Beautiful Banff

Loren and I recently took a long weekend trip to Banff, Alberta to meet up with our friends for a weekend of skiing (the boys), chatting (the gals), and exploring the area. I'd seen Banff on an episode of Live with Regis and Kelly years ago, thought it was beautiful and have wanted to visit every since then. Here's a recap of our trip...beware there's a lot of photos.

We flew into Calgary which has a very nice airport and then made the easy drive to Banff (the drive is about an hour and twenty minutes). The hotel we chose to stay at was Banff Park Lodge. It was a great location, reasonably priced, and had a hot tub! The rooms were roomy enough and clean so I'd recommend it if you're looking for a place to stay.

The first day in town the boys went skiing and Ang and I caught up and had a yummy lunch. :) We picked them up at the end of the day so we could all go to Lake Louise to see the views. Unfortunately, it was snowing by the time we got to the lake so we didn't get to see the best views.

Loren took this picture while they were skiing. 

Photo Cred: Eric (& selfie stick)

Everywhere you look there is gorgeous scenery, we stopped for a couple pictures on the way down from Lake Louise.

The next day we went to check out the Cave and Basin National Historic Site. It was incredibly overrated. And smelly (mineral springs). After that 20-minute adventure we continued on to Johnston Canyon Trail. There are two waterfalls that you can see while you hike. The lower falls are considered to be an "easy" hike which I think would definitely be true if the trail wasn't covered in ice! The scenery was breathtaking but the trail was so slippery in some areas you just held the handrail and slid down the slope on your boot heels! We didn't make it to the second waterfall. Eric was ahead of us and said the trail was very difficult so I knew I wouldn't be able to manage it. The trail overall was a great experience and I'd say a must see if you're in the area.

After our hike we stopped at a pretty lake on the way back to town. I'm not totally sure but I think this was Lake Minnewanka, this is based on Googling and Instagram searches. It was super pretty (and windy!), I'm glad we spotted the sign and made the pit stop.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing and then decided to head out to visit the Upper Hot Springs. It's essentially a pool sized hot tub with mineral water. Worth a trip, but I wouldn't plan on spending more than 30 minutes there. They do have lockers and towel rental (swim suits too if you really need one!).

Photo cred: Eric

On our last day in town the boys returned to the ski slopes while Angela and I entertained ourselves by driving around and taking pictures of the scenery. We would literally just pull over on the side of the road whenever we saw a pretty spot...which was often! The beauty in Banff is so breathtaking and at the risk of sounding cheesy, it just made me feel so grateful that I was able to experience it.

Our last night we grabbed dinner and went out for a few drinks before heading to bed. 

It was such an incredible trip and such a fun time with good friends. Looking forward to a new adventure together soon! Thanks for sticking around through all these trip photos. :)

Love, 

K