Monarch – Yoho

It is very satisfying when you find ways to get around obstacles. In this case, we got in a do over for a thwarted attempt to see Emerald Lake and Richard gets credit for finding a way to get up to the Lake Agnes Tea House at Lake Louise without battling all of the parking or shuttle issues. Throw in a “guaranteed” bear, and this was a highly successful stop.

Leaving Jasper, we drove a very long way back down the Icefields Parkway to get to the turn off for Trans Canada Highway 1 to Yoho. For some reason, the drive back felt an awful lot longer than the drive up. We listened to our Guide Along Tour Guide app and much of the GPS activated audio clips were repeats. I don’t know if that’s what made it feel so much longer, but we did stop and take a quick leg stretch break at Buck Lake, which was nice. Buck Lake was formed by a huge piece of glacier ice, which came loose and crashed into the valley, leaving a giant depression. That kettle shaped divot collected the melted ice water and continues to collect rain water and ice melt. There are no rivers feeding or emptying the lake. It’s a very short walk to see it from an unmarked parking area, and it was a pleasant break. We stopped a couple more times for pictures and arrived tired at Monarch around 4.

Last time we visited Yoho National Park, we were staying at the campground in Lake Louise. We were dismayed by the concentration of people, as well as the way the campsites were set up so you felt way too close to your neighbors. Getting to see Lake Louise is tricky because parking up at the lake is extremely limited. Most people park at the Ski area and take the shuttle. Tickets do sell out and none of the transportation options are cheap. We did it last time, but by the time we got to the lake, surrounded by throngs of people, we didn’t have an appetite for doing much, like hiking up to the Lake Agnes Tea House. When we arrived in Banff, I made the comment that we could maybe consider trying again and that activated Richard’s problem solving mode. Once he’s in this mode, you never know what he’s going to discover. He can be relentless at solving problems and in this case, it was a definite win. What he landed on was the idea that Monarch Campground was much closer than Banff, but he was only able to confirm a secret back way after we arrived and he talked to the rangers at the visitor center in Field. It sounded like an adventure and we were both excited to try it for our anniversary the next day.

We had enough daylight after dinner to drive to Emerald Lake. The rangers said that you will have much better luck seeing things if you arrive at parking areas before 10 or after 4. That was definitely true and we got a spot right by the lake. The sun periodically peeked through clouds and I got to see the namesake green hue of the water. We took a three mile loop trail around the lake and enjoyed having the scenery almost all to ourselves. At the top of the lake, we both realized we hadn’t brought anything in the way of rain jackets and we could see that the clouds were looking darker. The back side of the loop goes through trees and gets a lot more rugged, narrow, and muddy, but it did mostly offer cover as it started to gently rain. The temperature was warm and we really didn’t mind. 

Signs warn visitors about the trail conditions and you can see that they have been actively working on building boardwalks to improve that third of the trail. I’ll bet by next year the whole thing will be a nice long boardwalk all the way to the top. We were just nearing the end, which delivers you to the cluster of cabins and lodge buildings near the parking area, when it started raining for real. We did a couple of dashes from the cover of cabin porches to the parking area and got to the car un-doused, but also un-dry. We were happy to have completed our do over and content to stay in our $16.50 per night campground, as opposed to the $774 per night accommodations at the Emerald Lake Lodge (or the $2,175 per night to stay at Chateau Lake Louise).

We got a nice early start on Anniversary Adventure Friday and drove back up highway 1 to a parking area near the turnoff for Lake O’Hara Road. From this parking area, you can see concrete barriers marking the end of Old Highway 1A. The road is closed to cars, but paved and easily traversable by bikes, and goes all the way, about six miles total, to Lake Louise Road. It’s like the most incredible cheat and I didn’t believe it would actually work until we totally did it and it 100% works. I’m confused about why tons of people don’t use this back road as a way to get to Lake Louise and avoid all of the costly parking or shuttle options. In fact, I was thinking I shouldn’t blog about this, since it seems like such a secret gem, like having a FastPass at Disneyland that no one else knows about. In talking to the rangers later, it is not a secret, and is published on the park maps, but I guess most people are daunted by the bike ride. Don’t be. It was gorgeous and easy and incredibly straightforward.

