We Explored Banff for a Week in a Van

Two Jack Lakeside Campsite

Like the title says, we explored Banff for a week in a van. It’s now just over 3 months later, so I’m relying on my memory to write this.
From what I can remember this trip just came about sort of on a whim. We talked about going to Banff for about 5 minutes and the next thing I know, we’re booking plane tickets and renting a van. Not that I’m complaining, oh no. This was pretty much the time of my life. Despite how grueling it may have been. And it was grueling, but more about that later.

Our Transportation

We rented a Canadream Deluxe Van for the time we would be in Banff. It was pretty awesome. 
Having never done such a thing I had no idea what to expect. I only wanted to make sure we would be able to make coffee. And make coffee we did. The Canadream website said that some form of coffee maker would be supplied, but that wasn’t good enough. We requested a French Press. Up to that point I had never used a French Press, but I always heard they were pretty awesome. And it was. I had never tasted coffee like that before. So, needless to say when we got back the first thing I did was order a French Press from Amazon. This is what I purchased, in case you’re on the fence about it. I highly recommend this is how you brew your coffee from now on.
But back to the van. It came equipped with pretty much everything you need to survive for a week on the road. Bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, even a little table you can set up for dining. Gas was a bit expensive, but you’re covering a lot of areas so you have to expect it. Also, a word to the wise, don’t stop at Saskatchewan Crossing for gas. It’s self-serve and it’s highway robbery. I kicked myself so hard after filling up there. My God, can you say fleeced?
Yes I know, the van. The van was great. And to top it off, it was brand new. We were the first ones to get it on the road. That was special. They told us to treat like our own. Don’t worry if you make a mess or whatever. But we didn’t, apart from the incident with the overflowing greywater basin thing. But won’t talk about that, Canadream might be reading this. I also highly recommend Canadream for your transportation needs. Probably to anywhere, but especially to explore Alberta.

Landing in Calgary

First on the list was groceries. We spend probably an hour in some grocery store in Calgary to buy6-7 days worth of food. That in itself was a little gruelling, after a 4 hour or so flight. But it had to be done. And it had to be done quickly because Sheri planned our itinerary and our first trek was to Grassie Lake.

Grassie Lake

Grassie Lake is in Canmore. That’s about 1 hour and 10 minutes from Calgary. We needed to get there while the sun was still high, to get the full effect of the colour of the water. We didn’t make it in time. We got there around 4:30 or 5. Probably because someone (me) couldn’t handle the uphill climb to get to the lake. We almost broke up 6 times on our way to the top. I was in bad shape. We kept telling ourselves leading up to the trip to Alberta that we needed to do more hiking to get in shape for the hiking we anticipated to see all that we wanted to see. We kind of failed at that. Needless to say, I was so happy to make it to the top. I did need to sit for about 15 minutes for I even turned on my camera. Even then I didn’t feel like taking any pictures once we reach the lake, but I did my best. I did get some corkers just before we left, so I’m happy we did and 10/10 it was worth it.
The hike down was much easier and it was a happy one.

Moraine Lake

The highest of the highlights was Moraine Lake. It was so awesome we visited it twice during that week. Both days had not-so optimal lighting but it was still glorious. It wasn’t really on my bucket list, but once we decided to make the trip to Alberta, I knew I had to go there. The first time we make the hike around the left side of the lake. It was so good I can’t even describe it. Even the pictures don’t do it justice. Well maybe 1 or 2 of the images I shot, but you can be the judge of that (also on Esty).
The lake had been hit with a couple of feet of snow a few days before we got there and this was the icing on the cake. The partially frozen lake and the fact that it hadn’t received much of the glacier runoff yet made it possible to venture out to where it would have normally been underwater. This made the views and the experience even more special.

Lake Louise

I’m including Lake Louise in the highlights because it should have been, but was not. I wasn’t impressed with it. I’m not sure why. Maybe too much hype. I don’t know. Could have been the light. It was cloudy, but not overcast when got there. I got a few shots, but it took me 4 or 5 attempts to get a good edit. We had lunch on the patio at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and that was good. It was their first day opening due to the pandemic.
I mean it was cool to be there, but kind of a letdown. 

Water Fowl Lakes

This was an unexpected treasure and a sight for sore eyes. With Sheri having created our itinerary, I didn’t know what was on it. I like the feeling of a surprise every time we pulled over. This was one of them. From the side of the road, this didn’t look like much. But like most of the locations on the Icefields Parkway, a short hike was necessary to get to the good stuff. This one was so awesome. I took so many pictures here. Sometimes the same picture over and over. It was that good. Only at Moraine Lake did I take so many photos.

Emerald Lake

Oh, Emerald Lake. What can I say about Emerald Lake? If you’ve spent more than 10 minutes on Instagram then you know about Emerald Lake. Maybe you’ve even been there. If so then you know how special it is. I loved this place. The colour of the water was so mesmerizing. The views were amazing, the light was perfect. I took a lot of shots here too. I could have stayed here a lot longer and watched the light change, but while in BC, we had an itinerary to keep. So walked for a bit along the lakeside and moved on. I will come back here again. Maybe we’ll rent a canoe next time. They were off-limits due to COVID the ruiner™.

Natural Bridge

Natural Bridge was another amazing stop along the Icefields Parkway.

Although I suspect it’s become redundant to express as amazing every stop along the highway. They’re all amazing. Words can’t really express it. But in this case, the photos I took here can actually tell the story. You can see for yourself. 
Natural Bridge also appears in Etsy

I’m sure I’ve left a lot out, but I think you get the picture. Banff and BC are awesome and we will visit again very soon. The next time I will use my tri-pod more often and take my time to make sure I get all possible compositions. Since we’ve been back I’ve seen a lot of the same locations we visited but with different compositions. I have to try not to let that bother me because it’s not like I can just step outside and have a do-over.

Until next time…