Canada; Banff to Fernie

I have to admit that I am definitely buying into the call of the mountains.. they are pretty tough to resist. I recently spent a few days exploring Banff, Lake Louise & Fernie with a friend, and it was absolutely incredible.  Seeing as there isn't too much snow this year, it was more of a sightseeing trip than anything. Here are some of the highlights.. 

{Lake Minnewanka}

So gorgeous.  This view actually makes me speechless.  Something I found really interesting about this lake is that it develops bubbles in the ice which you can see as you are walking!  Nature is awesome.

Lake Minnewanka

{Wildlife}

On our way to Lake Minnewanka, we were lucky enough to see a massive herd of elk!  It was my first time seeing elk outside of a zoo, so I was pretty excited.  Not very much further down the road, we also saw some mountain goats!  They were quite drawn to the salt on my cars tires, so we got really up close and personal with them. 

{Banff}

The town of Banff is a such a cute village and a really nice spot to wander around.  There are definitely some really "touristy" shops, but there are a few really nice shops also.  If you've never tried a beavertail, this is a good place to do it.. so delicious!  If you have time, the Upper Hot Springs are also worth checking out... so relaxing!  They don't have a huge pool, but it's kept at about 39 degrees and the view is spectacular.  

{Johnston Canyon}

There are an upper falls and a lower falls at Johnson Canyon... If you've got the time it's definitely worth the hike to the upper falls!  The trail is well marked and a pretty easy hike (unless it's covered in ice and you're wearing rubber boots.. which was my case)

{Castle Mountain}

Probably one of the most distinguishable mountains, Castle Mountain has a special glow to it at sunset that should not to be missed.  The Castle Mountain Chalets are right at the base of Castle Mountain and they are the cutest little cabins!! I absolutely loved my stay here.. although I apparently need to learn how to keep a fire going.  Good thing there's also a furnace.

Castle Mountain Chalets

{Lake Louise}
Let me just preface this by saying that in my head, Lake Louise was a mountain ski village with shops and cafe's, a gorgeous lake, and a stunning fairmont hotel looking over it all.  Not the case.  Lake, there is.  Fairmont hotel there is, although it's really not that special, and I think the Banff Springs hotel is much more visually interesting.  And village there definitely is not.  There is a gas station, a visitors centre, and half a dozen stores.  That.  Is.  It.  I do, however, hope to come back in the summer when the lake is more to look at.. 

{Marble Canyon}
This is another really awesome hike that I'm glad we stopped to do!  This canyon get's very deep in some parts, and at the top there's a waterfall.  The waterfall was mostly covered in ice, so i'd like to come back to see that in the summer..  but even without the waterfall the canyon itself was incredible! 

Marble Canyon

{Radium Hot Springs}

These hot springs are the same idea as the Banff Hot Springs, with a significantly larger pool and a significantly less interesting view.  However, in the end, they were equally relaxing and amazing.. 

{Columbia Lake}

As we headed south towards Fernie, we passed Columbia Lake - the source of the Columbia River.  I think the view speaks for itself..

{Fernie}

We took a little while to wander around the town of Fernie, and discovered that they have a really nice downtown!  There are definitely a couple of shops I would come back to check out, but we ran out of time for this trip.  

{Whitefish, Montana}

Our plans were altered a bit when Fernie didn't have any snow, so we headed across the border to Whitefish, Montana for a day of snowboarding there instead.  We had an awesome day there and wow, what a view!!

Whitefish, Montana

I hope this inspires you to enjoy a trip to the Canadian Rockies!

J.

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