The drive was very nice, we were driving in from Vancouver, British Columbia. We took the Old Hope-Princeton Highway through to Merrit, and then went east to Kelowna. We spent the day in the sun at Bear Creek Provincial Campground with family in Westbank, and then went to my Uncles to stay the night in Dilworth, Kelowna. Its always a nice time being in Kelowna, I’ve been there every summer over the past ten years, and I’ve spent some winters there as well, which are just as gorgeous.
In the morning we had breakfast at my aunt and uncles, and then got back on the road to head on our way through Vernon, we stopped in Revelstoke to change and have a quick stop, then we drove through Golden and into Banff National Park. Finally we drove across into Alberta, Canada, Lake Louise is just 15 to 20 minutes away once you’ve crossed over into Alberta. The entire drive was beautiful, as driving through the Rocky Mountains always is; trees and mountains everywhere as far as the eye can see, it is absolutely breath taking.
Once we arrived in Lake Louise we made a couple quick stops (seeing as the legal age drops a year to 18 as you cross into Alberta) and off we went to find our campsite. Be careful to check both sides of the highway for the campground before moving on to search for other places you think it might be, because the map that I had looked as if it were on the opposite side of the highway. If you have stopped in the small mall as you enter Lake Louise, all you need to do is head away from highway 1 to the next intersection and turn left and follow that road straight to the ranger booth at the end.
Now, you can make your reservation online, and for the 3 nights that we stayed at the campsite it cost us about $80, but since it is a national park when you show up you will need to pay a Park Stopping Fee, the amount of this fee will vary depending on how long you will be staying, but mine was another $80, so if you are thinking of going just assume that the Park Stopping Fee will be just another payment of whatever you paid for the campsite.
There are a lot of wild animals in this area since you are surrounded by a national park and therefore you will need to be careful with discarding remainders of meals and cooking water, but you can sleep soundly at this campsite not worrying about bears or any other animals, because the campground is surrounded by an electrified fence to keep the large animals out of the campsite.
When you are staying at the campsite I recommend taking a couple quick trips to see the glacial lakes in the area. The closest lakes to you are Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, which are just up the road a few kilometres. These are the most amazing lakes I have ever seen, the pristine mountains and trees surrounding these beautiful lakes are just amazing, it’s something you need to see for yourself, because pictures just won’t do it justice (but if you’d like to see a good picture of Lake Louis then check out my picture “Glorious Day”).
If camping is not the outing for you though, there is a Fairmount Hotel right on the bank of Lake Louise that is extremely pretty, and I would assume very extravagant, but I wouldn’t know for sure since I’m the camping type.
We traveled into Banff on our first day there to take a look around at hotels and little shops. Banff has a very similar look and feel to it as Whistler Village, if you’ve been to Whistler that is. The second day we went on an outing to Lake Louise, and on the third we took a trip out to Moraine Lake. All of which had their own distinct adventure, and were all quite fun outings. I would recommend this trip to anyone who likes the outdoors, or if your not the outdoorsy type then reserve a room at the Fairmount and have the view of a lifetime just out your window as you wake up each morning.
It truly was an amazing trip in all aspects, both me and my girlfriend loved it, I’m sure you would too. Safe travels.
