After our time in the Town of Banff, we headed back towards our hotel and made our way to Moraine Lake. If you ever Google images of Banff or Alberta, you will most likely be greeted with a multitude of photos from Moraine Lake. The lake itself and grandeur is so iconic that it was at one point the image on the Canadian twenty dollar bill. Due to its beauty and thus the amount of photos I took, I thought I would make a solitary post for Moraine Lake. As I said, we arrived at the lake in the afternoon of our first day and were greeted by yet more tourists but an unforgettable sight. Once you arrive in the parking lot (if you are lucky enough to get a parking spot, as we were turned away earlier that morning) you head left and climb a steep but short trail to a rock pile lookout over the lake. Even on our cloudy day spent at Moraine Lake, the color of the water is beyond compare. The photos you will see below are a true representation of the colors of the lake, so before you dismiss them saying "edited" or "photoshop", reconsider. We made our way to the overlook and were struck with the view you will soon see. There are a number of locations to snap photos from, but due to the crowd of tourists, we climbed further down the rock pile to get a clearer view of the lake. Outfitted with a lodge and a beautiful boat dock, the glacier-fed lake holds magnificent of the surrounding mountain range and immeasurable pines. After snapping photos until my heart was content (which it still isn't) we followed the encroaching darkness back to our hotel for the night.
I hope you enjoy the photos below and are just as amazed by the colors and beauty of this lake.
This song was released during the course of our trip and I felt that it fit the locations perfectly. If you like the song, I highly recommend checking out the rest of Nick's discography.
Above: The "Rockpile" that acts as the viewpoint for Moraine Lake. Below: A couple unloading their own canoe to paddle across an empty and placid Moraine Lake.
Above: A beautiful view from the "Rockpile" lookout. Below: The contrast in colors between a solitary pine and the lake water is incredible.
Above: I can never recreate what it's like to see it for yourself, but panoramas help express the majesty of places like this.
Above: A collection of logs collecting at the base of Moraine Lake. Below: Patrick posing and capturing the moment.
Above: I don't know who this lady is, but she made this one of my favorite photos of the lake. Thanks mystery woman.
Above: The lakeshore trail.
Above: Prepare for canoe overload. I took an unnecessary amount of canoe photos between Moraine Lake and Lake Louise.