On my Pacific Northwest trip for high schoolers I took a few years ago, I went to Banff, Alberta, where we canoed and hiked at Lake Louise. It was in the middle of the summer, yet it was still a bit chilly since we were so far north. Despite the cold, I was so excited since it was supposed to be the prettiest stop on the trip. This proved to be true since I was speechless when we first arrived. The water of the lake was the most beautiful blue and the mountains were magnificent. We stopped and took pictures for a little bit, but we had to get moving since we had a long day ahead.
Lake Louise
We started with hiking, which wasn’t that bad. It was pretty steep, but the views were worth it. As we climbed, we stopped at a smaller lake that had just as blue water. My friends and I took a lot more photos, but then we got a little behind and had to catch up to the group. We continued up the another lake, yet it was really cute since there was a teahouse there as well. We all stopped to get tea, then took many group photos by the lake. It’s been so long that I don’t exactly remember the type of tea I got except that it tasted really good. We could’ve kept going up the top, but it was already close to dinner and it started to rain a little bit. Walking down was much easier than walking up, plus we had the motivation to escape the rain. We arrived back at the bottom to Lake Louise and of course we took more pictures. Sadly, it was cloudy, so the mountains weren’t as visible in the pictures. Afterwards, we got back onto the bus and drove to a nearby restaurant for dinner. On the bus, everyone was exhausted. However, we ate and got our energy back up, thus ready to get back for canoeing. Plus, it stopped raining, which brightened everyone up a little.
The Tea House
Before we got into the canoes, we had to learn about the rules and safety precautions. Since the water in the lake is flowed in from a glacier, the temperature was below freezing, so we had to be super careful not to tip in. Otherwise, we would get hyperthermia. On that note, we put on out lifejackets and got into the canoes. We didn’t go too far, but we went around the lake, and of course took more photos. We also did some switching around in the boat to get good photos, risking a tip over, but it turned out fine. Plus, we were trying to watch the sunset on the canoes, yet we weren’t on the water long enough to see it. All in all, it was a fun and tiring day of hiking, canoeing, and photoshoots.
My Friends and I in the Canoe
Those pictures are beautiful, I would definitely like to visit there one day to see it in person! It’s pretty cool that the lake is flowed in from a glacier, however it is kind of scary how it could give you hypothermia if you tipped over.
The pictures you included are beautiful! I took a trip similar to this where we canoed and hiked a national park in Canada. The views were amazing, and while the trip was physically exhausting, I don’t regret doing it. I’m glad you didn’t tip your canoe over and got these amazing pictures!
Wow, this looks like an amazing trip! I love to travel and I’ve focused my passion blog on the places I’ve been but I have never been to Canada. I would love to see it one day!