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.
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