It is a gentle climb almost all of the way to the lake. There are patches of gravelly bits where the road is wearing away, but for sure rideable, even with thin road tires. After about 1.75 miles, you come to a big sign marking the Continental Divide. On one side, you are in British Columbia and all of the waterways run to the Pacific Ocean. Pass through to the other side and you are in Alberta and all of the water eventually makes its way to the Atlantic Ocean. Pretty cool. There are old picnic tables from when this spot used to be a day use area, and there is a pretty little creek called Divide Creek that passes under the road. The visibility is really good, which I appreciated because the rangers also said we were “almost guaranteed to see a bear” in this section. If I was going to see one, I for sure wanted to see it from way far off. We made it all the way to Lake Louise Road without seeing any, so their guarantee was in jeopardy at that point. 

Once you join the road, you can park your bikes in an empty lot, or head up to the main parking area. I opted for the latter, because I figured I would appreciate sparing myself the short (but uphill) walk along the trail. I knew the trail up to the tea house was going to be tough and I did in fact appreciate getting back on the bike sooner at the end of the day. The busses and shuttles were coming in steadily at that point, but it was not yet what I would call crowded. There is a nice bathroom in the parking area and we hit that before locking our bikes, taking an “I can’t believe how well this worked” selfie, and finding the trail.

If you haven’t done the trek up to Lake Agnes Tea House, just know it’s three miles uphill. It’s well signed and easy to follow. There are not really any lake views on the way up, and not really any views of Lake Louise from above once you get up there, unless you trek further up to Little Beehive or Big Beehive. Lake Agnes is very pretty too, but the main attraction here is the tea house. The impressive thing is that they make all of their bread for sandwiches, cakes, and tea cakes with no electricity or plumbing. They cook everything using big huge propane outdoor ovens and the smell of the fresh bread is intoxicating. There was a line for either sit down or to go orders and I’d say it took about half an hour to get our tea cakes with jam, chocolate cake, hot chocolate and breakfast tea. Everything was delicious and the perfect way to celebrate a long ascent. Richard thought the chocolate cake was good, but a little dry. I say he’s a tough audience.

I gave Richard full permission to go up to the Big Beehive without consequences. I had no more climbing left in my legs and was perfectly content to enjoy the lake while he went speed hiking. He got stopped by a snow bank before getting too far because it was pretty slippery and one false move would land him in the lake. Meanwhile, I walked out toward the top of the lake and spied an adorable Pika hopping around in the rock fall. There I stayed, enjoying the cuteness until Richard made his way back. It was lightly raining at this point but our jackets were holding up nicely following the refreshed waterproofing treatment. Richard was up for trying the Little Beehive and he made it easily to that and back, grabbing a couple of nice photos for me of Lake Louise in all its technicolor blueness. The Tea House was well worth the uphill trek just to experience it. I’m not sure I would commit to doing it again. I loved the tea cakes and the notion of making baked goods with outdoor propane ovens. There are lots of people on the trail at all times, which was expected, but also horses with their accompanying smells, which was not. Speaking of smells, there are two pit toilets at the top, and they were clean, but pungent. And it took a looooong time to hike back down. 

We waited out the rain under the cover of the bathroom building in the parking lot and paper toweled off our bikes as soon as there was a break. The only time I really got wet was rolling through the parking lot to coast down to the start of the closed highway. We made it probably two miles on that road before I spotted a distinctive black dot up ahead. I called out to Richard to stop and we stared for a long time at a mama bear escorting at least two cubs onto the road. We waved and called out “We’re coming through, bear!” as she pondered us. We were perhaps fifty yards away and she seemed nonplussed as she decided what to do. After a couple of minutes, with her babies looking up at her for guidance, she moved back into the bushes. Richard immediately rolled ahead, which I thought was a bold move. I followed him closely, calling out to her the whole time and ringing my silly bike bell. We didn’t stop again until we came to the Continental Divide sign. I did spy for sure another black bear in the woods as we hurried through, but he was going away from the road and probably didn’t even see us. That was super exhilarating and we made a promise to be sure to tell the rangers their guarantee had been fulfilled. What a day!

