Lake Louise, Moraine, Emerald Lake and Yoho Tour from Calgary

Banff town and the Bow Valley

After pickup in Calgary the vehicle drives west for about an hour and a half, collecting guests at the Canmore and Banff pickup points on the way, and the first stop is Banff town, the alpine village at the centre of Banff National Park. Banff sits at about 1,400 metres on the Bow River, with Cascade Mountain closing the view at the end of Banff Avenue and Mount Rundle and Sulphur Mountain on the other sides. The guide gives a short orientation and time for a quick break and photos before the longer drive into the park.

A Banff tour from Calgary that reaches Yoho as well has to keep moving, so the stop in town is brief, but it lets you see the townsite and understand how the park grew from the hot springs discovered by railway workers in 1883. If you are staying in Banff, you simply join the vehicle here at the designated point.

Johnston Canyon and the Lower Falls

Johnston Canyon lies on the Bow Valley Parkway about 25 kilometres west of Banff, where Johnston Creek has cut a narrow limestone gorge with a series of waterfalls. A trail of catwalks bolted to the canyon walls leads 1.1 kilometres to the Lower Falls, where a short tunnel in the rock brings you face to face with the spray, and continues another 1.6 kilometres to the taller Upper Falls for those who walk faster. The path is shaded and cool in summer and turns into a gallery of frozen waterfalls in winter, when crampons are provided.

The Johnston Canyon hike to the Lower Falls takes about 45 minutes return at an easy pace and is one of the most popular walks in Banff National Park, which is why the tour arrives in the morning before the car parks fill. Access fees are included in the tour.

Lake Louise and Victoria Glacier

Lake Louise is the image most people carry of the Canadian Rockies: a turquoise lake about two kilometres long filling a bowl beneath Victoria Glacier, with Mount Victoria and the Beehive peaks on either side. The colour comes from glacial rock flour and is deepest from late June to September; in winter the surface freezes and is cleared for skating. The flat lakeshore path runs along the northern side towards the glacier and is the best place for photographs away from the busiest viewpoint.

Visitors often ask how to get to Lake Louise from Calgary and how to deal with the restricted access in summer; this tour handles both, since the entry and access fees for Lake Louise are included and the vehicle brings you straight to the lake. The stop is about an hour, enough for a walk along the shore and a drink from the lakeside kiosks at your own expense.

Moraine Lake and the Valley of the Ten Peaks

Moraine Lake sits about 14 kilometres from Lake Louise at the end of a seasonal road, cupped beneath the ten summits of the Wenkchemna Peaks. The lake is smaller than Lake Louise but a deeper blue, especially from mid-June when it fills with meltwater, and the short climb up the Rockpile at the outlet gives the classic view across the water to the peaks. The road is closed to private cars, and the Moraine Lake access included in this tour lets our vehicle drive up directly.

Moraine Lake Road is open roughly from June to mid-October; outside that period it is closed by snow and the guide substitutes extra time at Lake Louise or another viewpoint. The best time to visit Moraine Lake is a clear morning or early afternoon in July, August or September, when the sun lights the peaks and the water shows its full colour.

The Natural Bridge on the Kicking Horse River

West of Lake Louise the road crosses the Kicking Horse Pass on the Continental Divide, the boundary between Alberta and British Columbia, and drops into Yoho National Park. The first stop in Yoho is the Natural Bridge, where the Kicking Horse River has forced its way through a band of limestone and carved a rock arch over the rushing water. Viewing platforms on both banks and a footbridge give close views of the river pouring beneath the stone, which is loudest in June when the snowmelt peaks.

The Natural Bridge is a short stop of about 20 minutes, but it is a favourite with photographers and a good place to see the power of the glacial rivers that shaped these valleys. It lies on the road to Emerald Lake, about three kilometres from the Trans-Canada Highway near the village of Field.

Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park

Emerald Lake is the largest lake in Yoho National Park and the last and quietest stop of the day. Its green colour, different from the blue of Moraine Lake, comes from fine glacial sediment lit by the afternoon sun, and it is ringed by the President Range, Mount Burgess and the forested slopes of Emerald Peak. A flat 5.2-kilometre loop trail circles the lake, canoes glide on the water in summer, and the lodge bridge at the near shore is the classic photo point. Yoho receives far fewer visitors than Banff, so the shore is calm even in high season.

An Emerald Lake tour is usually combined with Lake Louise, as here, because the two lie only about 40 kilometres apart across the divide. From Emerald Lake the vehicle begins the long return drive east, dropping guests at the Banff, Canmore and Calgary points in that order, around 7:00 pm in Calgary.