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My Photography Guide for Noobs: Banff and Yoho National Parks

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Road Trip Map for My Readers

Here is the handy Google Map that I created for our trip to Banff and Yoho National Parks. I pinned all the places we wanted to go. We had time for most and some were closed. Please share and use my map to plan your own trip. Check out my images from this trip in my Rockies Gallery.

Yoho National Park 

Nestled in the Canadian Rockies close to the Alberta/B.C border is this beautiful gem, with its blue glacier fed lakes, waterfalls, and immense landscapes.  A  photographer’s paradise! 

Parks Canada website states that Yoho National park is:

Named for a Cree expression of awe and wonder, Yoho lies on the western slopes of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Vertical rock walls, waterfalls and dizzying peaks draw visitors from around the world.

With exceptional hiking and sightseeing, the park offers a unique glimpse of Canada’s natural wonders, from the secrets of ancient ocean life to the power of ice and water.

Parks Canada

Photography Gear to Take with You to Yoho and Banff

• Sturdy Tripod from Peak Design
• Zoom (Canon 24-105mm)
• Long Range Zoom (100-500mm)
• Wide Angle (Rokinon 14mm)
• Remote Trigger (or use in Camera timer)
• Lens Cloths
• ND Filters
• Polarizer

Yoho National Park Map 

Plan your trip and check out this link here for a Yoho National Park Map and the natural wonders within. 

Yoho National Park Camping 

While we didn’t camp in Yoho National Park, there are plenty of options for you to camp there and use that as your base for exploring the area.  Parks Canada has a fully detailed list on their website of over 150 different frontcountry campsites at 4 different campgrounds where you can stay in Yoho National Park.

The prices are super reasonable, probably because you already paid for a Parks pass! If you plan on having a fire at any of the campgrounds, the wood is WET, bring plenty of firestarter and chop up your wood into SMALL pieces so it burns.

Be sure to abide by LNT (Leave No Trace) principles and follow the direction from the camp host about protecting wildlife from humans.

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Yoho Photography Spots

There were 4 must get landscape photography shots for me in Yoho National Park:

• Wapta Falls,
• Emerald Lake,
• Natural Bridge, and
• Takkakaw Falls.

Yoho National Park Images

Check out these 4 top spots!

Wapta Falls 

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Check out my Rockies Gallery for More Shots of our Trip

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Emerald Lake 

The 7 kms (4 mile) drive up to Emerald Lake is filled with beautiful mountains and forest scenery. Emerald Lake and the Emerald Lake Lodge are at the very end of the road. The parking lot for day visitors isn’t very big, so if you plan on catching some of that early sunrise light, get there early and definitely before 8am.

You can park on the side of the street here if the lot is full BUT there are so many cars, it will be a loooooong walk.

We went to Emerald Lake on a Sunday at 5am and Monday at 830am. The difference in the conditions was huge because once the sunlight hit the lake after 8am, it finally blessed us with its infamous turquoise color.

Peaceful pond was so cool, and not another person in sight, you just hike down the little path to the right of the main walkway to Emerald Lodge and it takes you on a beautiful little journey next to the river and down to the Pond. 

Mount Burgess is in the background of your images and there are lots of different compositions here with rocks, a tiny ‘beach’, turquoise water, and logs as your foreground. 

I personally found it difficult to get a composition I liked at Emerald Lake, due to inexperience, not knowing the area, and unfavorable light.  Unpopular Opinion?….I honestly preferred Moraine Lake and Lake Louise for compositions.

We will be revisiting this location during the Winter, to see how some snow changes the landscape (and maybe my opinion!)

I did like the light being cast on the mountains to the left of the lake, so I cranked out a number of shots with my 75-200mm and my 18-135mm of the mountain tops. The light was filtered through the cloud cover and left as fast as it came.

One thing I enjoyed was how the light lent itself to black and white, emphasizing the textures on the mountain sides.

Pretending I’m a Black and White Mountain Whisperer

Natural Bridge

Natural bridge is just that, a natural bridge that formed as the Kicking Horse River beat and cut through the rocks. Because it’s fairly wide, you can safely walk right across the top and look down at the rushing water.

You get to Natural Bridge by driving up the same road you take to Emerald Lake. It will be on your left hand side and the turn off comes up pretty fast once you start your way up to Emerald Lake. This is a quick stop, we maybe spent 45 mins here.

We stopped at the nice picnic tables and cooked eggs and bacon for breakfast on our Coleman Camp Stove. We were getting lots of hungry looks from other people as the smell of cooking bacon wafted their way. Some people need coffee, I NEED eggs and bacon in the morning, or I will go postal.

You can also do the Natural Bridge Hike. It’s a very short loop trail that goes over the man-made bridge. If you follow it, it will take you to another viewpoint of Natural Bridge. You can even walk back over the Natural Bridge to the parking lot, which completes the loop.

I’ve heard the Kicking Horse River freezes in the winter, when temps get low enough, for long enough. Apparently you can walk right under the bridge! I’ll stick to the trail…for now.

There is a bathroom, garbage cans, and some picnic tables for people to use when visiting this site. There is pretty limited parking (maybe 15 spots), but we never saw it fill up.

Takkakaw Falls 

The Takkakaw Falls Road up to the Falls is amazing. It’s an awesome road to drive along with a couple of pretty crazy switch backs. The switchbacks reminded us of the Forest Service Roads that we drive on Vancouver Island. The switchbacks are pretty sharp and for that reason, cars and trucks can do it, but trailers are not permitted to drive the road.

You can see the falls from a distance as you approach the first parking area along the road. We didn’t park in the actual parking lot, instead opting to park before the parking lot on the road and walk in to enjoy the alpine scenery a bit more.

It was maybe a 1km walk in, if not less. The Takkakaw Falls Trail was easy to follow, slight uphill but nothing unmanageable if you are able bodied. 

I loved seeing the tiny wildflowers along the way and walking amongst the trees. There are some cool views of Takkakaw Falls as you approach from the trail. There are some cool red chairs that you can sit in with the Falls in the background: perfect for a selfie.

The trail next to the river and up to the Falls is easy to navigate. Be ready, the Falls generate a ton of wind. The massive amounts of spray that day, and the direction of the wind, was right along the river/trail leading up to the Falls.

There are plenty of little side trails to get right down to the river and take some pictures out of the way of other waterfall enthusiasts. 

It was a ju