Lake Tahoe is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Northern California. Every year it has attracted thousands of tourists during Thanksgiving holiday and Christmas holiday. Lake Tahoe is located at the border of California and Nevada and it is about 2 hours away from Sacramento. There are numerous ski resort built around the Lake Tahoe region and it is one of the reason why it is a popular vacation destination during the winter holiday.
During this year's Thanksgiving holiday, we took Alaska Airline flight down to Sacramento from Portland. The flight time is a bit less than 2 hours. When we got to Sacramento airport, we were surprised by how quiet the airport is. There was barely anyone there even during Thanksgiving holiday! We then rented an SUV to drive to Lake Tahoe. I really recommend to rent an SUV instead of a regular sedan since we have to drive through the mountain. On the way to Lake Tahoe, we were lucky enough to find a super market that was still open on Thanksgiving holiday and able to pick up a turkey for our Thanksgiving dinner!
After 3 hours of driving, we finally arrived at the cottage that we rented. This time we chose to stay at Cedar Crest Cottages at the West side of Lake Tahoe. The cottage is about 40 minutes away from South Lake Tahoe and Heavenly Mountain. This cottage is amazing and the staff is extremely friendly. I believe this cottage is a family owned cottage. Although the cottage is family owned, the cottage itself is very luxury. We chose a cottage with 2 rooms for 4 people and the rate is around $450 per night. The cottage itself has a TV is the living area and a TV in each bedroom. Also, the cottage uses radiant heat instead of regular heater coming out of the vent. The radiant heat comes up from the floor and this helps to keep our feet warm. In addition, the cottage really has everything that you need. It has brand new washer and dryer. All the cook wares and tools are available for user. It even has zip locks and aluminium foils in the cabinet. Outside of the cottage in the shared area, there is a bonfire with several chairs for people to sit. This is a great place for people to hang out at night and have a drink.
The next day morning we went to Fire Sign Cafe for brunch. It is North of the cottage and about 10 minutes drive. Apparently Fire Sign Cafe has been there since 1978 and it was quite crowded. We were lucky to get a table right away when we got there. The portion of each dish is gigantic as well. I could barely finish all the food.
After the brunch, we headed South to Fallen Leaf Lake. We drove around the West side of Lake Tahoe to get to Fallen Leaf Lake road. The road was filled with snow during this time of the year, but since we have an SUV, we still went to Fallen Leaf Lake. The road was wide originally, but it started to get narrower as we go further on the road. At the end the road is blocked by the sign indicating it is closed. This was very unfortunate. Thus we parked the car on the side of the road and decided to hike to the lake instead. I must say it was fun to hike in the snow. When we got to the shore of Fallen Leaf Lake, it got extremely windy and you could see the wave on the lake surface. It was extremely cold due to the strong wind.
After the hike, we went to South Lake Tahoe to walk around. South Lake Tahoe is the largest town at Lake Tahoe. There is a lot of unique shop offering crafted items. Since we got to South Lake Tahoe late, we didn't have too much time to spend there and decided the cross the state border to go to the Nevada side. We went to the Casino at Harrah's for some fun but didn't win anything of course. We were hoping to win back $10 parking fee.
At night, we decided to gather around the bonfire and grill some S'mores. This was an amazing experience. It was extremely relaxing to grill marshmallows during cold weather and having some drinks.
Next day morning we drove to South Lake Tahoe for brunch. This time we went to Driftwood Cafe. This place was very crowded as well and we had to wait for around 20 minutes. Similar to the one went the day before, each plate portion is huge and I could barely finish. After the brunch, we decided to take the gondola up to Heavenly Mountain to the observation deck. The cost for each adult ticket is $52, which is a bit expensive just for sight seeing.
The observation deck is at the middle of the mountain. It provides a perfect view of Lake Tahoe. However, it was extremely windy on that day! I felt like the wind is about to blow me away! Also, the temperature at the top of the mountain is much colder than the temperature at the village, so make sure to dress up appropriately! After visiting the observation deck, we went up to the ski resort. I must say Thanksgiving is not a good time to come to Lake Tahoe. There is barely any snow and only 1 lift is open. Snow tubing is not open either. I was quite disappointed.
When we got back down to the village, we noticed that it started snowing. We quickly wrapped up our stuff and headed back to our cottage. While we were on the road, the weather condition got worth. There was snow on the ground and we saw many cars lost traction and went into the ditch. Fortunately, we grew up in the North with experience driving in the snow and got back to the cottage safely.
Next day morning, we packed up our stuff and prepared ourselves to get back to Sacramento. When we got to our car, our car was pretty much buried in snow. Luckily the cottage staff prepared snow shovel and brush for us to clean the snow on the car. It still took us a good 30 minutes before we can get on the road.
