 Banff
National Park
 BANFF,
ALBERTA—
Banff National
Park offers a myriad of wonders that could easily take a lifetime to explore
and enjoy. Even so, a one-day trip from Banff to the Columbia Icefields
is a great introduction to the splendor of the Canadian Rockies.
If you enter
the park on the Trans-Canada Highway heading west from Calgary, the town
of Banff is the first major landmark, a charming Alpine hamlet surrounded
by lakes and mountains. Banff also has a hot springs resort open to the
public. You can even rent a bathing suit if you've arrived unprepared!
After Banff,
the Trans-Canada Highway bends northward to the park's crown jewel, Lake
Louise. Lake Louise, pictured above, is one of the most photographed
places in the world, but all those flashbulbs have done nothing to diminish
its pristine azure glory. With an unspoiled glacier at one end and the
ultra-civilized Chateau Lake Louise at the other, Lake Louise is the meeting
point of extremes. It's also the crossroads for tourists from every corner
of the globe.
 The
Icefields Parkway leads north from Lake Louise through some of the most
spectacular mountain scenery in the world. Animals are abundant, and traffic
jams usually mean a bighorn sheep like the one pictured above have paused
to offer an irresistable photo opportunity. Elk and bear are also common
sights.
Glaciers
and icefields rise magnificently on both sides of the Parkway. Bow Summit
above Peyto Lake, pictured at the left, is only one of many.
Farther north,
Weeping Wall lives up to its name in the summer, when countless waterfalls
plunge over its cliffs. In the winter, ice climbers scale the frozen cascades.
North of
Weeping Wall, the Parkway enters Jasper National Park, where one of the
most popular destinations is the Columbia Icefields. Giant
snowmobiles carry visitors up the steep icy slopes of Athabasca Glacier.
The trip
back to Banff takes about two hours, but fortunately the sun sets late
in the summer Rockies. One day's never enough, but at least in July, it
can be a very long one.
Banff National
Park
Box 900
Banff, Alberta T0L 0C0
(403) 762-1550
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