Turquoise Lakes & Meadows of Banff & Yoho National Parks
Lake Louise in Banff National Park. © James Goodheart
As you venture forth into the Canadian Rockies, you’ll be entering a realm of turquoise lakes and wildflower meadows. Grand mountains rise into the clouds, and glacier-fed rivers run through deep valleys as you hike through the alpine wilderness.
Bighorn sheep can be found throughout the mountain ranges of Canada’s national parks.
WILDLIFE
Wildlife inhabits every corner of Canada’s national parks, from brown bears and wolverines to elk, moose and mule deer. Bighorn sheep and mountain goats navigate rocky cliffsides and hoary marmots and pikas peek out from boulder fields while wolves and coyotes roam the foothills. Keep an eye out for birdlife such as golden eagles, osprey, gray jays, white-tailed ptarmigan and rufous hummingbirds.
Fireweed is among the many wildflowers found in Yoho National Park. © James Goodheart
FLOWERS
As you hike through mountain meadows, floral aromas pervade the air and fields are filled with every color of the rainbow. Among them are larkspur, blue aster, rock jasmine, wild strawberry, river beauty, shooting star, yellow lady’s slipper, paintbrush western wood lily and Alberta wild rose.
Lake Louise in Banff National Park. © James Goodheart
LAKES AND WATERFALLS
In Banff, Canada’s first national park, you’ll walk through lush forests and limestone canyons carved over the course of thousands of years. You’ll reach thunderous waterfalls and plunge pools before making your way to two of the park’s gems: Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. Their vivid blue-green hue is the result of light-reflecting rock dust produced by glaciers scraping against bedrock. You’ll have phenomenal views of the lakes backdropped by glistening glaciers and granite spires. Photographic opportunities abound as your naturalist guide leads you from one scenic overlook to the next.
Towering mountains rise above turquoise lakes in Yoho National Park. © James Goodheart
Yoho is Canada’s second national park, established in 1886, and equal to Banff in beauty. Its name derives from the Cree expression for “awe” and “wonder.” Watch golden light fall upon the peaks at sunrise and witness the striking Takakkaw Falls, the country’s second-tallest waterfall. The glacial water stems from the Waputik Icefields, plunging 1,224 feet in a silvery ribbon. Explore Emerald Lake in the cradle of Mount Burgess and Wapta Mountain on a guided hike around its peaceful shores. While walking, search for signs of animal life amidst dwarf birches, lodgepole pines, Douglas firs and white spruces.
Waterfalls abound in Yoho National Park. © James Goodheart
Experience the majesty of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, a regional UNESCO World Heritage Site, for nine glorious days with expert naturalist guides. Join Natural Habitat Adventures on a nature tour of Remote Peaks & Meadows of the Canadian Rockies.
Moraine Lake at sunset. © James Goodheart
The dazzling blue water of Lake Louise. © James Goodheart
About the author: Emily Goodheart View all posts by Emily Goodheart
Emily is Content Marketing Manager at Natural Habitat Adventures. She is a Colorado College graduate with a background in anthropology and wildlife conservation. She has explored more than 20 countries, including a wildlife-focused gap year in South Africa and Zimbabwe, a student photography expedition to the Galapagos, and college courses in Italy and India where she wrote about culture and mythology.
