Banff: Lake Peyto & Iceland Parkway

A couple weeks ago {sorry, its taking forever to revisit}, I shared the majestic Lake Louise. But she is not the only pretty lake in Banff. In fact, they have several – Lake Winnewanka, Bow River, Elbow Lake and Lake Moraine, just to name a few.

And then there is Peyton Lake. This amazing body of water was the very place that convinced me to travel to Banff. I saw a picture on Instagram at the beginning of September, and by the end of that week, I had already booked for our flights and we were leaving in less than 2 weeks. It was the best last minute decision I ever made.

When you look at the photos of Peyto, you would think I photoshopped the color the lake. But I did no such thing. The milky blue color is real! And it literally looks like a glacier exploded and created this most perfect lake in a shape of a wolf (see the head and long mouth?). There is observation deck a short 5-10 minute walk from the parking lot, but there’s usually a lot of tourists. So we took a couple different turns and found an area off the main path with unencumbered views. Seriously gives me chills thinking about this place. I loved it so much that we actually came back a second time. I wasn’t satisfied with the lighting the first time we went (made the photos a bit too dark), but early morning light wasn’t great either. Oh well, its perfect image etched in my mind will just have to do. It is places like these that really make you realize how amazing God made this world. No human hands could ever create such perfection.

The drive from Lake Louise to Peyto was actually spectacular as well. Iceland Parkway is one of the most scenic drives in Canada, if not the entire planet. I literally told John to stop several times so I could get out to take photos. This drive offers view of pristine lakes, mountains, glaciers and even wildlife, if you’re lucky. We were actually expecting to see bears, but no such luck. I think we were out too late in the day.

Good thing Jaxson started to get a little antsy on the drive so we decided to stop on the side of the road, stretch our legs and feed him a little lunch. The side of the road gave us these insane views of Waterfowl Lake. Seriously, there is an amazing view at every turn!