Note: Make sure to rent an SUV with 4 wheel drive to prepare to drive in snowy condition. Audi or Subaru would be the best choice! Thanksgiving is not the best time to come here if you want to ski or snowboard.
Guadalajara is a technology hub in Mexico. It is also the capital city of Jalisco state of Mexico. To get to Guadalajara from Portland, there is only 1 direct flight each day. The flight is a read eye flight departing around 11:30pm and arrives at Guadalajara at about 5:30am. The flight time is about 4.5 hours.
When we went to Guadalajara this time, we did not take the direct flight. Instead of taking direct flight, we flew to Phoenix first with American Airline, then flew to Guadalajara. The layover time is only an hour, but that is enough because the flight to Guadalajara is at the same terminal. As long as the first flight is not delayed, there is definitely enough time to catch onto the second flight. When we got to Guadalajara, the weather is absolutely sunny compared to Portland's cloudy and rainy weather!
We did not rent a car this time. We took a local taxi to the hotel instead. The taxi is really old and crappy. It did not even have AC turned on and still charged us more than 200 pesos. Later on we just called Uber to get to other places. Uber cars are definitely better and offered a lot more stuff such as candy and bottled water. This time we stayed at Hotel Riu Plaza. It is quite a nice hotel and many Americans choose to stay at this hotel when they come to Guadalajara. It also offers complimentary breakfast, which is an absolute plus!
We visited Guadalajara in November and of course also attend Mexico's celebration of day of the dead. It is like the Halloween in North America, but there isn't any trick or treat. Along the street, we can see many unique decorations of dead people dressed up in colorful clothing. Many restaurants also put up a lot of decorations of dead people. Another things that is different is that Mexico's day of the dead is a national holiday! Everyone is off work on this very day! Wouldn't it be awesome if we don't have to work on Halloween?
Next we also visited Guadalajara Plaza. There are museums and big churches around the plaza and this is where most tourists are at. Around the plaza, there are many signs that talks about the history of Guadalajara. In front of the Guadalajara museum, there is a sculpture that is said to be the tallest sculpture in North America. It did not look that impressive to me however, but it could be appealing to other people. The church is also a big attraction. It is very well maintained with beautiful stain glass windows. Based on the appearance of the church, it has been over hundred of years. Thus it is a place that it is worth a visit.
In addition, we went to the famous Lake Chapala. It is a large lake with many tourists. Many people here rented a boat to go onto the lake and went fishing. We simply had a good walk along the lake shore and checked around the merchants along the lake shore. There are many merchants there that offer unique craftsmanship on sculptures. The lake shore at Lake Chapala is also a nice place to walk around with palm trees and flowers along the side. At night, there will be night market vendors along the lake shore.
Lastly, we also visited the tree pyramid. Tree pyramid is an unique culture at Guadalajara. The tree pyramid is not as big as Chichen Itza pyramid at Cancun. The tree pyramid is more like a small hill with jagged edge, but it is still interesting to visit. There are many tree pyramids in the area but most of them are still buried under the earth. Only few tree pyramid have been dug out for people to see.
In general, Guadalajara is an interesting place but should not take more than 3 days to visit. One thing I don't like is that the public washroom at many tourist area costs money! Even the paper towel costs money! So make sure you bring some changes with you at all times!
Cape Horn trail is a marvelous hiking trail along Columbia gorge. This hiking trail is on the North Washington side of the gorge instead of Oregon. This trail is relative new compared to other trails. The trail is essentially a loop that goes up on the cliff side and then comes back down. It is around 8 miles long with 1300 feet elevation gain. So it is relatively an easier hiking trail.
The trail head of Cape Horn trail is at the intersection of highway 14 and Salmon Road in Washington state. It is about 30 minutes drive from Portland. We got to the trail head around 9am in the morning to avoid the crowd and the parking lot is almost full. If the parking lot is full, there are also options to park on the side of the road. At the start of the hiking trail, the trail branches off into 2 paths. 1 path that heads up first and the other heads down. As I mentioned before, the trail is a loop so it doesn't really matter which way to go first. We chose to take the upper trail first so that we can get to see the gorgeous view of Columbia Gorge first. The trail starts to climb instantly but it is not steep. The only thing to be cautious on is that the trail is quite wet and we had to be more careful not to slip. After 30 minutes, we arrived at the first view point at Pioneer Point. It provides a perfect view on the Columbia Gorge! Some elderly senior people actually just head back down after they got to Pioneer Point.
We continued to hike for another hour and eventually got out of the forest and got onto the road. The trail actually crosses an open country road and goes through the farm land. This part is quite easy to walk on since it is just flat and straight. After walking on the country road for about 20 minutes, the trail turns back in into the forest.
