A big part of visiting the Canadian Rockies parks of Banff, Jasper, and Yoho is exploring their various lakes, famed for the array of colors you’ll find among their sundry waters. Lakes in the Rockies come from glacial melt. Glaciers erode rocks, which turn into finely ground particles that suspend in the lake water. The rocky sediments in the water reflect the sunlight, making the water appear striking shades of aqua, turquoise, blue, and green.
Most famous of these is Lake Louise. The Lonely Planet lauds its beauty: “there ought to be a rule in life that no one should depart this mortal coil without first visiting Lake Louise” (p. 102). Compared to the typical iconic shots of the lake, this is taken from the opposite shore, coming the Plain of Six Glaciers. We accessed this side of the lake by first hiking up the Lake Agnes trail, stopping for a bit of tea and scones at the Lake Agnes Tea House, and descending past the Beehives to the glacial plain. Here in the distance, you can see the famous Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, originally constructed in the 1890s.
For a slightly different, but no less beautiful hue, Yoho National Park boasts Emerald Lake. Red canoes dot the water, making for a picturesque contrast with the jade waters. We circumnavigated Emerald Lake on our first day in Canada. It was a easy, flat walk, perfect for adjusting to the elevation of 4000-5000 feet.
Peyto Lake is an even purer shade of azure. It can be reached by a short but steep hike up from the Icefields Parkway, which links Banff and Jasper National Parks.
Bow Lake doesn’t require a hike at all, just a quick stop on the Icefields Parkway. Here it is in the morning light, serving as an almost perfect mirror for Crowfoot Mountain and Bow Peak.
We hiked around Lake Edith in Jasper National Park early one morning. Here it is reflecting three different hues: the fluffy clouds of the sky, the deep blue of the mountains, and the evergreen of the pines.
Early 20th century explorer Mary Schaffer, the first white woman to ever see Lake Maligne, declared it, “the finest view…in the Rockies.” We found it a little bit of a letdown after that kind of advertising, perhaps only because its waters were a bit more muted that day.
But waters need not always be blue to have a sort of feral beauty. Here is shallow Lake Jasper, its muddy bed tossed by strong winds before a coming storm.
