Breathtaking. If I had to simply sum up my trip to Banff it would be breathtaking. Words can’t describe the scenery of lush autumn colors and picturesque lakes tucked away between the impressive stature of the Rocky Mountains. The photos here does not even do one ounce of justice.
Naturally, my travel recaps will flow in multiples and I will try to leave nothing out. To start, travel to Banff (via Calagary) from Los Angeles was a breeze. Well, as easy as it can get with a 11 month old child. But by many standards, pretty painless. The flight from LAX was just under 3 hours and the drive from Calgary airport to the hotel was about 1.5 hours. We stopped in the town of Banff to grab lunch. It was the cutest little town with small novelty shops and fun restaurants. We ate at Park Distillery restaurant and it was delish! They had microbrews which totally made John’s day.
From there we arrived at the amazing Fairmont Cheateau Lake Louise, where upon arrival, you are automatically captured by not on only the hotel’s architecture but by the sea of people around the Lake. It was golden hour and the lake just lite up with the most amazing colors.
We chose this hotel specifically because of its location..literally the lake is in its backyard. More on this hotel later because it deserves its own post.
I have never seen anything like Lake Louise. It is so beautiful. The lake is surrounded by mountains which makes it even more spectacular with its reflection settling into water like a perfect mirror image. I literally wanted to stare at it all day. And whats cool is that all my photos look different base on the time of day. Most of the photos in this post were taken on an overcast morning, and you’ll notice the color of the water is darker or gets lighter blue in others (as the sun came out). Seriously though, the blue emerald color!!! Its unbelievable how intense the colors are. I read the rich hues are due the fresh water from the glaciers melting. It just makes you want to jump in…if not for the freeze in the air.
There are tons of hikes around Lake Louise, in varying degrees of difficulty. With Baby J, we just did the flat walk around the lake and tried to make it to Lake Agnes, but had to stop half way because it was UPHILL all.the.way. And let’s be real…I was wearing cute shoes and basically not “real” hiking appropriate. John carried Jax in the Ergo baby carrier which was not the most ideal either. If hiking is your thing, the 2 trails I would recommend in moderate difficulty would be Lake Agnes Teahouse and Moraine Lake Shoreline. There are others if you want to drive out a bit.
I also wanted to do the Canoe ride on the Lake but I got scared. ha! I just kept envisioning our canoe tipping over and there’s Jax trying to survive in freezing water. So we opted out, but its on my list for next time.
Lastly, my outfit – escaping the heat of Southern California meant I could finally wear Fall gear. Hunter boots, a go-to plaid shirt and a puffer vest was totally made for world exploration, am I right? Super comfortable and pretty warm for a brisk day. I always had a jacket on hand, but I definitely tried to soak in the fresh cool air as much as I can.
Outfit details & other options linked below
On Me: Rails Plaid Shirt / Gap Fur-Trim Puffer Vest / Black Leggings {old, similar here} / Hunter Boots
On John: Marmot Jacket / Jeans
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xo, Lydia
