Banff National Park: Bow River Loop Trail

Located right off the highway in Lake Louise is the Samson Mall. The mall contains a small grocery store, a bakery, a sporting goods store and several small touristy stores. This is also where the Parks Canada Visitor Centre is located. There are also two gas stations across the street. On our last morning of the 2011 trip we were meeting my dad's cousin at the mall in order to pick up my Great-Aunt Mary who we would be taking back to British Columbia with us so that she could visit her sister, my grandmother. We didn't have an exact time that they would be arriving so it was a waiting game. Rather than sitting around in the car I decided to go for a walk.

The Bow River Loop Trail runs along the Bow River between the Lake Louise Campground and the Samson Mall. It is a nice quiet waterside path.

Samson Mall in Lake Louise with the Victoria Glacier in the background

Dad decided to join me in my walk. We didn't have time to walk the whole loop so we just walked a little bit past the campsite and then turned around and went back. We started the walk behind the Visitor Centre.

We then crossed the street to continue on the trail towards the campground.

 

If you are looking for a nice relaxing walk rather than a strenuous hike this is a trail for you.

Next on the blog I will be writing about my 2012 two week trip through Jasper, Banff and Yoho.