Mountain high in Canadian Rockies

CANADA's national parks are wonderful to explore in summer, finds Rob McFarland as he stops off along the routes of various walks.

Rockies Rob mcfarland escape

CANADA is a bit of a show-off when it comes to national parks.

Not only does it have more of them than anywhere else in the world, but its most famous Banff National Park is just a two-hour drive from Calgary and home to the bustling town of Banff and the stunning Lake Louise.

Visit in winter and you have access to a wide range of world-class ski resorts; visit in summer and you're surrounded by a majestic landscape of mountains, lakes and forests just begging to be explored. 

Here are two signature walks one easily accessible from Banff, the other from Lake Louise that showcase the area's enviable natural beauty. 

Sunshine Meadows

This is my first visit to a ski area in summer and it's a little bizarre to be driving up an access road I skied down three years before.

Sunshine ski resort is 15km from Banff. From the end of June to the end of September, it runs a shuttle bus service from the base of the ski area to a trail centre at Sunshine Village.

While it's not exactly a steal at $C26 ($25) return, it does save you a 1 1/2-hour walk up a steep hill and deposits you at the start of a trail that meanders through wildflower-filled meadows and beside alpine lakes.

Although you can follow the trail unguided, we enlisted the services of Dave Booth from White Mountain Adventures. Booth has walked this trail dozens of times and without his illuminating explanations, I'd have blissfully strolled past countless interesting features.

There's still the odd patch of snow at the side of the tree-lined gravel path that leads us away from the chairlift and up into the meadows.

We come over the rise to reveal a scene straight from a Swiss postcard: undulating pastures filled with golden buttercups and white anemones leading to a dramatic range of snow-capped mountains against a glacial blue sky.

Scurrying across the meadows are dozens of Columbian ground squirrels, that occasionally stop and stand on their hind legs, looking around nervously before darting into their burrows.

They make tasty snacks for the black bears that roam the area and Booth points out holes some alarmingly fresh where bears have dug deep into the ground to uncover them.

Soon we pass over the Continental Divide, the dividing line between Alberta and British Columbia, and descend towards a trio of lakes gently cupped by larch-covered hills.

With more time, we would have followed the path around the lakes but instead we head towards Standish Viewpoint, a large, raised wooden platform that provides a sweeping panorama of the lakes, the Kootenay Rockies and the impressive, Matterhorn-shaped Mt Assiniboine.

The beauty of this walk is the reward it delivers for such little effort.

Because the shuttle bus tackles most of the ascent, there's only a 220m rise from the trail centre at Sunshine Village to the viewing platform.

As I stand admiring the sort of landscape that would make a poet froth at the mouth, I can't help thinking I should have had to work just a little bit harder to get here. 

Details

Length: 5-8km, depending on route.

Time: About four hours.

Elevation gain: 220m.

More: A guided walk with White Mountain Adventures, including the shuttle bus transfer from Banff, costs $C69. See sunshinemeadowsbanff.com 

Tea-house Walk

Thousands of visitors descend on Lake Louise each day in summer, but each spends an average of only 30 minutes. That's basically enough time to park the car, take a couple of photos, have a wee and leave again.

It's a tragedy, because the lake is a fairytale spot that deserves to be stared at for hours on end, ideally from one of the lake-view suites of the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.

The chateau's Swiss theme evident everywhere from the fondue served in the restaurants to the bell boys' knee-high socks and feathered hats is in honour of the Swiss guides who came here in the early 1900s to lead visitors into the mountains.

Fairmont continues this tradition by providing guests with access to fully trained mountain guides as part of its Mountain Heritage Program.

Among the most popular trails is the one that leads from Lake Louise up to the tea-house at Lake Agnes.

We meet our guide, Jeff, and get kitted out with hiking boots and walking poles before picking up the trail by the lake shore.

Jeff has the enthusiasm of a man who is paid to do what he does for fun in his spare time. He keeps up a non-stop commentary even as the path steepens and the rest of us are reduced to breathless nodding.

It's difficult to appreciate the scale of this place. It's only when we see an avalanche on the slopes of Mt Victoria behind the lake, and the sound takes 18 seconds to reach us, that I start to grasp the distances involved.

After a brief rest at the picturesque Mirror Lake, about halfway up, we push on and reach Lake Agnes by mid-morning.

While not on the same scale as Lake Louise, it's similarly beguiling.

The reward for this effort is a stop in a cute wooden tea-house, which has an extraordinary range of teas.

Alongside traditional favourites such as English Breakfast are exotic blends including Blue Mango and intriguing-sounding concoctions such as Soom 1st Flush. In the end, making a decision is too stressful and I order a mug of hot chocolate.

During the descent, we encounter a steady stream of people coming up. It shows that it's worth starting early (before 10am) or waiting until later (after 5pm) to avoid the crowds.

When we reach Lake Louise, it's packed with the 30-minute brigade.

If only they knew what they were missing. 

 Details

Length: 7km round trip.

Time: About three hours.

Elevation gain: 385m.

More: See fairmont.com/lakelouise 

- The writer was a guest of Travel Alberta and Fairmont Hotels.

Go2

CANADA 

- Getting there

Air Canada flies direct from Sydney to Vancouver, with connections to Calgary.

Ph 1300 655 767 or see aircanada.com 

- Staying there

The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is stunning. See fairmont.com/lakelouise 

The Fairmont Banff Springs is built in the style of a Scottish baronial castle and has hosted everyone from royalty to Hollywood stars.

See fairmont.com/banffsprings 

- More: See banfflakelouise.com or albertawesterncanada.com

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