Peyto Lake / Icefields Parkway
Canadian Rockies Road Trip, Day 10 | Hiking to Peyto Lake | Waterfowl Lake | Banff National Park | Driving the Icefields Parkway from Banff to Jasper | June 2023
This morning, we left our campsite in Yoho National Park bright and early, determined to make up for not doing much hiking in Banff National Park prior to coming to Yoho. We took the TransCan Highway back East, across the Continental Divide and into Alberta and Banff National Park, then began driving the Icefields Parkway — an incredibly scenic drive that goes from Banff to Jasper National Park.
Our first stop came not too far up the road: the trailhead to Peyto Lake. We parked and then prepared for a hike. The trail to the main lookout was paved, but rather steep. Even at Charlotte’s pokey pace we were still getting a workout! We arrived at the first lookout, finding it completely empty, and were met with the most incredible view overlooking the lake, and the glacier that feeds into it. Even though I had seen pictures of this view many, many times, it still totally blew me away and reminded me that it’s still so much better to see these places in person!
We stayed here for several minutes all alone, and when others arrived we decided to continue on with the hike and find more views and solitude. Beyond the lookout is a loop trail, but according to the sign it looked like it mostly went through forested areas, so we ended up taking a spur trail to a rocky outcropping overlooking the lake. This gave us a wider view than the first lookout, and a better look at the glacier and some tall waterfalls from a distance. We took time to enjoy this spot, and also made sure to get some family pictures. I love how Charlotte still sits down at these scenic areas, and even though she can’t see, she still sniffs the air and takes in the moment.
Once we were finished, we made our way back to the parking lot, passing by the now very full viewing platform. We decided to go back a couple miles to a scenic spot we had seen on our way here to make our breakfast. We had been learning over the past week that van life isn’t always glamorous and not every place we eat or sleep at is super scenic, but this was one of those times where everything was so picturesque and perfect that we just had to sit down and soak in the moment. We had an amazing view of two different glaciers, mountains, and a tall waterfall right outside the windows of our “home” — what could be better?! Charlotte also loved sniffing around the parking lot and taking a nap in the shade — two of her favorite things. This stop was a win all around.
After this, we continued up the Icefields Parkway. As we drove further North, the peaks became more impressive with more snow cover, the glaciers bigger and closer to the road, and each time we came over another hill we were met with a view even better than the last. We decided to go for another short and easy walk to the Waterfowl Lakes. This was the starting point for two cool looking trails, but we knew those would be too much for Charlotte so we settled for walking along the river and stopping to rest by the larger of the Waterfowl Lakes. Unfortunately the campground here was still closed for the season, otherwise it would have been an ideal situation for us to camp here and take turns hiking to the lakes while the other stayed with Char — oh well, next time!
The drive from here only got better; climbing up to higher elevation and seeing waterfalls in the distance and along the road. Eventually we reached a different Continental Divide – that between the Atlantic Ocean (really Hudson Bay) and the Arctic Ocean: that’s definitely a first for us! With this, we also officially crossed from Banff into Jasper National Park, which we’ll cover in the next post. The Icefields Parkway certainly lived up to the hype, and we hope to come back someday and explore different stops on the way!