The next day was icing on the cake, as we had done all of the things we hoped to accomplish for the stay. We pondered riding our bikes up to Takakkaw Falls, but chose to drive instead. The road has signs at the foot of the climb that trailers are NOT allowed, and there is a maximum length for all vehicles. It’s a significant climb and there is one switchback which explains all of the signs. I saw a tour bus at the parking area, and I have no idea how it made it past the switchback. That must have stopped traffic for a very long time in both directions. It’s a pretty drive and would be a pretty ride, but it’s also no kidding steep and you’d be sharing the road with a steady stream of cars. We again followed the “before 10” advice and were able to get a parking spot. Not long after we arrived, there were a whole lot more cars. 

We went out to the falls viewpoint and then took a trail up to Angel’s Staircase Falls and Point Lace Falls. That is a nice trail and both falls were easy to get to. We only went as far as those two falls, but you can go farther. The trail becomes more rugged and you might get stopped by seasonal bridges being out. There is also a nice hike in campground with a view of Takakkaw Falls. There are bathrooms, free firewood, and potable water. That would be a nice experience for tenting people.

We then went back to the small town of Field so we could thank the rangers and Richard could go do another hike up a mountain. I don’t think it is possible to ever tire him out. I got lots of information about the spiral tunnels for the trains. This is a big deal for this part of Canada. During the early settlement days, Canada needed a railway connection to get people over the pass and into the valley of the national parks. The grade going up Kicking Horse Pass was way too steep and many people were killed by runaway trains. The solution to the problem involved lengthening the track and making two loop de loops inside the mountains to increase elevation at a more gradual pace. The engineering that went into that is very impressive. I wasn’t really understanding how it all worked, but happily, there is a model train in the visitor center in Field where you can see exactly how the trains enter into a tunnel going straight into the mountain, and come out through a perpendicular tunnel lower down, or higher up depending on which direction they are traveling. We got to see this in action later from the campground as a passenger train went by slowly. We talked to some people well versed in how it all works and about ten minutes later we saw the train come back the opposite direction, but about fifty feet higher. It then disappeared into a tunnel, and finally came back out heading its original direction, but again, fifty feet higher. From the lowest point to the highest point after doing the double maneuver, trains gain over a hundred feet of elevation, but maintain an average grade of 2.5%. We went and looked at a viewpoint off the highway, but didn’t see any trains at that time. There sure were a lot going through town though and they were impressively long. It would be cool to see one go into the mountain one way and watch the front come out going the opposite direction while the tail continued on into the tunnel.

Back at Monarch, we made dinner and then took a stroll over to see Kicking Horse Campground next door. That is also a nice campground. It’s much bigger and has nicely paved roads. Monarch’s single loop road is dirt and very full of potholes. There are a few sites by the Kicking Horse River which would be very nice. There are lots more people of course, and a playground for kids in the center. There are nice bathrooms with big sinks for washing dishes, but weirdly, the dump station is in Monarch. Of course, you could also stay at Cathedral Mountain Lodge for a mere $629 per night.

To round out our bear experience, we returned to find several rangers gathered, one of them carrying a large gun. There were signs posted everywhere warning of active bear activity and there were tent campers who were being evicted if their sites were on the outside of the loop. The rangers explained that there were two bears in the area and that they were attempting to capture them. We were later told that they did in fact capture and tag one of them, which will be relocated and released, and we are guessing that big gun was a tranquilizer gun. Exciting!

We really loved our stay in Yoho. The cheat entrance into Lake Louise was beautiful and super cool. I would ride that road again, but would for sure keep up the yelling and bell ringing. Emerald Lake was very beautiful, as was the area around Takakkaw Falls. The town of Field boasts a fun little grocery store, Yoho Corner Store, that sells freshly made pizza and a handful of pastries. There is also Truffle Pigs Bistro and Lodge which has a fun menu. I’d be interested in staying at Kicking Horse, but we also liked Monarch a lot. Great stay.

Total miles from Jasper: 154.5, 18.0 mpg, 5 hours 25 min. Site M14 no hookups. Good cell service because Field has a cell tower. Good free dump and potable water. Reviews complain about train and road noise, but we could barely hear it. Very quiet.