Day 19 - Emerald Lake to Banff

Today was our last day at Emerald Lake. We woke up and packed as a big thunderstorm suddenly blew over us. Thunder and lightning at 7.30am, very odd. Eventually the rain stopped and it coincided with us finishing packing so we walked up the little path to the lodge for our final breakfast. We made the most of the buffet again and ate as much as we could.

It was lovely sat there looking at the lake, even if it was a bit damp outside. The blue was still very blue.

We finished breakfast and took our luggage to the lodge and waited for the bus down to the car park. The damp weather made leaving a tiny bit easier, but it was still sad. Laura couldn’t even talk about it because she thought she might cry. Everything about Emerald Lake was lovely – the lake, the mountains, the staff, the vibe. Definitely a highlight of the trip.

Once we got the car loaded we set a course for Banff via the scenic Bow Valley Parkway (this is the 1A, the 1 is the big main road). Along the parkway we kept our eyes peeled for wildlife. At one point a bunch of cars had stopped and there were two large male Elks in the trees. The antlers were enormous.

Area that was burnt in a Prescribed Fire in 1993

Eventually we made it to Banff and decided that as the weather was nice we would go to Lake Minnewanka and have a walk. This was the largest lake yet (although, artificially enhanced to make it bigger) at 20km long.

We bought ice creams (strawberry for me, maple walnut for Laura) and walked around the lake for a bit. We walked to a bridge over a canyon and then back again. On the water people were enjoying rented speedboats that travelled at the slowest speed you could imagine a speedboat travelling. They should have called them slowboats really. We laughed as a boy kept screaming as his dad made the boat go too fast. Or maybe it was turning too sharp? Or he was getting splashed? Either way it was baffling and amusing because it was so odd!

We drove a scenic route back to Banff and admired Cascade Mountain (and all the other big peaks we could see!)

We parked up in Banff and had a wander around. In Roots, Laura bought some joggers and I bought a green hoodie with ROOTS emblazoned across the front in yellow letters.

After a decent explore we headed up Sulphur Mountain to our hotel, the Rimrock Resort. We checked in, but our room wasn’t quite ready, so we had a nice cup of tea and sat on the balcony overlooking Mount Rundle. The tea was the best cup of tea we’ve had in Canada. Even the teapot was good and didn’t drip!

The hotel is only a 5 minute walk from the Banff Gondola. When we got given our room key a short while later I enquired about the Gondola and they offered us discounted tickets. Hurrah! So we decided to go now. First we plonked all our luggage in the room. And wow, what a view from the room! A view down the valley towards Tunnel Mountain, Mount Astley and Spectral Peak. 

Room view the Rimrock Resort in Banff

We got changed (layered up!) and walked up to the Gondola. There were a couple of busses there, so we had to wait about 15 minutes before going up. After getting on the Gondola with a Chinese chap and his mum, we were whizzed out of the station very quickly and up the mountain, 700m to 2,281m.

At the top it was initially a bit cloudy, but after about 10 minutes it brightened up. We left the majority of the tourists behind at the summit building and took the short boardwalk to Sanson Peak where the views were incredible.

We lingered there for about 30 minutes, taking it all in, looking at things through the binoculars and reading the panels explaining about Norman Sanson who hiked up the mountain once a week for thirty years to take weather measurements.

Eventually we made our way back to the station and caught a Gondola back down. It was very quiet now as most people had already gone down.

We had originally planned eat in Banff, but the restaurant at the hotel looked good and had a brilliant view, so we decided to eat there instead. The food was yummy and we both had three courses each (a first for this trip!)

After dinner we came back to the room and sat in the two comfy chairs, looking down on Banff. Laura enjoyed playing a bit of “Rear Window” and people-watched the guests in the other wing of the hotel! Do they not know what curtains are for?!