Bow Glacier Falls is one of our favorite hikes in Banff - we hiked it three times last year, once, early on in our visit, then with Peter and Vian and again with Kathryn and Jacob. It is short, but incredibly rewarding!
From the trailhead, the trail follows the Bow Lake shoreline and...
views of the falls (center of the picture) lead you on. There's Frederick, on the trail entering the woods. This is the first section of the hike.
After traversing a mainly flat plain which follows the silty, glacier-fed stream draining the basin (second section of the hike), the trail climbs steeply along the rim of a narrow gorge. Frederick is standing on the edge of the gorge and, just behind him (upper center of the picture) is a rock described by explorer Walter Wilcox who visited in 1896. "Where the canyon is deepest an immense block of limestone about twenty-five feet long has fallen down, and with either end resting on the canyon walls, it affords a natural bridge over the gloomy chasm." Fortunately, the trail does not cross the hazardous natural bridge, but continues up along the gorge...
to the crest of a terminal moraine that forms one end of the glacial basin, and the third section of the hike. The falls are visible at the far end of the basin.
Our lunch spot at the base of the falls.
Our lunch view of the falls.
Looking in the opposite direction of the falls, you can see some hikers crossing the glacial basin and in the distance, if you could see it, is Bow Lake. (Remember, you can click on the picture to enlarge it.)
This is quite a "rock garden".
One of our favorite parts of the Bow Glacier Falls hike is seeing the variety of colors and striations on the rocks that inhabit the glacial plain.
There are lots of these cairns (pile or stack of rocks used to indicate the route) that highlight the beauty of these rocks.
Returning from the falls to the terminal moraine at the end of the glacial plain, we could look to the south and see Crowfoot Mountain with glaciers on its shoulders.
Panorama picture from the top of the terminal moraine showing another moraine across the plain and...
streams flowing with glacial run-off...
all converging to flow through the gorge.
Looking down into the rocky gorge with the trail on the right side of the picture and...
these lovely wildflowers on the other side of the trail.
The silty out-flow from the gorge.
I'm sitting on a rock near the mouth of the gorge looking back up the chasm.
West corner of the lake showing the turquoise colored water.
Today's hike:
Length - 5.77 miles
Duration - 3 hours, 33 minutes (including lunch)
Elevation gain - 450 feet (47 floors on the Fitbit)
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