Glacier and Banff National Parks

It has been so fun looking through our trip to Glacier National Park and Banff. It was one of our favorite trips! I had to make a travel guide to Glacier and Banff! We will definitely go back! I always surprise myself with how relaxed I am with planning our trips. I usually leave it until the last minute because I am generally super busy right before we go, and then I throw myself right back into photo sessions the day that I get back! I had a photo session in Jackson Hole at Colter Bay, so we decided to head to Glacier after that. I thought it was kind of on the way, but it was the same drive time from Colter Bay as if we left our house. 

We wanted to camp for most of our trip; I figured we would get a hotel the first night in each new place because we would be getting in late and then head out early to get a campsite. We only ended up camping three of the nights, we found a fantastic hotel in Canmore and I couldn’t go back to a tent after a night there, it was such a perfect place! We had packed a lot of meals for camping, so we found beautiful spots to cook our dinners and then went back to our hotel.

We planned our trip at the end of August, hoping it wouldn’t be as busy because the schools would be starting up again. We didn’t have too many issues with crowds; it was the perfect time!

All of the square images are photographed with my Great Grandpa’s Rolleiflex Model T, I have been so inspired every time I pick it up, and I have created some of my favorite images with it!

On our first day in Glacier, we drove up the Going-to-the-Sun Road, and the views were spectacular. When we got to the top of the pass, there were many Mountain Goats; they are so beautiful! I love how fluffy they are! We continued to drive out of the park to Many Glaciers; it was our favorite area! When we make this trip again, we will spend most of our time here. We got to the parking area around two o’clock and hiked to Lake Grinnell. It was a perfectly flat trail that went along several lakes. The trail was shaded and well maintained, and it would be a perfect trail for kids. If we had more time, we would have gone to Grinnell Glacier. There is a ferry that you can take to Lake Grinnell. It would have been a fun option, but the trail was so perfect I wouldn’t do the ferry. On our way back down, we caught the most beautiful sunset over Swiftcurrent Lake when we finished our hike; we ran down the trail to photograph the light. I took some of my favorite photos on that trail!

Can you tell we don’t know how to travel without our cameras?  One of us always has one!

This is one of my favorite images, to purchase a Signature Print click here!

We are constantly photographing our surroundings and chasing the light!

On our second day in Glacier, we Hiked to Hidden Lake. The trail to the viewpoint of Hidden Lake was on a boardwalk, making it very accessible for lots of people. We continued and hiked down to the lake. It was the most beautiful trail; Baer Grass wildflowers were everywhere.  I have wanted to see these in bloom for years! The water was so beautiful, and lots of people were jumping in to see if they could brave the cold, some with clothes, some without…. After our hike, we drove down to Lake McDonald and found the perfect picnic spot and made some dinner! Fajitas are easy camping food, and they tasted so good after our long hike!

A few weeks earlier, one of my clients told me how she did a hot air balloon ride in Kalispell, so I called as we were driving to Glacier and he happened to have an opening, and I was soooo excited! Riding in a hot air balloon is on my list of things to do before I turn 35, so we had to do it. It was one of the most amazing things that I have ever done! It was so magical! After our ride, we packed up and drove to Cardston; we camped at a little RV Park. We visited the Cardston Temple and then made some dinner at our campground. We were one of the only tents most people had giant RVs, we were a bit out of place, but it was the only place open last minute.

We drove to Waterton the next day, it was pretty rainy, which is perfect hiking weather! We hiked to Bertha Falls and continued up to Bertha Lake. A lot of the trail was burnt from the previous years wildfires. Once we got higher up, we got into the beautiful pines, and there were delicious huckleberries all along the trail! It was a decent climb up to the lake, but it was worth it. We didn’t spend enough time in Waterton, because we wanted to get to Banff.

On the drive up, I searched on Kayak. I found an excellent hotel for a good deal because it was for that night, we were only going to book it for one night and then find a camping spot in Banff for the rest of the time, but we pulled up and got settled in the room and then I walked down and booked it for the rest of our time, it was brand new and so nice. We talk about going back to The Malcolm Hotel all of the time. They had the best food; we talk about it frequently! I have never had better breakfast potatoes; we now compare every hash brown to their potatoes. The location was excellent, right by a lot of little shops and restaurants and walking trails. The hotel was 30 minutes from the entrance of Banff.

For our first day in the area, we chose a hike in Jasper National Park. We hiked to Helen Lake; it was such a beautiful trail lined with wildflowers and bear poop! That was a little unnerving, it kept us on our toes! There was hardly anyone on the path, it was so lovely! It was another rainy day, which made it great for this hike because we climbed a lot in elevation. After the hike we drove down to Lake Minnewanka and made our pasta, we had the best views at sunset. I feel like a lot of people leave the parks around dinner time, so it is nice to have fewer crowds, and we were able to find easy parking.

