Photo Spots in Banff National Park
Hey Guys!
Today we are so excited to share with you some of our favorite photo spots in Banff National Park. You could argue that being in the Canadian Rockies everywhere you look is a photogenic spot, but we wanted to give you some major locations that you can cross off your Banff photography list. We recommend getting a rental car so you can travel to each location with no worries of how to get from one spot to the next. For each of the places we loved, we spent a good amount of time exploring that area so that we could get a wide variety in our shots. We hope you find this post helpful while you curate your must see photo spots in Banff National Park!
Vermillion Lakes
Starting with the closest destination to Banff and moving our way out, Vermillion Lakes was the first place we started on our exploration of the Canadian Rockies. Here we discovered how unbelievably magnificent Banff was in person. With the mountains in the distance, tall trees in the middle ground and the stunning lake in the foreground, I can 100% say that this was my personal favorite photo spot in Banff National Park.
Lake Louise
Probably the most touristy place in Banff National Park is the famed Lake Louise. With it’s aqua blue water its a no brainer why so many people come to photograph this spot. A giant resort is located on the Lake Louise grounds making it that much more popular and that much more crowded during the afternoon/evening. This location is ranked very high on photo spots in Banff National Park so if you want to avoid the crowds we recommend getting there as early as possible! Even if you are surrounded by tons of people it’s still worth it and makes for an unforgettable experience, oh and FYI they offer canoe rentals on the lake! 🙂
Moraine Lake
Coming in second for the most touristy spot we visited in Banff is Moraine Lake. One could argue that this is a more beautiful spot than Lake Louise but that would be in the eye of the beholder 😉 With the same stunning aqua colored water, the backdrop of Moraine Lake is completely different than it’s mate Lake Louise. I felt that there was more open space at this location and if willing, there is a rocky mountain you can hike up to get a different perspective on your photos.
Ice Fields Parkway
After you’re done checking out Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, the next photo stop you should embark on is driving up Ice Fields Parkway. A scenic highway that connects Banff National Park to Jasper National Park with many spectacular photo opportunities along the way. We stopped almost every 15 minutes because we couldn’t believe just how beautiful everything was around us. We kept driving on this highway until we reached Jasper and had to actually pass up on some spots or else we would have been driving well into the night. We highly recommend spending a day enjoying this photo filled road trip, you won’t regret it!
Bow Lake
While driving down Ice Fields Parkway, one lake that you can’t miss out on is Bow Lake. As we were driving along, we saw this massive lake with the most beautiful backdrop and we had to check it out for ourselves. Walking up to this amazing lake and looking out upon the still water felt like we were living inside a painting. These photos that Scott took are my favorite to reflect on because I loved being at that spot so much.
Bonus Spot: Yoho National Park
Yoho National Park is a destination in eastern British Columbia that is about 50 minutes from the city of Banff. We were curious to see what that area had to offer, so we planned an afternoon driving up the highway to check it out. There were many spots we checked out while in Yoho National Park but the ones that stood out to us the most were Emerald Lake, Natural Bridge, and the Kicking Horse River. Alongside being great places to take some amazing photos, they were also perfect places to just sit and take in the beauty of the Canadian Rockies.
Thanks for checking in with us, we hope you plan on visiting Canada in the near future – it truly is one of the most beautiful destination we have ever been to. We can’t wait to dive deeper into our Banff trip as the weeks go on, so make sure to follow the blog and stay connected with us on all our socials as well. Have a great day and catch up with you soon!
