I visited Banff back in 2007 before I was interested in photography and have since been yearning to return. Every time I go to plan a trip to Banff at the last second, there was always some sort of obstacle; full flights, bad weather in Banff, no campsites available or not enough time off to warrant the trip. Well, the stars all seemed to align to allow for a trip back to Banff National Park this past June. Follow along as I show some pictures from one of my favorites parts of the world.



Day 1



I flew up to Minneapolis on a Friday night and spent the night in order to catch the first flight out to Calgary the next morning. Below is my A319 bound for Calgary, Canada.




Not all was perfect with this trip as the weekend I chose to go was the weekend prior to Canada Day, meaning the park was absolutely packed. However, I was able to secure a campsite at the last second and my corporate discount on the rental car took the charge from $550 for two days down to $105.

After landing in Calgary, I made my way to my rental car and started out for Banff, about a 90 minute drive from the airport.









Entering Banff National Park.






I'm not normally one to camp, but hotels (and even hostels) in the area were crazy expensive. I decided to just pack up my camping equipment I had bought from my trip to the Tetons a few years back, and camp out for the two nights. The weather was cool and considering I didn't sleep much as sunset was around 10PM and sunrise around 5AM, it was quite a good value.


I stopped at the campsite to set up everything before heading out to explore.







The view that was about a three minute walk from my tent.







I started my day by taking a stroll through Johnston Canyon, one of the most popular "hikes" in the park. It was very easy and also extremely packed (at the viewpoints).







The river.







The trail follows along the walls of the canyon.









The lower falls at Johnston Canyon.









The upper falls.







I decided to cross over into Yoho National Park in British Columbia to visit Emerald Lake.









Emerald Lake obviously gets its name from its color. The road to Emerald Lake had opened the week before my visit.









Canoe.







Getting low at Emerald Lake.









Canoes.







Canadian Pacific.







The view driving back to Banff National Park from Yoho.









Man, why was I born in Florida? This is what I want to see every day. This was also taken just minutes before me getting a speeding ticket for 10 kmh over.







I then stopped at Bow Lake where the views were stunning.





A long exposure of Bow Lake.







Bow Lake.





I pulled aside just before driving up to Peyto Lake. A guy on the side of the road said he had just seen a bear but lost track of it. I stood for a few minutes then drove a hundred feet or so forward and pulled down a random side road. I stopped to listen then these two popped out right in front of me.

I don't know my bears, but they look like grizzlies (based on Google images) but could be black bears. Either way, it's not everyday you see this happen.







I wish I had a long lens at this point as I was shooting with a 16-35.







Playing.









The short 10-minute hike to the Peyto Lake viewpoint.







Peyto Lake.







Long exposure of Peyto Lake.







I left Peyto a little late and just missed sunset at Castle Mountain.





Bridge.










Day 2




My alarm went off at 3:15AM at the campsite. I jumped in the car and started the one hour drive to Moraine Lake as I had read that the parking lot fills up quickly. When I arrived, it was already about 1/4 full (which was at 4:30AM). I found my spot and waited for sunrise at 5:30AM.

Pre-sunrise at Moraine Lake.







Moraine Lake sunrise.





I climbed down the hillside and got into the water for a different perspective about 30 minutes after sunrise.







Surrounding mountains.









Looking back in the way of Moraine Lake. I had a packed day, so I had to head out after sunrise to secure parking at Lake Louise nearby.







Framing.





Lake Louise, Alberta.







Lake Louise.





Rocks @ Lake Louise.







The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.









The big hike I endured on during the trip was the Lake Agnes / Big Beehive hike near Lake Louise.







The trail.







Mirror Lake, about half way up to Lake Agnes.







I stopped at the Lake Agnes teahouse when I arrived. I ended up sitting with a couple from Seattle, so we sat and talked for 30-minutes or so before moving on.







Lake Agnes Teahouse.







The clear water of Lake Agnes.