention about day 3 was that we got stuck on the Gondola for about 90 mins while returning from Sulphur mountain. There was a power failure that happened in the town of Banff and we learnt later that the Gondola folks were unable to start the backup power supply. Apparently they never experienced a power failure in many years and that might have led to a non-functional backup system. We call 911 and were told that there is nothing that could be done and we had to wait till the gondola came down, unless there was a medical emergency in which case they would send a helicopter to rescue (how exactly is something we didn't want to figure out). It was a scary feeling as it was getting dark and the gondola only kept swinging from one side to the other and with nothing to eat or drink, the night was going to be a difficult one (The only thing we could do was crack bad jokes and say that maybe they'll contact Akshay Kumar to do some stunts from the chopper and rescue people ).After 1.5 hrs we suddenly heard some motors coming to life and with some luck with came down at the base, to know that only the people on the gondola were being brought down and the people stuck up, would remain there only. They offered us was an apology and a bottle of water, although when I reached out later on after hearing about a refund they had offered, they refunded the ticket price. About 300-400 people were stuck on the summit and had to spend the night on the floor of the building, the two restaurants and wherever they could find space. At 10 AM the next day, they sent in helicopters to bring people down (we were thinking some lucky people got a free govt chopper ride, but it would have been a harrowing experience) but the power didn't get restored until 4 or 5 PM in evening. Many people ended up missing their flights. 2-3 hiking guides were sent uphill who woke up people at 1 AM and said if you don't want to stay till rescue comes, you can choose to hike down at 1 AM for few hours and reach the base. About 80 people took that option, although the guides did make it clear that there were bears in the area, so if anything happened they would not be responsible (Sulphur mountain has an elevation of 2451m). This incident was all over the local news with people making fun of their preparedness. Views while being stuck on the Gondola   |
|
| (1)
Thanks
|
|
26th October 2023, 03:48
| #13 | |
| BHPian Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Pune/NJ/Canada
Posts: 152
Thanked: 684 Times
| Re: Mountains, Turquoise Lakes and Glaciers | Exploring the most scenic regions in the Canadian Rock Quote:
Alaska is a breathtaking state and I want to visit it again in a few years to see the places which I left out in the last trip. We had gone in May, so couldn't see any auroras even though the forecast was 9/10 and we spent the whole night on a mountain hoping that there might be darkness for at least few mins. If you go to Fairbanks in Nov/Dec, it might be a good time to see them. I'm thinking of going to Yellowknife next year with the hope of seeing something worth remembering for a long time, so let's see. | |
|
|
|
5th November 2023, 20:54
| #14 | |
| Senior - BHPian  | Re: Mountains, Turquoise Lakes and Glaciers | Exploring the most scenic regions in the Canadian Rock Quote:
| |
|
| (1)
Thanks
|
|
Most Viewed