The next view point that we got to is Nancy Russel Overlook. This is a great resting place as there are carved stones to sit on and also has a gorgeous view on Columbia Gorge. This is also where we had our lunch. After resting for 30 minutes, we continued to hike on the trail and now the trail is heading downwards to the cliff side. Eventually we got to the underpass that goes under highway 14. This also marks the mid point of this trail and the trail beyond this point will be the lower Cape Horn trail.
While we were hiking on the lower Cape Horn trail, we noticed that there are less people here. In addition, we noticed that there are many snakes on the lower Cape Horn trail. These snakes are small snakes and just snailed away from us. So you don't have to worry when you see them.
Another thing that I found is that lower Cape Horn trail seems to be more difficult to hike. There are sections that are wet due to the water stream running across the trail. So be more cautious here. Moreover, there are sections where we were walking on the jagged rocks. So if you bring dogs with you, make sure they don't hurt their paws! This rocky trail part is also not suitable for senior people to walk on since it is very easy to trip over these rocks!
The last section of Cape Horn trail is very easy. The trail simply turns into a paved Cape Horn Road. It is a very flat road. This section took us about 30 minutes to complete and it was quite boring because there is nothing to see. Then near the end, we went through the underpass to go under highway 14 again and got back to the trail head to complete the Cape Horn loop.
Overall, it was a great trail! I love the trails that make a loop! One thing to be aware of is that between February and July of every year, part of the trail is closed due to Falcon Closure. So hiking the whole trail loop is not possible. The best time to hike this trail would be in August and September.
Whistlers Peak is one of the highest peak and most accessible mountain summit within Jasper National Park. This is not the same as Mount Whistler in British Columbia, Canada. Whistlers Peak is about 2300 meters above the ground and located just 10 minutes South of Jasper. There is tram service that take people all the way up to the mountain summit, or visitors can choose to hike up there. The trail is around 11KM.
We got to the bottom of the mountain around 9AM in the morning. There were already many people at the Jasper Sky Tram station. Originally we were thinking of hike all the way up there, but we changed our mind because the weather was cloudy. The tram ticket is about $50 per person for both ways. Unlike gondola where the service is continuous, the trams operates very slowly. There are only 2 trams in service and can take up to 25 people at a time. We bought our ticket and was told that we need to wait for 45 minutes before we can go up there. There are many people before us.
We got to the upper tram station at around 10AM. The view from the top was gorgeous, but we are not at the summit yet. The summit is another 2KM hike. As we hike up there, we saw many people having breathing problem due to the thin air at the top of the mountain. Some people wear shorts and skirts, and they were freezing. The temperature is very low up in the mountain.
After about 30 minutes, we have finally got to the summit. At the summit, there is a sun dial and it is very easy to spot and figure out the directions. In addition, there are many small rocks on the ground. Many people take the rock and pile them up to make a totem. We are guessing that is the tradition here and we did one as well. While at the summit, the cloud seems so close to us. It felt like we could reach the sky. It was just amazing.
Overall, we loved Whistlers Peak. Being at the top of the world just felt so different and it felt like we could reach for anything. We highly recommend visiting this place if possible. It definitely did not disappoint.
Patricia Lake is another beautiful lake located within Jasper National Park. The lake is just about 10 minutes North of Jasper. The Patricia Lake is actually just South of Pyramid Lake. These 2 lakes are about the same size. There is also a lodge just at the South side of Patricia Lake.
Since we are visiting Pyramid Lake, we decided to drop by Patricia Lake as well. When we got to Patricia Lake, we were not quite sure where to park the car. Then we took the wrong turn and went in to the Patricia Lake Lodge area. We took several turns and finally got out of the lodge area without disturbing anyone in the early morning.
We continued to drive further North and finally found a place to park our car. Once we got out of the car, the lake is just beside us. The lake shore is sandy and quite spacious for people to walk around. We also saw some other people here taking photos.
While we take pictures, a tour bus pulled over and many elderly people got out of the bus and came to the lakeside. It looks like a tourist group from BC. However, they seem to have left in a hurry within 5 minutes. They should have stayed to enjoy the view more.
We were told by the locals that the Patricia Lake is a perfect spot for taking astrophotography. Thus after dinner when the sky is clear without moon, we came to Patricia Lake again. This time, we saw many cars parked on the side of the road and when we walked to the lake shore, we saw many people who have tripod set up and taking photos. The stars were so bright and we could see many constellations clearly in the sky. The Big Dipper was very clear in the sky just over the mountain. We were able to find the polar star very easily as well.
In general, we loved Patricia Lake, especially at night. Stargazing at Patricia Lake is just an amazing experience and we would definitely do it again when we visit Jasper next time.
Pyramid Lake is a beautiful lake located 15 minutes North of Jasper. The lake lies right beside Pyramid Mountain. The calm lake water reflects Pyramid Mountain like a mirror. Many tourist groups come by Pyramid Lake for a short stop just to enjoy the view. The Pyramid Lake Resort is also just right beside the lake. There are many canoes and boats that can be rented by people and enjoy a relaxing quiet day on the lake.
