Three lakes. Three unforgettable swims. One adventure through the Canadian Rockies.
Some places you visit.
Some places you experience.
And some places you have to get in the water to truly understand.
Last week, I traveled to Banff National Park with a goal that probably wasn’t on most visitors’ itineraries:
I wanted to swim.
Not just take a quick dip.
Not just jump in for a cold-plunge photo.
I wanted to experience these incredible places from the water to actually swim through glacier-fed lakes surrounded by some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the world.
As a swimmer and photographer, I’m always looking for ways to experience a place beyond simply standing on the shoreline and taking a picture.
This trip gave me the chance to do both.
I could photograph these landscapes.
And then I could get in them!
Moraine Lake
❄️ Moraine Lake ❄️
“Moraine Lake, was my FAVORITE!
So basically... I went swimming in a view that once appeared on Canadian money. 😂 And the timing couldn't have been better , it snowed that morning. ❄️ Fresh snow on the mountains, turquoise water below, and me standing at the edge thinking, Okay. Let's do this.
The water was COLD, but once I started swimming, I couldn't stop looking around. Mountains every time I turned to breathe, that incredible blue water ahead of me, and suddenly it hit me:”
Lake Louise
National Geographic included Lake Louise in its list of nine of the world's most beautiful lakes, describing it as one of the most scenic of Banff's jewel-like lakes. The lake sits at roughly 5,200 feet above sea level beneath the towering peaks of the Canadian Rockies and Mount Victoria.
From the shoreline, Lake Louise almost doesn't look real.
That famous turquoise color isn't just a trick of the camera. It comes from tiny particles of glacial rock flour carried into the lake by meltwater. When sunlight hits those particles, the water takes on that incredible blue-green color.
But seeing that color from the shoreline is one thing.
Lake Louise
Swimming
Swimming through it is something completely different.
The water was COLD. 🥶
But that was part of the experience.
I wanted to know what it felt like to put my goggles on, take a breath, and actually swim in a place I had spent years seeing in photographs.
For a few moments, the crowds, the cameras and everything happening around the shoreline disappeared.
It was just me, the water and the mountains.
And honestly?
That's something I won't forget.
