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We’re on the final leg of last year’s family summer holiday. Funnily enough, I’ve now started to plan this year’s getaway. Anyhow, we left Banff and headed toward Revelstoke, our final stop before home. There is plenty to see on the way to Revelstoke, though, so if you’re doing this drive, I urge you to take your time and stop to see the sights along the way.

 

The most spectacular of these is Emerald Lake. As you take the turn off the Trans-Canada Highway toward Emerald Lake (about an hour West of Banff), check to see what the car park is like at “Natural Bridge.” If it’s relatively empty, stop here first. Natural Bridge is where the Kicking Horse River has eroded a tunnel under the rock. You can walk from one side of the river to the other. But please, people, be careful. The rocks are slippery and if you fell into that water I doubt you’d survive. Also, I’ve been told that during high spring runoff the water actually cascades over the bridge, so you wouldn’t see it anyway. Still, it’s a nice place for some photos. 

 

Emerald Lake is another twenty to thirty minute drive from the highway, depending on how slow the car in front of you is travelling. It’s like the road to Maligne Lake all over again. The other problem with Emerald Lake is the parking lot is relatively small. Be prepared to park on the shoulder of the road and walk the rest of the way. Or get there early. It’s always been my dream to stay in one of the cabins on the lake. I think the star gazing would be spectacular with no lights anywhere near, unless you run into that pesky full moon problem we had in Clearwater.

 

This is a popular stop on all the coach tours so there’s no escaping the crowds, another reason to stay overnight. Canoeing is a popular attraction here, and the red canoes against the emerald green waters with the gorgeous mountain backdrop is beautiful. My photo really doesn’t do the water colour justice.

 

From Emerald Lake we headed west again, stopping in Golden for lunch. Golden is a great little place but unfortunately, we didn’t have time to explore. There’s a ski resort here and probably lots of outdoor adventure activities. The waiter at the restaurant was from East London, so he and my husband had a great time talking about the British Premier League football season that had started that day. Even on holiday I can’t get away from it.

 

We arrived in Revelstoke mid-afternoon and stayed at the Sutton Place Hotel at the Revelstoke Mountain Resort. Of all the places we stayed, this was the most luxurious. We had a three bed, two bath condo with two decks overlooking the pool. The resort is about a fifteen minute drive from Revelstoke town proper so once you’re there, there’s not a lot around. They’re still building but as of our visit there was one restaurant, one café, and one ski shop. You can take the gondola up the mountain and on the weekend have brunch up there or do some hikes. Or you can rent mountain bikes and explore the area. In our original plan, we had intended to go to an outdoor adventure park (about 45 minutes west of Revelstoke), but to be honest we were pretty explored out so we just sat by the pool. Revelstoke town itself is pretty dead. We were there on a Sunday and almost nothing was open. We ate lunch at a food van and then bought groceries at the store so we could make our own dinner. The rest of the time we sat by the pool. In a way it was a perfect ending to our holiday. A chance to actually relax.

 

And that was last year’s family holiday. I hope you enjoyed coming on our adventure. Pop back on April 1st for my next post. Cheers!