We went to visit Pyramid Lake early in the morning to avoid the crowd. There isn't a lot of parking space, but the road is wide enough to park on the side of the road. When we got to Pyramid Lake, it was around 8AM in the morning. We could see the morning mist hovering above the lake and the cloud on the mountain was just clearing away. It was so quiet in the early morning when no one was there.
We walked along the lake shore. There is a dock right in front of Pyramid Lake resort with several benches for people to take rest. We sat on the bench and enjoyed our morning coffee.
As we enjoyed our view, we saw several tour bus driving by and headed North along the lake. The tour bus was heading to the Pyramid Island. The Pyramid Island is just North of Pyramid Lake Resort. There is a bridge connected to Pyramid Island from the lake shore to allow people to walk to the island.
There are also several hiking trails around Pyramid Lake and they go really far. At the trail head, it has warning sign indicating the sighting of bears in the region and warned to have proper equipments before proceeding with the hike. We had bear spray with us, but had other plans later in the day. So we decided to try the hiking trail next time.
Overall, Pyramid Lake is a lovely place to be at to enjoy the morning. When the sun light shines upon the mountain, its reflection on the lake is just breath taking. We highly recommend people to come visit this place at Jasper National Park even if it's just for 30 minutes. One thing to note is that the road to Pyramid Lake is not very well maintained. So extra caution is needed when Driving to Pyramid Lake.
Maligne Lake is one of the largest lake in Jasper National Park. It is also the most popular lake for tourists to visit in Jasper National Park and attracts millions of visitors every year. Maligne Lake is very long and narrow. It is about 1.5 hours of drive from the town of Jasper. There are also several hiking trails such as Bald Hill trails around Maligne Lake. Since we are visiting Jasper National Park, it is a place that we cannot miss.
We left Jasper around 7AM in the morning and got to Maligne Lake around 9AM. It took us about 2 hours since we stopped at few view points to take some pictures. On the way to Maligne Lake, we could see some pine trees being damaged by the forest fire few years ago. It was sad to see. When we got to Maligne Lake, the parking lot is huge and there are 3 of them. So people don't have to worry about find a parking space.
The day was cloudy and a little bit rainy. We got ourselves a Spirit Island Cruise package from the Maligne Lake lodge. The boat will take us to the famous and sacred Spirit Island at the middle of Maligne Lake.
The boat is not very big and can probably hold only 50 people at once. After it left the dock, it took around 15 minutes to get to Spirit Island. During the ride, we walked out onto the deck at the back of the boat to enjoy the soft wind and the view. The guide on the boat also gives some background and history on Spirit Island.
When we got to the Spirit Island, it was actually connected to the lake shore. This is because the water runs dry during the summer. During the other seasons with higher water level, it will become an island. One thing to note is that people cannot set foot on the island due to it being very sacred to the local people. Also, the cruise boat cannot go further into the lake beyond where Spirit Island is. Spirit Island is right in front of the holy gate and the portion of the lake behind Spirit Island is also sacred.
When we got back to the lodge, it actually started drizzling. We were glad that we got back early. Maligne Lake is definitely a must visit place when visiting Jasper National Park and we highly recommend it.
Columbia Icefield is the most popular tourist attraction within Jasper National Park in Canada. It attracts millions of visitors everyday. Columbia Icefield is located directly off the Columbia Icefield Parkway. When driving along Icefield Parkway, you can clearly see the glacier on the left hand side and the mist on top of it.
This is a must visit place for us since we are driving up to Jasper from Banff. We got to Columbia Icefield around 11AM and bought the package. The package includes the tour on Columbia Icefield and Skywalk. The bus departs from Columbia Icefield Discovery Center and will head to the Columbia Icefield first, then head to the Skywalk.
It was finally our time to get on the bus around 1:30PM. The wheel of the bus is gigantic. It is as tall as a child with a lot of traction on it! The bus drives from around 10 minutes to get to the glacier slowly. At the glacier, there was a steep climb where the bus is almost in a 45 degree decline.
When we got off the bus and stepped onto the glacier, it was cold and freezing. We were glad that we wore jackets that were thick enough to keep us warm. We saw many people wear shorts and skirts, and freezing themselves.
On the glacier, there are marked boundaries indicating the safe area where you can set foot on. If you go beyond the boundary, then you are at your own risk and could fall into the glacier. So make sure you watch out for the boundary sign.
The water on the glacier was also freezing and clear. We actually had a taste of it and the water was actually sweet.
