Breathe in the fresh air of Banff!
- Marjorie
- Aug 3, 2018
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 13, 2018
I have always dreamt to see the world since I was a little girl and always thought it was wishful thinking growing up in a poor country like Philippines. With perseverance and hard work, I am able to make that dream a reality one place at a time. This summer, my family and I (sans my daughter because of school) have made the decision to visit Banff, Alberta, Canada. What a beautiful and amazing place it is!
We booked the airfare, hotel and car rental through #Expedia. Knowing Banff is a huge tourist destination, we decided to stay at the town next to it called Canmore which is about 25km away. The #GrandeRockiesResort we stayed at was actually a mini-apartment complete with living and dining rooms, bedrooms, showers, spa, steam, jacuzzi even laundry machines right in your apartment. You name it! They have it! How impressive is that!?!
Endless number of trails can be found at #BanffNationalPark. There's one to be found for every hiker: easy, moderate, difficult, extreme. We visited the Banff information centre on our first day to get brochures and talk to the rangers which trails would be suitable for our hiking skills. Make sure you buy the park permit for the entire days you will be at the park to save you time.
Our first day is a hike to the famous #Johnstonscanyon. The fresh waters were so pristine and so inviting to swim in especially with the heat! The hike to the Lower Falls is about 1/2 mi (0.8 km) and the Upper Falls is about 1.5 mi (1.6 km).
Next, we were off to the Columbia Icefields glacier. It is located just at the north tip of Banff National Park and at the southern end Jasper National park. The hike took about an hour to get to the edge of the glacier. Make sure you bring proper walking shoes because the terrain is full of gravel and rocks. It was interesting to see how the glacier has receded over the years!
The next day, we drove to see the famous #LakeLouise and #LakeMorraine including hikes to Mirror Lake and Lake Agnes. What a beauty! Be sure to get to Lake Louise before 7:30 am or you will not be able to find a parking spot. There is parking lot overflow by the Trans-Canada hi-way 1 where you can take the shuttle if you are not an early person.
Check out the slideshow below for more pics!
All these adventures are somehow making me brave and I overcame my fear of heights because we took the 8 minutes gondola ride (each way) to the Sulphur Mountain summit. We were 2,000 ft above ground! It was an awesome experience, but also very scary! PHEW! To top it off, the gondola stopped for a couple of minutes 2/3 of the way up. What a torture to my nerves! I was holding on to my son at this point while my husband was amused and laughing.
Oh there is so much beauty for our eyes to see in #Banff! I would highly recommend it visiting this place and putting it in your bucket list. You are surrounded by mountains and trees and the glory of Mother Nature! It made me realize how small we are, that we are just a speck in this vast wide world. It's such a serene environment and nothing more satisfying than listening to the peace and to watch nature’s greatest creation! I am truly grateful for being able to see this amazing place and list it off my bucket list. With all these hikes, #QRev was definitely a great help for me. It has allowed me to keep going in these hikes everyday and help my muscles recover the day after. And of course, our day would never be off to a good start without the proper supplements to improve our health! #qmovement
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
During the busy season (Spring-Summer), it’s hard to get parking at some of the trails. However, you can take the shuttle bus for $5.00/person. It’s free parking all over town but the maximum limit varies. You can park your car at the high school near the information centre (it’s free all day during off school season) and head out to the train station to catch the shuttle buses for some of the must see sites.
Also, download the app called “AllTrails”. You can search most of the trails you’re interested to hike. You can get information on the length, elevations, etc…we found it was very handy.
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