Calgary and Banff National Park

[david_hay2]

<p>Hi,<br>

I'm going to be staying in calgary for a week mid April. I'm interested in visiting Banff National park for landscape photography. Can anyone give me advice about good locations and how to get to them?<br>

best wishes<br>

David</p>

[bob_sunley]

<p>If you don't have it, get this book. http://www.darwinwiggett.com/product.php?id=28</p>

<p>It will still be white there and a number of places are closed in winter. Unless you have skiis and/or snowshoes, you are limited to the highways, enjoy, it's a beautiful place.</p>

 

[Leonard-just-Leonard]

<p>well, the whole park is landscape photography. best advice is to leave the townsite and literally head into the wilderness, you can't miss some terrific non-cliche, non-typical touristy shots that way.</p>

<p>if that is not your thing, there are so many signs, maps, tourist guides etc. etc. you won't be able to avoid the "everybody has done that" scenic landscape shots.</p>

<p> </p>

[pjahans]

<p>Good locations? I can't think of a bad location. Seriously, you will not be disappointed, but it's still ski season in April. However, you should still be able to see some great vistas along or just off the main highway: Mt. Rundle, Cascade Mtn, Moraine Lakes, Lake Louise, Castle Mtn, Lake Minnewanka -- just google these for a start. Lots of good day trails guides are available to help you plan but the snow might be too deep to go very far from the starting points. You might be able to take a gondola ride up Sulphur Mtn (not sure if open at that time of year).<br>

Check out the town of Banff and the Banff Springs Hotel...<br>

Yeah, it's all been done before, but the area is so photogenic all year round. You're going to be one busy photographer.</p>

[blairhall]

<p>David, if you have some time to take a bit of a trip, I would suggest driving up the Icefields Parkway towards Jasper as well. It's a few hours to Jasper from Lake Louise, but the drive is spectacular. I had to stop every few hundred yards for photos of the scenery. Which, as has been pointed out... have all been done, but to be there and see them for yourself is incredible.</p>

<p>As for how to get there, if I recall correctly, just past Lake Louise on Hwy 1, there's a turnoff for Hwy 93 to Jasper. The weather should be ok by now, but road closures due to nasty winter weather aren't especially uncommon.</p>

<p>Cheers! I wish I was going on that trip!</p>

[david_henderson]

<p>Your opportunities will be much greater if you stay in Banff and/or Lake Louise for at least part of your week. Trekking out of Calgary on a daily basis isn't something I'd volunteer to do. </p>

[richard_crowe4]

<p>A tripod and CPL filter would be great additions to your kit...</p>

[steve_wagner1]

<p>Definitely base near the Parks and not in Calgary. All of the Icefields Parkway is spectacular for landscapes. If you're going to hike it depends on your fitness level. Hikes can quickly become very demanding. Don't limit yourself to just Banff as Jasper is so close. Both are mind-bogglingly spectacular. The best book I've ever found for picking spots is called "Don't Waste your Time in the Canadian Rockies," a cheap paperback that directs you to all the most spectacular spots, graded by difficulty.<br>

<br /> Oh well, just looked up the book, mine was cheap, an old version, not so cheap now.<br>

<br /> Anyway, two of the easiest hikes up to awesome views are Parker's Ridge and Helen Lake (you'll almost certainly get bighorn sheep here and the lake(s) are gorgeous). But as other people said it's almost impossible to go wrong. Helen Lake also provides a stunning view of the Athabasca glacier if you go off trail a bit towards the valley once you get up to Helen Lake itself. It's epic.</p>

[arie_vandervelden1]

<p>Hello David. Calgarian here.</p>

<p>In mid-April the valleys are melting out, and there's tons of snow up high. The valleys are still brown and ugly. The grass doesn't green up until mid May, and the alpine won't melt out until late June. This winter has been very warm and the melt has started early, but things can change in a hurry.</p>

<p>In April, the hiking opportunities in the parks are limited to valley-bottom hikes and south-facing hillsides. Expect mud, and waist-deep isothermal snow near treeline. Wiggett's book will give you some good ideas, but most locations will be snowbound. Some roads are still closed (e.g. Moraine Lake, Takkakkaw Falls, Highwood Pass).</p>

<p>Do you like skiing? Lake Louise and Sunshine will still be open. On a sunny day there will be great corn snow, and the views from the top are spectacular. However, blizzards and full-on winter conditions are possible as well. April is one of our high-precip months.</p>

<p>The drive from Lake Louise to the Columbia Icefields is spectacular on a sunny day. All hikes in this area will be snowbound. Be prepared if you do venture out on this road - it is very remote and the weather can change in a hurry.</p>

[forrest_andrew]

<p>i fully agree with those that have said things will be snowy up high and melting in the valleys. even the valley's up towards the Columbia Icefields will be very snowy. towards the end of May a few years back there was still 4 ft. of snow at Bow Lake! also, most lakes will still be largely frozen. despite all this, Vermillion Lakes and Mt. Rundle just outside Banff is a classic view and there should be some open water to work with there for reflections. many stretches of the Bow River should be open and could provide some opportunities. good luck!!!</p>

[arie_vandervelden1]

<p>What Andrew said.</p>

<p><img src="http://photos.photosig.com/photos/58/14/2401458-6a5d7e588fd31c31.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="531" /></p>

<p><img src="http://photos.photosig.com/photos/54/14/2391454-b6b3c7d85ee3cd52.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" /></p>

<p>and in the Alpine</p>

<p><img src="http://photos.photosig.com/photos/35/75/2397535-8dffe76ad1f037b3.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="750" /></p>