We got back onto the bus and headed towards the Skywalk. The Skywalk is really nothing special. It is essentially a glass walk way sticking out of the cliff for people to view the valley carved out by the glacier thousands of years ago. That is all it is. It was very disappointing. We felt that it was a rip off.
In general, Columbia Icefield is definitely a must visit attraction when visiting Jasper. However, we strongly recommend to skip Skywalk. Skywalk is really a waste of time and money.
Peyto Lake is a famous lake in between Banff National Park and Jasper National Park in Canada. It is right off the Columbia Icefield Parkway. It is a very popular tourist attraction and millions of visitors come to this place every year. Since it is just beside Columbia Icefield Parkway, it is very convenient for people to visit when traveling between Jasper and Banff.
We got to Peyto Lake around 10AM in the morning and the weather was bit rainy. The parking lot for regular passenger car is located at lower level, and the tourist bus goes to the upper level closer to the lake view point. We parked our car at the correct parking lot at the lower level, and simply walked about 500m to the lake view point.
When we got to the lake view point, it was just extremely crowded. The tiny platform is full of people trying to take pictures and there is no way to not get photo bombed by other people. It was just crazy. Luckily, we found a way to go off the platform and go on the the rocky ledge beside the platform. It was still quite safe there. The rocky platform is flat enough for people to set foot on and it is very spacious. After we walked onto the rock, many people followed to dodge the crowd.
Peyto Lake was simply beautiful to view from the top. The emerald blue water seems like a paint. It felt like the lake water is not even moving at all. It was unfortunate that there isn't a trail to head down to the lake. We could only view the lake from afar.
From the Peyto Lake view point, there are also other trail heads that goes to near by mountain peaks. One of the more popular one is Bow Summit. Unfortunately, we did not have time to visit Bow Summit, but we definitely try to visit next time when we can.
Overall, Peyto Lake is a must visit attraction when you visit Banff or Jasper National Park. Simply drive up or down 2 hours to get to Peyto Lake and it will not disappoint you. Just keep in mind to arrive early to avoid the crowd and being able to find a parking space in the parking lot.
Lake Minnewanka is a long and narrow lake located North of Banff village. The lake does not have the emerald blue water and is less well known. The water at the lake is very calm and reflects the surrounding mountains like mirrors. The lake is only about 30 minutes away from Banff village and very easily accessible.
We decided to visit Lake Minnewanka for the day and enjoy a quiet day. We got the Lake Minnewanka around 9AM and there was essentially no one there. We walked around and dipped our hand into the water, the water temperature was very cold.
We then walked along the hiking trail along the lake shore, and think that maybe we will hike to the top of the view point. After hiking along the trail for an hour, we got to a bridge crossing the river. We wanted to go further and saw a notice on the bridge indicating to watch out for bears. The notice suggests to have at least 4 people in a group to hike together in case there is bear around the area. It also suggests to carry bear spread if possible. We did not have bear spread with us and were the only one hiking on the trail, so we did not want to risk it. We just turned back a walked back to the lake.
When we got back to the lake, we started to see more people coming. Many people brought their lovely dogs over to the lake. The dogs were happily swimming in the lake and enjoying the nature.
There are also cruise tour on the lake. We did not take the lake cruise however. We did not see any boat rental facility along the lake either.
In general, Lake Minnewanka is not as popular as Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, but it still an amazing place to visit. We loved how calm and clear the water is. The fact that there isn't any crowd here just make us very happy to enjoy the place just for ourselves. If you have additional time during your vacation stay, it is definitely a good place to visit!
Sulfur Mountain is a famous tourist attraction in Banff National Park. It is known to give visitor a perfect view over Banff and a perfect look out place for enjoying the view of valley carved out by the glacier thousands of years ago. The view of sun rise and sun set is even more spectacular at the top of Sulfur mountain.
There is a gondola that takes people from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain. However, the gondola ride is very costly. It costs $25 one way, and $50 Canadian dollars both ways. The trail to the top is about 5KM, thus we decided to hike up the mountain and save $50 per person. We can use this $50 to treat us a very nice dinner at Banff village.
The trail is not beside the gondola station. The starting point of the trail is actually on the far side of the parking lot. So don't park close to the gondola station. Park the car at the parking lot at the higher level since that is where the hiking trail is at.
It took us about 1.5 hours to get to the top of the mountain. The trail zig zags all the way up to the mountain under the gondola line. When we were hiking up, there were people jogging up the mountain really fast. Before we get to the top, those people were already coming down!
When we got to the top of the mountain, it started snowing hard and it was at the beginning of September! We quickly took shelter inside the museum gallery building to wait for the snow to stop. After about 10 minutes, it stopped snowing and the sun came out again.
We walked long the ledge when the weather was good again. We even saw a Labrador retrieve enjoying his time at the top of the mountain. There is a trail the goes further out into the mountain, but we did not venture that far.
