The hubs and I were lucky enough to go on a pretty awesome vacation this summer to Alberta, Canada. It was my first time ever visiting Canada, and I can say for sure it won’t be the last!
We spent a few days hiking in the Banff area and it was breathtaking.
Well, okay, the first day was really dreary and we could pretty much just see the base of mountains as the rest was covered in rain clouds.
Thankfully the weather cleared up more and more as the days went on and we got to do some incredible hiking.
We did an incredibly difficult hike sort of by accident on the last big hiking day. Definitely the hardest hike I’ve ever done, mostly because the last kilometer or so was basically straight up the side of the mountain.
There aren’t really words to describe how beautiful it was at the top. We sat on the rocks on the side of the mountain, which continued soaring up behind us, and we could see for miles and miles.
Side note, that little light green patch toward the bottom right of the photo above is the area where we did our first day’s hiking in the rain. We were sitting in a spot that was most definitely covered by clouds on our first day.
Our final day in the area was gloriously sunny and beautiful. We took our time driving back to Calgary and views like this were around every corner.
I can’t wait to go back and explore much, much more. It was incredible.
Centered in the Saddle 
Breathtaking indeed! Makes me want to go there…
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You picked probably the wettest summer in several years to come up here, but the rain is MUCH better then the smoke we have had the last 3ish summers ! Glad you enjoyed it!
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That’s what we heard from the locals! Unusually rainy but better than the smoke from recent summers. And truly, once the clouds parted a bit, the cool weather was ideal for hiking!
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Yes its definitely the best for hiking! IT was the same for us when we were in the Okanagan, which kind of sucked because we wanted a beach day and didn’t get one, but it was great for having the dog with us and doing some hiking!
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This is stunning! I need to plan a trip up here with my guy, I think he’d love it!! I may pick your brain for itinerary ideas 😉
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Yes, do it!! It’s amazing and I’m sure you’d both love it!
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So dang pretty! It has been on my list for a while. Great photos!
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Definitely go! I can’t wait to go back!
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Oh wow. No words for how beautiful those pictures are, and I’m sure it was even better being there in person!
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It was one of those “is this real life?” moments for sure!
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Wow…breathtaking for sure. Now I need to put that on my bucket list.
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DO IT. It was unbelievable!
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Lake Louise and Banff are one of my most favorite spots! So glad you got to enjoy the beauty and I bet that last km up the mountain was totally worth the aches and pains!
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Absolutely 100% worth it!! I will never, ever forget what it was like at the top!
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This is a beautiful part of the world.
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Do you know the name of the hike you did for the last shot? I would love to see that view in real life!
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That was taken by the side of the road! We drove from Banff to Calgary by back roads through Kananaskis Country, an area not in the National Park but with incredible views/hikes. The road is 742 heading south from Canmore and it was a gorgeous drive (though mostly gravel so be careful). Next time we go, we want to hike in that area!
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Wicked! I’ll be nagging my team for a roadtrip out there on our next weekend! 🙂
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