On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
frosty
We made two other excursions while we were in Banff: a drive up the Icefields Parkway, and a bike ride on the Bow Valley Parkway. Icefields goes 120 miles from Banff to Jasper, which was more than we were prepared to tackle. Instead, we drove the first 60 miles to Peyto Lake where there was a short hike to an overlook. The weather wasn’t great; in fact it was cold and raining when we got there so we turned around instead of trying the hike.
The Bow Valley Parkway parallels the Trans-Canada Highway for about 15 miles from Banff to Lake Louise. The National Park has been testing Spring closures for wildlife access and cyclists on the lower nine miles from May 1 to June 25. We unpacked the eBikes for a ride on the last day of the closure. The route left Banff on a bike trail, shifted to a lightly used road, then another bike trail to the Parkway. There were quite a few hills and we definitely needed the “e” in eBikes.
Wildlife crossing. These are bridges built specifically so wildlife can cross the highway, which is fenced everywhere else. There were half a dozen of these between Banff and Lake Louise.
Bow Lake and mountains
Crowfoot Glacier
Bow Lake
Bow Lake and mountains
Road closure where we left the bike trail near the start of the ride. I was glad we hit the window for a traffic-free ride.
Bow River and cyclists
Bow River
Winter Wren
Great series!
stinger
Wonderful photos — must have been such a great trip! Thanks!
Manyakitty
That reflection in Bow Lake is PERFECT.
J.
Absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
AM in NC
I love your trips. Husband and I are now retired, and you give us such great ideas for future adventures!!
Another Scott
I remember seeing a BIG elk with a big set of antlers slowly walking across a similar (but smaller) bridge leaving the YYC airport on my way to Banff once. They’re excellent feature that helps them and the rest of us.
Thanks!
Best wishes,
Scott.
mvr
These are great to see! Thank you. I need to get back there after around 47 years since the first and last time..
MCat
Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us. I love the picture of the elk family.
Betty
Very nice!
WaterGirl
Babies of all species are adorable!
(most, not all. snakes, rats, etc shudder)
Cathie from Canada
Sounds like you didn’t get to the Columbia Icefields on this trip.
They’re worth seeing -or they were a few years ago, though global warming is making the glacier recede way back from the highway.
Next time!