Day 28 - Bow River and Falls

Today we opted for a gentle walk in the outskirts of Banff. This took us down the Bow River which runs through the town, and past numerous riverside properties which we enviously eyed up.

The river continued on to Bow Falls and to a pub where we went to get a drink and enjoy the surroundings.

After this we returned to Banff for our final evening. We visited a gallery for a local nature photographer and ended up buying a great photo of a bear cub. To end the evening, we revisited our favourite restaurant to get something to eat.

Unfortunately had to cut the day short here as we needed to return early to get some more laundry done!

Day 27 - Johnson Canyon Trail

What would likely be our last hike of the holiday, we chose to go back to Johnston Canyon which was the first hike of our last holiday!

We set off up the canyon path with led up alongside Johnston Creek. The path was made up of walkways which ran alongside the walls of the canyon and led us up past a few waterfalls and through the forest. It was a busy trail, and apparently is the most popular in Canada, but thankfully once we reach the top the crowds began to thin.

We continued on from the top of the canyon up another trail towards a place called the 'Inkpots' which are a six pools of water which are fed from underground springs and have a particularly vivid blue colour to them. These are set in a wide meadow area surrounded by mountains; a view which made the climb worth it!

We had our lunch at the Inkpots and then set off back down the trail. Once we'd finished, we returned to Banff to have a quick walk around and then on to get our tea.

Day 26 - Day Off

Feeling a little burnt out, and with some more rain forecast we decided to stay put for the day. Our room had its own fireplace, so later in the day we ended up ordering a takeaway and sitting in front of the fire!

Day 25 - Sunshine Meadows

On the rainiest day of our holiday so far, we drove a short while to the ironically named Sunshine Village - a ski resort just west of Banff.   From here, we could get yet another gondola to Sunshine Meadows - a large alpine meadow that straddles the border between Alberta and British Columbia.

After departing the chair lift that took us to the top, we were exposed to the cutting wind blowing across the meadow. The sky was cloudy at first, though there were occasions when the sun broke through the clouds and cast down sunbeams.

We walked a short while down the mountain to the start of the hike and were given a great view across the lakes that are scattered throughout the valley. We set off on one of the circular hikes and it wasn't long before the rain started to come down. Thankfully we'd dressed for the occasion, so apart from upping our pace we weren't too affected.

Once we completed the hike, we returned to the base of the mountain. Since it was still early, we decided to once again try our luck wildlife spotting on the Bow Valley Parkway. No luck today unfortunately!

We returned to our hotel just in time, as this is when the weather really took a turn for the worse. We retreated inside and watched the weather worsen from our room!

Day 24 - Sulphur Mountain

Today we decided to pay another visit to Sulphur Mountain, one of the many mountains that tower over the town of Banff.

We caught the bus into town, and then another to the gondola station (there wasn't a chance we'd be hiking up!). After a short wait, we ascended to the peak of the mountain and got out to enjoy to views. The peak of the mountain has an elevated wooden walkway which leads up to an old weather station.

We were lucky with the weather. Apart from a few clouds we had good visibility of the surrounding mountain ranges and across the Bow Valley. It was a bit chilly though, so after taking in the views for a while, we decided to set off back down.

It seems everyone else there had the same idea as us though - the queue for the gondola down warned we'd be waiting about an hour! It was about at this point that a herd of Bighorn Sheep showed up and started eating underneath the elevated walkway.

We descended the mountain and returned to Banff where we decided to have an early tea, another quick walk around town, and then returned to the hotel.

Day 23 - Banff

We set off from Lake Louise towards the town of Banff. This is probably the most popular town in the Canadian Rockies. It is a small and very picturesque place which sits in the middle of Bow Valley, with the Bow River running through it.

To get there, we again took the Bow Valley Parkway, and again hoped to spot some wildlife. This time we were lucky enough to spot a Black Bear crossing the road, but unfortunately it seems he had places to be as we weren't able to spot him after he'd disappeared back into the trees!

After a brief detour to view the nearby Vermillion Lakes, we arrived in a rainy Banff and at our next hotel, the Hidden Ridge Resort. This is atop a mountain on the outskirts of Banff called Tunnel Mountain. We were far too early to check-in, so we caught a bus back down to Banff to have a look around town and do some souvenir shopping.

To end the day, we had a meal at one of our favourite restaurants in town, and then returned to the hotel.

Day 22 - Plain of Six Glaciers Trail

For our last full day at Lake Louise, we returned to the lake to do another of the hikes that started there; this would lead us to the 'Plain of the Six Glaciers'.

We started up along the lake side, on the same path we'd come down on the day before. The weather was much clearer than yesterday, so we were grateful to be back in the same area in better conditions.

Eventually the path diverged up along the valley and towards the large glacier that sits at the rear of Lake Louise. The path then led up towards another teahouse which sits alone in the valley.

We were able to sit down and get something to eat from here, before we continued on to the main viewpoint for the valley. Here we could see the many different glaciers which spilled into the valley and were the main water source for the lake. There were several occasions where we could hear the ice cracking which sent a thunderous rumble through the valley.

We returned to the tea house and got ourselves a drink for the hike back. We overheard someone say there was a Grizzly sighted just down the path from us, so we hurried off to see if we could spot it. Unfortunately, we'd missed it, but our hurry did at least get us down the trail much quicker!

With our hurried descent, we had some more time to spare than we thought. We decided to take a drive down the Bow Valley Parkway, a long side road which is known for being a good area to spot wildlife. We drove up and down the whole highway, and although we weren't lucky enough to spot a bear, we did spot another group of what looked like young male Elk grazing in the roadside meadows.