May 15, 2026: Canmore to Field

Miles was up early at 5:15 am due to the time difference, but after waiting until 7:00 am, we finally were able to head down the street for breakfast (and takeout lunch sandwiches) at the Rocky Mountain Bagel Company, which was lovely.

Although we had visited Johnston Canyon before, it seemed too good to pass up a repeat visit, since we were passing the turn-off anyhow on our drive to Field. Our previous visit to Johnston Canyon seven years earlier had had a fun twist - we had met another family at dinner at The Grizzly House in Banff (there are phones at all the tables, with a map of who to call on the back of the placemats) the night prior, and made plans to meet up for the walk (figuring our two young boys would get further more happily with a friend to talk to, which turned out to be exactly the case, in spite of some rain). It was hardly busy at that time, but I wasn't sure if that was due to the poor weather, and hoped we wouldn't be swamped by crowds on this visit, since it is Banff's most popular hike.

As it turned out, there was plenty of parking when we arrived a bit before 9:00 am, and the path was practically empty (with only a few snow-packed icy spots that were so abraded that they weren't slippery at all), with no line-ups at any of the popular spots - ideal conditions! Although the weather prediction had been for cool, overcast weather, we warmed up fast on the uphill hike and sunshine kept breaking through. We turned around at the Upper Falls lookout (passing up on the additional hike to the Ink Pots), for a total distance of 5.4 km.

Along our way to Field we drove the quieter 1A route, which we had almost entirely to ourselves (not even any roadside wildlife, which we were hoping to see, as on our previous Banff-Jasper trip). We stopped in at Morant's Curve viewpoint, and also at the Lower Spirals Tunnel viewpoint. Although we didn't see a train pass by, it was a good spot to eat our sandwiches.

We paid a brief visit to the Yoho National Park Visitors' Centre in Field, then drove to Emerald Lake (elevation 1300 m/4265 ft). Natural Bridge was very busy with visitors, although surely far less than at summer's peak. We then continued up the road to Emerald Lake itself, parking on the roadside, and walked in to Peaceful Pond, both of which have truly remarkable aqua-green water. We met a women who had gotten separated from her husband and friend and was worried she was lost, but we reassured her that she was very close to the parking lot, then not long after we met her husband and friend and reassured them that she was fine. The contrast between the hordes of visitors on the pedestrian bridge to the lodge versus the very few people on even the short trail to Peaceful Pond was striking.

We checked into our room at the Emerald Lake Lodge (our big splurge for this trip, although a bargain compared to the what the prices will be later in the summer), which was on the ground floor of a cabin with a fireplace. The canoe rental was closed for the day, which was disappointing, but it was a bit windy and cool, so may not have been the most pleasant paddle. Instead, we headed out across the lake to see if the avalanche path section of the Emerald Lake Loop was passable - we could see some people clambering over top, which was promising. It turned out to be just fine - we had to work harder wading through snow on Toronto sidewalks this past winter. Then we continued on the flat, smooth, sunny path (which was so easy it was almost starting to seem boring) until we got to the far end of the lake, and convinced Miles we should do the full loop.

However, the other half turned out to be shady, with packed, unmelted snow underfoot, and more slippery with rocks and roots, so a bigger adventure overall than expected (and Miles was only in his running shoes, whereas Mark and I were still in our hiking boots). All our feet were tired when we got back (another 5.3 km, adding up to almost 11 km with the morning's hike), and Miles' were also wet, so we decided to soak in the hot tub before dinner.

The outdoor hot tub was fantastic, with a beautiful view of the lake, and just us and a young Dutch couple who were traveling through Canada (this was also their splurge stay). By the time we left, our feet had been restored, and we were ready for dinner.

We ate in the Mount Burgess Dining Room in the historic main lodge, which had large windows with yet another astounding view of the lake. We shared a bread basket (excellent butter, not enough bread) and tostadas (weirdly too-complex but un-flavourful) to start, Miles had beef tenderloin (the winner), Mark had elk strip loin (underwhelming), and I had chicken breast with dumplings and vegetables in a buttery broth (delicious). We were all very full by the end. We saw our Dutch friends again in the lounge, briefly visited the games room (giant snooker table and a stuffed bison head), noting that even all the interior walls of the lodge are solid squared logs (so much wood!), then headed to bed early (not adjusted to the time zone yet). We made a fire to help dry out our sandals that we'd worn to the hot tub and Miles' wet shoes from the hike.

I woke in the middle of the night, sick from my too-rich dinner, which was an unfortunate twist in an otherwise very nice stay.

Mark and Miles, alone on the Johnston Canyon walkway

And more empty walkways

The rushing water of Johnston Creek deep below (the canyon is about 30 m/98 ft at its deepest)

A large bowl in the canyon, scoured by water pouring over the Lower Falls (5 m/16 ft)

Sprayed by the water in the cave by the Lower Falls

Long-exposure shot of falling water

Upper Falls

Misty outlook from the top of the canyon

Morant's Curve, on the Bow River

Lower Spiral Tunnels Viewpoint (it briefly hailed, although it was still sunny). The figure-eight loops were tunnelled into Mount Ogden and Cathedral Mountain to reduce the dangerous 4.5% grade to 2.2%.