Mike Chowla
British Columbia:

Yoho and Banff National Parks

Banff is the prettiest place in North America. This was my fourth visit to this scenic wonderland. We first stopped in Yoho National Park which borders Banff but is on the British Columbia Side of BC and Alberta border. I was disappointed to find Banff has become extremely crowded. My last trip was in 2015, also in July and Banff was significantly less crowded. It appears that Banff has become Instagram famous and some locations in the park are overrun with people taking pictures of themselves doing silly Instagram in outfits that make no sense for National Parks.

The highlight of the trip was sunrise over Lake Louise. In an odd way, I have the crowds to thank for seeing this. We tried to go Morraine Lake for sunrise but the parking lot was already full at 4:30 am! So we headed back to our hotel and walked over to Lake Louise. Pro tip: Because of the parking challenges at Lake Louise, there's a big benefit to staying close to the lake. We stayed at Deer Lodge which is only a 5 minute walk to the lake. Also a bonus, the bar at the lodge makes quite a good Old Fashioned. Our final stops in the parks were Peyto Lake and Bow Lake which are up the Icefields Parkway.

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