One of my favorite places for a hike in the Canadian Rockies is at Emerald Lake, in Yoho National Park. Yoho is in British Columbia but abuts Banff National Park in Alberta. Located only a few miles from the small town of Field, and just off the TransCanada Highway, is a road that takes you to nearby Emerald Lake.
There is a mostly flat trail that you can walk around the lake. It’s just over 5 kilometers long and much of it provides beautiful views of the Rockies, the glaciers, the turquoise colored water and often, on a nice day, lots of canoes paddling the calm waters.
Many people just stop for a photo but if you do one hike in the Rockies, this is the one I’d recommend.
(note the avalanche chute across the lake, where snow annually knocks trees flat)
