3 Best Sights in Banff National Park, Alberta

At 2,070 meters (6,791 feet), Bow Pass is the highest drivable pass in the Canadian Rockies national parks and the highest point of the Icefields Parkway. Bow Summit Lookout is on the same trail as the better-known Peyto Lake Lookout. Stop and take in the view of Peyto Lake and then head up the upper self-guided nature trail and follow an old fire road to the lookout. The hike is 2.9 km (1.8 miles) one-way. Watch for pikas, marmots, and ptarmigan on the trail and at the lookout. From the lookout, you can see Bow Lake to the south Peyto to the Waterfowl Lakes to the north.

About 34 km (21 miles) northwest of Lake Louise, the Crowfoot Glacier is one of the first glaciers you see on the Icefields Parkway. Situated on the northeastern side of Crowfoot Mountain, the glacier overlooks Bow Lake---if you stop at the Bow Lake pullout, you can see the glacier and mountain on the other side of the lake. Runoff from the glacier flows into the Bow River, which runs from Banff National Park to the City of Calgary and beyond to the prairies.

Victoria Mountain and Victoria Glacier were named after Queen Victoria; Lake Louise was named after the queen's fourth daughter, Princess Louise Caroline Alberta. The lake is fed by Victoria Glacier which sits near the top of Mount Victoria at the western end of the lake. Glacial rock flour (a.k.a dust) gives the lake its remarkable turquoise color. From the shores of the lake you can see the mountain and glacier.