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9 Things We Wish We Would Have Known Before Traveling to Lake Louise, Banff, or the Canadian Rockies

by | 53 comments

9 Things We Wish We Would Have Known Before Travelling to Lake Louise, Banff, or the Canadian Rockies

I had the joy of not just travelling to but living in many beautiful places in my life. The coast of Florida. The beaches of the Bahamas. The smoky mountains of North Carolina. The ski slopes of Colorado. The majestic coast of Alaska.

Yet none of my travels or home addresses prepared me for the splendor of our trip to Banff, Canada, to film the 7-session Wonderstruck DVD Bible Study with Lifeway.

The rugged mountains. The pristine hiking trails. The striking vegetation. But what took my breath away were the lakes—Lake Louise, Lake Peyto, Lake Bow, Lake Moraine, and many others whose turquoise blue waters took on an otherworldly quality.

One of the members of the film crew, Justin Wylie, took some of the B-roll (the background scenery) and put together some glimpses of the area with light background music. Even if you only watch a minute or two, you’ll get a glimpse of God’s incredible creation, and a taste of what to expect when the Bible Study release January 7.

Banff National Park :: RED Scarlet from Justin Wylie on Vimeo.

Here are 9 things to know before you go to Lake Louise, Banff, or the Canadian Rockies:


1. Bring Your Best Camera. Why? Simply watch the video above to catch a glimpse. Photo-aficionados will want to be ready to snap breathtaking pics during dawn and dusk when the light softens and becomes even more stellar.

2. Don’t Assume Your Hotel Has Air Conditioning—Even If It’s Five Stars. Call ahead and find out. Just because you’re in the Canadian Rockies in the summer, doesn’t mean it stays cool. Your hotel room can easily heat up past 80 degrees in July, August, and September—which means you’ll need to keep your windows open at night to cool down. Plan on hearing every noise outside—traffic, tourists, and more. All. Night. The noisiest and most persistent are the train whistles. End up with a room without air conditioning and need to leave your windows open, plan on waking up 6-8 times per night due to noise.

3. Eat at the Saltlik. TripAdvisor has surprisingly few reviews for the restaurants around Banff—making some restaurants appear higher ranking than they really should be. One tasty restaurant we discovered was the Saltlik. Located within a block of the main strip in Banff, the restaurant offers more formal dining with steaks and ribs upstairs and more casual dining with salads and sandwiches downstairs. Everything we ate at the Saltlik was delicious. When we return to Banff, we plan to eat there everyday.

4. Check Exchange Rates. The US dollar isn’t what it used to be (anywhere) so if you’re travelling from the United States—or wherever—check exchange rates. Nearly every place takes credit cards, so you probably don’t need to exchange money (other than for parking meters and tipping, the latter can be done in dollars). And make sure the credit card you’re using doesn’t charge extra fees for being used overseas.

5. Compare Rental Car Prices. We were stunned at how wildly rental car prices varied. Between national companies, they’d be two to three times as expensive for the same vehicle. Make your rental car reservation early—if you’re flying into Calgary—and check back before you leave to see if prices have changed to see if you can lock in extra last-minute savings.

6. Pay the fee to enter Banff. If you’re driving in from Calgary, you’ll be asked to pay a park entrance fee along the way. Don’t skip it. Park rangers patrol for passes and hand out tickets to anyone who doesn’t have a pass.

7. Spring for the Better Hotel Room. The Canadian Rockies feature some stellar hotels including the Fairmont Lake Louise, the Fairmont Banff and others. If you’re making a special trip and staying in a luxury hotel, pay extra to ensure the view you want—otherwise you could be looking at a parking lot. And again, call to make sure they have air conditioning (See No. 2).

8. Expect cultural differences. Canadians are some of the kindness, most gentle, sweetest people on the planet. But those travelling to the Canadian Rockies come from around the globe representing many cultures—including those more aggressive than our own. Don’t be surprised when someone who speaks a different language cuts you off in line or traffic. They’re not trying to be unkind, they just have different cultural norms than our own.

9 Things We Wish We Would Have Known Before Traveling to Lake Louise, Banff, or the Canadian Rockies

9. Don’t speed. If you’re tempted to push the speed limit to 8 or even 11-miles over, you might be surprised to discover drivers in Canada actually obey the speed limit. At times, they even go under the speed limit. Shocking, I know. Police are looking for reasons to hand out tickets—on your way to the park and once you’re in it—so slow down, enjoy the view, and obey the speed limit.

Have YOU ever travelled to the Candian Rockies? If so, what did YOU love most? And what will you do differently the next time you go? 

 

*Photo courtesy of here

53 Comments

  1. jessica
    jessica on October 10, 2012 at 9:39 am

    Sounds absolutely gorgeous! Hopefully my family can make a trip there sometime soon. Love the B-roll footage. CANNOT WAIT for Wonderstruck to release!

  2. AJReed
    AJReed on October 10, 2012 at 1:46 pm

    Hope to make a trip to Canada someday. Now I’ll be prepared! Don’t normally think about the cultural differences with Canadians…

  3. Rob barrett jr
    Rob barrett jr on October 10, 2012 at 4:20 pm

    Wow, wow, wow. That video is amazing.

  4. Margaret
    Margaret on October 10, 2012 at 4:36 pm

    Justin did such a great job. We can’t wait to see the teaching and background and music when it’s all put together. Great job http://www.lifeway.com

  5. Karin
    Karin on October 10, 2012 at 8:12 pm

    Not such huge cultural differences with second+ generation Canadians, but many first generation Canadians and even many tourists from around the world in our national parks readily reveal significant cultural differences! It’s quite a multicultural mosaic up here!

  6. Jeannette Duwe
    Jeannette Duwe on October 11, 2012 at 1:28 pm

    That is simply amazing footage. I have photos of myself at about age 5 with my family and Oma. So may fields of wild flowers. And the pictures of Lake Louise still take my breath away. We took a family trip there — drove up through northern Idaho and into Canada. My most impressionable memory of the trip however was once we got to Victoria BC. We stayed at the famed Empress Hotel where I forgot my black patent leather shoes under the bed. 🙂 (I smile because even though it was not intentional, I never liked those shoes…they hurt my feet!) My parents were not amused…

  7. Michelle
    Michelle on October 11, 2012 at 1:32 pm

    That was so beautiful!! I moved to the Midwest 2 years ago from California and I miss mountains terribly. I love your posts and pictures of God’s amazing creation! Thanks for sharing.

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