Alberta, Canada


Blown Away in Banff

Alberta Canada

August 5th, 2016 – We jumped in a red Jeep Wrangler and took off to one of the most beautiful places in the world. My friends and I decided to do a spontaneous road trip to Banff, Canada. It was about a ten- hour drive from where we lived in the states, but the view when we finally arrived was completely worth every second of the journey.

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Ten hours later, we pulled into where we thought we would be staying but we totally thought we were in the wrong place because it was a castle. But it turns out that we were staying in this grand hotel that was a castle- like building set in Banff National Park. There is a lookout point that is about a 5-10 minute drive into the mountains that has a lookout point of the hotel; which is where I captured the picture of Fairmont Banff Springs. Our room was very spacious and it came with a view of the mountains that even in the middle of August, were covered with snow. The city of Banff itself is such an adorable little town. It has multiple places to go shopping like Patagonia, North Face, and of course accommodations for the everyday tourist.

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Once we left the touristy city, we drove a couple hours to another part of the park where you had to pay an eighteen dollar entrance fee to see Peyto Lake and Lake Louise. We stopped at Lake Louise first and that is where the picture of the Native American and the little canoes on the lake were taken. The Native American dressed up in his traditional wear and had a hat full of money people donated to take pictures with him. You can rent canoes for ninety dollars an hour but it only fits three people. I would highly recommend actually renting the canoe because the pictures captured on the canoe are one in a million. We didn’t end up renting the canoes because we’re college students as is, but that’s one of the things I regret not doing. We stayed there for a couple hours but totally could have stayed longer because everywhere we looked was another breath- taking view.

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The next lake was Peyto Lake and that was about a twenty-minute drive from Lake Louise if I remember correctly. This is the lake that looks photoshopped in the pictures. Most of the pictures that are shown are not edited in any way, the colors were really that vibrant! It looks like we must have hiked for hours to have the view that high up, but you drive most of the way to a parking lot and then walk maybe a couple minutes to the lookout point where you can see all the mountains and the lake and everything else.

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Banff, Canada was one of my most favorite trips because everywhere we went we were surrounded by complete and utter beauty. I am already trying to put together a trip there again with my friends! I recommend this trip for anyone that wants to get out of the states for a few days. It would also be an amazing trip for families and students. There is so much to do and so much to see!

 

A Video of My Trip to Banff

 
 

Contributed by Elizabeth Maccoy