Roadtrip in Banff with snow in May!
The weather forecast predicted as much: tomorrow it will snow in Banff and Yoho. We didn’t really take it too seriously at first. It was over 30 degrees and we were baking in the sun. Sure it wasn’t going to be that bad?! WRONG!!! As soon as it became evening, thick clouds rolled in, followed by a torrential downpour. The next morning, I woke up to the sound of rain hammering on the car.
I promised Jelger earlier if it rains, we’d get a room for the night. Car camping is all fun as long as it’s dry outside, because the outdoors is pretty much your living room. But when it rains, a car can feel claustrophobic. We planned on booking a room in Banff and checking out a couple of places we hadn’t been to before.
Lake Moraine is usually one of those amazing crystal blue lakes with a perfectly massive and impressive mountain range as a backdrop. The mountains definitely looked impressive, but the lake was still entirely frozen. When I left the car to take a photo, I felt as if punched in the face by the wind. Tears were streaming down my face. Uhm, no hike here then. 😉
We drove further towards Banff and decided to check out Johnston Canyon. I figured there would be less wind than at an open lake. I was right about the less wind part. But man was it snowing! During our 2 hour hike, 4 inches accumulated on our car. And that at the end of May! Crazy! The Canyon didn’t disappoint though. I read somewhere it’s the park’s most popular hike, and a million visitors frequent it every year. The snow slowed them down a bit, but we were definitely not the only brave souls trying to snap some photos and enjoy the wild nature around us.
Afterwards, we decided to book our hotel and got lucky with a free hot tub and an upgraded room. Yes please! No hot tub photos, but it was fantastic to be in there while the snow was still falling. A true Winter experience. I also met a little furry golden friend there.
And just like that, the next day the snow disappeared again and we were treated to two more gorgeous days before heading back to Vancouver. When in the mountains, you never know what’s going to happen. And it’s all part of the experience.