On our second day, we went on the Banff Gondola, the views at the top were amazing, I highly recommend doing this, it was so neat to see all of the different Mountain Peaks. Storms roll in so fast in the area; we watched the clouds move around the valley; it was so fascinating. We got the combo ticket to have lunch at the top, and it was pretty good food. After we went to Lake Louise, we heard the parking lots filled up super fast in the morning, so we decided to go in the afternoon and catch the evening light, we were able to park pretty close. We walked to the back of the lake, and by the time that we came back, it started to pour, so we had to hide out in the Fairmont and eat some delicious chocolates. We waited out the storm, and when we went back out to the lake, there was no one! It was perfect for getting some photos without all of the tourists! We made our way back to Canmore and had dinner at Quatro Asian Bistro; it was decent Asian food even though it had a Spanish word in the name. We were craving Thai food, and this was the closest that we could find!

Black and white film shot on a Canon EOS3

Our third day was a Sunday, so we started our day by going to church. One of the ward members baked delicious cookies and goodies for all of the visitors; we were so impressed! They usually have 100+ visitors every Sunday. We went to Johnston Canyon and hiked to the lower falls, and the trail was pretty crowded. The color of the river was so unique, I love glacial water! We tried our luck with visiting Lake Moraine in the afternoon as well, and we were able to park in the main parking lot! It helped that there was a little rain, we are not fair-weather travelers! We take advantage of the poor weather when it sends the tourists away. We just hiked up to the viewpoint, and it was so stunning, the colors were magnificent! We headed back to our hotel and ate at the restaurant, and had some fantastic Poutine Balls, and we never tried the traditional Poutine while we were in Canada. Still, these were a pretty good variation of the Canadian treat! We were sad to have our trip come to an end, we fell in love with the beautiful scenery, and we can’t wait to visit again!

I took some of my favorite photos on this trip, and I created a new gallery of National Park prints. They are a part of my signature collection, all of these images are printed on a high-quality fine art paper and signed by yours truly!  To buy any of the prints from this post head to my Print Shop!

We love taking road trips together, one of our favorite parts is listening to lots of books.  We listened to a lot of adventure books on this trip and really loved them! And I also knit while Cole drives!  

The Horse and His Boy, C.S. Lewis

Into the Wild, John Krakauer

Into the Abyss, Carol Shaven

Into Thin Air, John Krakauer

The CBS Murderer, Richard Hammer

Touching the Void, Joe Simpson

Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl

Here is our full itinerary:

Day 1: 

Drive to Jackson Hole (Photo Session) (4 Hours)

Camp: Colter Bay

Day 2: 

Drive through Yellowstone, West Yellowstone, Flathead Lake and stayed in Kalispell. (9 Hours)

Lunch at: Firehole Barbeque (So delicious, Cole was obsessed!)

Hotel: Hilton Garden Inn

Day 3: 

Got up early to get a campsite in Glacier. 

Drove Going-to-the-Sun Road.

Hiked to Lake Grinnell in Many Glaciers. (By far our favorite area!)

Camp: Apgar Campground

Day 4: 

Hiked to Hidden Lake

Dinner at Lake McDonald, we made some delicious fajitas and had an amazing view of the lake.

Hotel: Hilton Garden Inn

Day 5: 

Hot Air Ballon in Kalispell 

Drive to Cardston (3 Hours)

Camp: Lee Campground

Day 6: 

Drive into Waterton (1 Hour)

Hike to Bertha Lake

Lunch: Waterton Tacos

 Drive to Banff (4 Hours)

Dinner: Santa Lucia Trattoria

Hotel: The Malcolm Hotel

Day 7: 

Hike to Helen Lake in Jasper National Park

Dinner: Cooked our own dinner overlooking Lake Minnewanka, Pasta and Zucchini

Hotel: The Malcolm Hotel

Day 8: 

Breakfast: Stirling Grill at The Malcolm Hotel

Gondola & Lunch

Hike around Lake Louise

Dinner Quatro Asian Bistro

Hotel: The Malcolm Hotel

Day 9: 

Breakfast: Stirling Grill at The Malcolm Hotel

Church in Banff

Hike through Johnston Canyon

Hike around Moraine Lake

Dinner: Stirling Grill at The Malcolm Hotel

Hotel: The Malcolm Hotel

Day 10: 

Breakfast: Stirling Grill at The Malcolm Hotel

Drive Home (13 Hours)

Stopped at the Alberta Temple on our way home