At the top of the mountain, there was also a closed weather station for people to visit, but really nothing special.
Overall, this was a great experience. We love to hike to the top of the mountain peak and next time we definitely want to hike up there before the sun rise and enjoy the view of sun rise when we can. Keep in mind that the Gondola only start operation at 8AM, so if you want to view the sun rise, you will have to hike up the mountain. Lastly, make sure to bring jackets and warm clothes since the weather at the top of the mountain is very unpredictable.
Moraine Lake is one of the most famous lake within Banff National Park. Just like Lake Louise, the lake has emerald blue color from glacier's rock flour. Moraine Lake is a very well known lake because it is at the back of the old 20 dollar Canadian bill. It is unfortunate that the 20 dollar Canadian bill got replaced with a different image. Moraine Lake is located at the valley of 10 peaks where 10 mountain peaks can be seen from the lake. The view is just breath taking and it is a must visit place.
We paid our visit to Moraine Lake in the afternoon after visiting Lake Louise. We were worried that the parking lot would be full because it has a tiny parking lot. Fortunately when we got there in the afternoon, many people were leaving and we were lucky to find parking space.
There is a small hill made out of piles of big rocks at the North end of the lake. At the top of the hill, it gives people an opportunity to view the lake from the top. The walk to the top is easy since it is paved with stairways.
We got to the top and it was very difficult to take photos for ourselves. There were just too many people up here and very crowded. On the opposite side of the lake, we could see the entire pine forest, which is a breath taking view as well. If people want to take photos without getting photo bombed, we recommend to take photos from the lake shore. It is less crowded and still provide an amazing view.
There is a small lodge on the side of the lake, which also provides accommodation. We did not stay here this time. We imagine that it would be an amazing experience to stay at the lodge and do stargazing at night along the lake shore.
There are also boat rentals along the side of the lake. It costs around $20 Canadian dollar, which is much cheaper than the boat rental at Lake Louise. We highly recommend renting a boat here and enjoy a relaxing afternoon on the lake.
In general, we also love this lake and we were lucky to find parking space. It seems that it is easy to find parking space when visiting Moraine Lake in the late afternoon as well.
Big Beehive trail is located beside Lake Louise within Banff National Park. It is one of the best hike in the park. The trail is about 5KM long with moderate elevation gain. The trail also passes by many lakes and a Tea House at mid point. Many visitors come to visit Lake Louise but most people miss this hike. Since we love hiking, this is a trail that we cannot miss.
The trail starts on the East end of the Lake Louise. When we got to Lake Louise, we walked towards North along Lake Louise lakeshore and the trail starts. The hiking trail is very wide and very well maintained, so it is very easy to hike on. There are also horse riders along the trail and this is because the horses are used to carry supplies to the tea house. Thus when hiking on the trail, watch for horse poops on the ground and do not step on it.
After about 2KM, we reached the tea house. This indicates it is time for taking a break. The tea house simply serves ordinary tea with tea bag in a small styrofoam cup. A cup of team cost around $6 Canadian dollars, which is very expensive. Many people do line up there for a long time just to get a cup of tea.
Note that the tea house is not the end of the Big Beehive trail. The Big Beehive trail continues along the left side of the lake in front of the tea house. The trail has become noticeably narrower at this point and horses cannot walk on the trail anymore. The trail took us to the back of the lake and zig zag up the hill, and this is where the elevation begins.
After about 30 minutes, we got to the top of the mountain. The trail is a bit more difficult to follow, but we can still follow it. There is a small hut at the end of the trail for people to stay in in case there is rain or stormy weather. From the top, we had a perfect view of Lake Louise from the top. It was so amazing. We could also see Fairmont Chateau at the far end and the entire pine forest.
In general, this is one of the best hike within Banff National Park. We really enjoyed the view at the top of the mountain looking down at Lake Louise. There are other trails that branches off from Big Beehive trail, which will be something that we want to try when we visit Banff National Park next time.
Lake Louise is one of the most popular lake within Canada's Banff National Park, if not the most popular lake. It is about 2 hours Northwest from Calgary. Lake Louise is known for its emerald blue color lake water. The lake water became emerald blue due to the rock flour from the glacier. Every year, it has attracted millions of visitors to come here. There is also the famous grande Fairmont Chateau located on the East side of Lake Louise, where a lot of people stay at. Many gorgeous couples also come here for their wedding ceremony and take wedding photography.
We left Banff early in the morning around 7AM and got to Lake Louise just a little before 8AM. There was a line of cars lined up in front of the entrance and the park rangers were trying to direct the traffic to the correct parking lot. When we got to the parking lot, the parking was about 50% full.
The parking lot is very close to the lake. We walked to the lake after getting out of the car and enjoyed the fresh air. We could see the calm emerald blue water in front of us. It was unbelievable. It was also earning morning and there was a lot of mist in the air and very foggy. We could imagine that the scene would be even more beautiful if it was a sunny day.
