Emerald Lake, Yoho National Park

In July, we took a trip to visit the kid (who was working in Banff) and had a chance to paddle Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park. The main parking lot is small and fills quickly so Emerald is easiest to access early in the day or late. The canoe rental place opens at 10 am ($90/hour) and closes around 5. The lake gets very busy with rentals during the day.

The best put in spot is a small beach about 300 feet west of the parking lots. Go past the bathrooms to the picnic area and you're there. I don't believe they allow private boats to load off the main dock of the rental place.

The lake is spectacular, especially if the water is smooth. A deep green-blue with great reflections. The perimeter is maybe 5km around and takes 90ish minutes and a leisurely pace.

There is also a walking trail around the lake.

At the north end of the lake there is a creek the flows in. The water was high this year so I paddled about 150m upstream before it got to0 shallow and too fast for me to make progress. In the photo below you can see the silt that the creek is dumping out into the lake (the water there is very shallow).

Emerald is perhaps the prettiest lake in the Banff area and is well worth the hour drive west to Field.

The wind came up about 10 am and made for a choppier paddle (no pictures as I was too busy paddling).

After two circults and lunch, we packed up and and headed into Field to get ice cream at the hotel. Overall, a great day.