During the days before and after our stay at Skoki Lodge, we took several hikes not far from Lake Louise. These hikes took us to mountain lakes, streams, and waterfalls. We took two hikes prior to hiking up to Skoki Lodge and three hikes after returning from our stay in the backcountry.
Our first hike was to Sherbrooke Lake, a hidden jewel in Yoho National Park. It was a pleasant hike through the forest to reach the lake, and then we walked to the far end, where we had a view across the lake to a long cascade coming down the steep slopes. The lake is a beautiful emerald color, much like Lake Louise, but smaller and minus the crowds. It is a great place to get away from the tour buses. [I should mention that prior to starting our late afternoon hike, we had initially planned to hike at Emerald Lake, but it was much too crowded, so we turned around and drove to the trailhead for Sherbrooke Lake. On the way we stopped at Natural Bridge, a rock formation that spans Kicking Horse River. The bridge is sculpted by the water rushing over what used to be a waterfall, creating a fissure in the rock through which water now flows with an impressive force.
The next day, we visited Takakkaw Falls, which was quite busy on a Sunday afternoon, filled with both local families out for a picnic and people from all over the world coming to see Canada’s second highest falls. Indeed, there is good reason to visit this impressive flow of water streaming down the cliffs. One could easily enjoy an outing just driving in to see the falls, but there are several trails that lead off in different directions, and taking any of them would leave the crowds behind.
We took the trail to Laughing Falls, an easy 5K hike (each way) along the Yoho River. It stays mostly flat until the final third of the way to the falls, when it climbs moderately to a higher level and descends gradually to the Little Yoho River, which flows into the Yoho River a few meters after crossing a footbridge. The falls were thundering down the cliffs, and we sat by the river and admired them while having our lunch by the fast-flowing stream. On the way back, we stopped at Point Lace Falls and Angel Staircase Falls, each only about 100 meters off the trail. Both are well worth the short detour. When we arrived back at Takakkaw Falls, the light was breaking through the clouds and shining a spotlight on the falls. It was a splendid way to end our hike just before the sun dropped behind the ridges.
After returning from Skoki Lodge, we hiked to Ink Pots via Moose Meadows off the Bow River Parkway. The trail parallels the path to Johnstone Falls, which is one of the most popular hikes in the Banff area. Thankfully, the Moose Meadows trail is quiet, and although quite a few people walk to the Ink Pots from the upper Johnstone Falls, it’s not an overcrowded hike. The Ink Pots are a notable geological feature, though the natural setting is even more attractive. A beautiful river flows through meadows situated beneath Mystic Mountain Peak, which was wrapped in layers of mist rising from the river. There were views to the north of a striking series of sharp ridges appropriately named the Sawback Range. Although the day was mostly cloudy, and mist was covering the mountains, the skies opened for about half an hour in the late afternoon, and the resulting light was magical, illuminating the wet boulders in the stream, the green meadows, and the distant mountains. It was a magnificent time to be at the Ink Pots, well worth the late return to our cabin that evening. On the way back, we stopped briefly at the bridge over the Bow River at Castle Junction to admire the marvelous sunset.
Next we hiked to Boom Lake, which is set beneath dramatic cliffs and an impressive boulder field that stretched along the shore. It is not an easy lake to navigate because of the rockslide, but we found a large flat boulder not too far from the trail terminus where we enjoyed our lunch and watched the clouds move across the mountain peaks. It rained for a short while, forcing us to slip on our rain gear, but it didn’t last long, and things quickly dried out. On our drive back to our cabin, we stopped again at the bridge over Bow River, and although the sunset was not as intense as the previous day, it was still worth the stop.
On our final full day before leaving Paradise Lodge, we drove along the Icefields Parkway, a stunning scenic drive that connects Lake Louise with Jasper. It offers breathtaking views of glaciers, turquoise lakes, waterfalls, and imposing mountains. Icefields Parkway is considered one of the most beautiful drives in the world. We intended to hike the Wilcox Pass trail, which offers a stupendous view of the Athabasca Glacier, but after stopping at Herbert Lake, the Clawfoot Glacier, and Bow Lake, plus taking a short hike to Waterfowl Lake, we realized we didn’t have time to drive the additional hour to Wilcox Pass and hike to the top. Instead, we decided to take a hike that was one of our favorites during our 2019 trip.
I describe Helen Lake in more detail in the 2019 Banff gallery, and rather than revisiting the specifics, I will only mention a couple of features of this hike. First, we had our second encounter with a mother grouse and her baby chicks (see the Skoki Lodge hikes for mention of the first time we came across Mother Grouse). Once again, we waited while the mother gathered her chicks from the trail and took them into the forest. This time, she also flew onto a limb by the trail and posed for a couple of photos before moving up the hill. What a special treat!
Second, we found ourselves caught in an intense afternoon storm about halfway along our hike to Helen Lake. We had not yet reached the lake, and as the storm was moving in, we needed to cross the stream emptying from the lake, and we decided to stay away from water with the intense thunder and lightning all around us. We could see heavy sheets of rain back down the trail, and we decided to just wait out the storm where we were standing. Fortunately, we were on the edge of the storm, and although we had steady rain for a while, the most concentrated part of the storm passed not very far down the trail. It was an impressive display of nature’s power.