On the Southeast side the lake, there is a boat cabin where people can rent small canoe boats. The rental cost per boat is $55 Canadian dollar, which is a bit pricy, but we did see many people rowing the boat to the West end of the lake where the glacier is at.
We walked to the edge of the lake and had a feel on the lake water. The lake water felt quite silky and different from normal lake water. We were not sure whether the lake water is drinkable or not due to its silkiness.
The courtyard on the West side of Fairmont Chateau is also a perfect place for wedding. The courtyard faces the glacier and the lake, which is perfect for wedding photography.
Overall, we were very excited and pleased with Lake Louise. The scenery is just amazing and unreal. We recommend people to get there early due to the limited space at the parking lot. Parking was a nightmare when we left the area.
Canadian Rocky Mountain is an incredible place. It is a magnificent view with all the mountains ranges soar in the background. Canadian Rocky Mountains are located on the West side of Canada. It is split among the province of British Columbia and Alberta. Many of the well known national park in Canadian Rockies include Banff, Jasper, and Yoho. This time we did a road trip on the Alberta side of Canadian Rocky Mountain and visited both Banff National Park and Jasper National Park.
This road trip start in Calgary. We flew to Calgary and rented a mid size Sedan from Avis. Avis gave us a red 2016 Chevrolet Cruz. The car looks quite fancy but does not drive smoothly. Car problem aside, it does give us a built-in GPS which is very convenient. When we drove the car out of Calgary International Airport, we simply had to follow highway 201 first, then switch onto trans-Canada highway 1 towards West. It took about an hour to get to the entrance of Banff National Park. This is where we purchased our admission tickets. The admission ticket is reusable for all national parks in Canada.
After entering Banff National Park and driving on the highway, the scene on the side of the road is just incredible. The endless mountain range soaring on the side of the road. When the afternoon sunlight shines on the side of the mountain, the view is just magnificent. One thing we noticed is that there are fences on the side of the road throughout entire Banff National Park. I am guessing that this is to prevent wildlife animal from running onto the highway.
On the first day, we simply walked around Banff village and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon to check out all the shops.
On the second day, we drove to Lake Louise very early in the morning to avoid the crowd. While we were there, we did Big Beehive hike to the top of the mountain. Then in the afternoon, we went to check out Moraine Lake.
On the third day, we hiked up to Sulfur Mountain. The view of Banff from the top is amazing.
On the fourth day, we went to Lake Minnewanka to check out the clear and beautiful lake. We just loved how calm it is there.
On the fifth day, it was time for us to head to Jasper. On the way, we stopped by Peyto Lake in the morning. What a gorgeous lake it is. Then we visited the famous glacier at Columbia Icefield.
On the sixth day, we first visited Pyramid Lake in the early morning. Then we went to Maligne Lake to visit Spirit Island.
On the seventh day, we visited Patricia Lake in the morning and also came back at night to do stargazing. We also went to the top of mountain at Whistlers Peak.
On the final day, we drove for 5.5 hours all the way back to Calgary to fly back to Portland.
Overall, this road trip experience is an amazing experience! There is a lot of view points on the way and the views are incredible. I strongly suggest people to do this road trip when they got to Banff and Jasper!
McNeil Point hiking trail is one of the more popular hiking trails in Mount Hood Forest National Park. The trail is about 10 miles long round trip with about 2000ft elevation gain. So it is not a difficult hike. The trail is often filled with crowd during the summer season since it is quite close to Portland and the trail offers magnificent view over Mount Hood Forest National Park.
McNeil Point hiking trail is about an hour away from Portland. The trail head of McNeil Point hiking trail is at Top Spur trail head. To get to Top Spur trail head, you can take highway 26 towards Mount Hood. After you pass Zig Zag River Road, you will make a left turn there. This route is very similar to the one that goes to Ramona Falls. However, when you get to the intersection that branches off to cross the bridge, you have to take the gravel road instead. Do not cross the bridge! Once you get onto the gravel road, you will start to see signs to Top Spur trail head. After 7 more miles of driving on gravel road, you will arrive at a tiny parking lot with a lot of cars parking on the side of the road. If you don't get there early, chances are that you have to park on the side of the road. Many people hike this trail during early morning to catch sun rise! In addition, don't forget to bring Northwest Forest Pass with you!
Once you are prepared, you can start the hike! McNeil Point hiking trail is mostly hiking in the forest, but you should still put on sunscreen. About 20 minutes in, you will arrive at an intersection with 3 different route. This may be a bit confusing for people who is hiking this trail for the first time. You can take either 2 of the 3 routes. You can take the left route and the middle route. Both routes will take you back to the main trail. I recommend you to take the left route to avoid confusion.
On this hiking trail, there are also several look out point that gives you a gorgeous view of Mount Hood. So make sure you have your camera ready with you. In addition, one section of this trail require you to cross a very shallow stream. You don't have to panic here. There are several rocks that you can step on so you won't get wet. However, the rock surface is very slippery so please be cautious when you cross the stream here.
Moreover, be aware that you will come to an intersection with 2 routes to take. The route on the right is the old trail and is currently no longer being used. The old trail is currently under restoration process. So please do not take that old trail and let the wild flowers recover by itself. The new trail on the left is the route that you should take. Distance of both old and new trails are similar, so please follow the sign and take the new trail.
Part of the trail require you to hike through rocky field. There is one part where you kind of have to climb through big rocks. Make sure you are extra careful here because it is a cliff on the other side. Once you pass this section, you are almost at McNeil Point! You will come to an intersection with 2 routes. 1 route heads up and the other route heads down. The route heading up is to the Pinnacle. It is about an additional hour of hike and it is steep at the end of the trail. The route that goes down is the one that you should take. This route leads to McNeil Point. At the end of this trail you will reach a hut built with rocks. Have your lunch here and enjoy the magnificent view!
Quebec City is one of the oldest city in Canada. It is about 8 hours drive from Toronto and located in the Fresh speaking province of Quebec on the East coast, situated by St. Lawrence River. Every year, it has attracted thousands of visitor all over the world to visit this amazingly old Canadian city.
To get to Quebec City from Toronto, you can simply take highway 401 or Highway of Heroes all the way to the East. When you pass through Ontario and Quebec border, highway 401 becomes highway 20. We chose to stay at Delta Hotel that is just outside of Old Quebec City. The rate of the hotel is about $200 per night and the parking fee is $20 a night. Delta Hotel is at a very convenient location because you can simply just walk to Old Quebec City without driving. The traffic at Old Quebec City is insane due to the amount of people there. It is very hard to drive around when there are tourists walking around and you have to pay extra attention to the pedestrians. The streets in Old Quebec City also has steep slopes which makes driving the car even harder! If you want to stay at the world famous Fairmont Hotel, then you have no choice but drive through Old Quebec City. Fairmont Hotel is deep within the core of Old Quebec City.
The Old Quebec City is is a very popular tourist place. It has retained its French culture on the street and you will find many shops offer unique craftsmanship. It is definitely a place
where you should spend a full day walking around and have lunch or dinner at the patio dining area. For brunch, I recommend to go to Cosmos Cafe that is just a little outside of Old Quebec City. Cosmos Cafe offers very authentic French brunch cuisine. It serves various French food such as crepe. The crepe it serves is huge and there is a lot of varieties! For dinner, I recommend Restaurant 1640. The servers are extremely friendly and offers large patio seating. It also offers unique French cuisine such as escargot.
There is a lot of stores selling hand crafted items as I mentioned previously. Those shops are quite unique and the crafted items are definitely worth a second look. The crafted items are not expensive either so it is a good choice for getting them as souvenirs. There are also 2 Christmas stores and these Christmas stores are open during the summer season as well! These 2 Christmas stores sell many different unique ornaments that you don't see in other places. When you enter the Christmas store, make sure you hold onto your backpacks. This is because you don't want to knock over Christmas trees and break the ornaments. Many ornaments are made out of glass and they are expensive and very fragile!
Other than just visiting the city itself, you should also drive an hour East of Quebec City and visit Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre. It is a huge and beautiful cathedral with many stories behind it. One of the story that I can recall was about a boy having his cancer cured after visiting the cathedral. When you enter the cathedral, you will be overwhelmed by the height of its ceiling and the stained glass window is just beautiful! This is one of the most popular tourist attraction when people visit Quebec City. Note that parking is very limited here and I recommend to go there early in the morning to avoid the crowd. There is a McDonald right around the corner, but please don't park there since that parking lot is for McDonald customer. Besides, your car may get tolled away if you park there. Another wise option is to join the guided tour and take tour bus to here.
While you pay a visit to Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre, you can go a bit further East to St. Anne's Canyon. It is a beautiful place to put yourself in the nature and enjoy the breeze in the canyon. It is a change of scenery from the city. The admission fee is around $20 per person and the parking is free. If you are a student, you get student discount and the admission fee is around $15. There are 3 suspension bridges at S. Anne's Canyon and you can hike around the canyon. The trail goes across the canyon on the 3 suspension bridge and zig-zag down to the bottom of the canyon. Going down to the bottom of the canyon is the easy part. The toughest part is coming back up! It is said to have over hundreds of steps of stairs! So if you are not physically fit, it could be very tough for you to climb back up. Especially if you have heart related disease, make sure you take sufficient reset at easy rest location before continue to climb back up.
