I’ve always dreamt of visiting the Canadian Rockies, which I had a chance to do in August of 2025, with a trip to Banff and Jasper National Parks. For seven days, I traveled around these public lands, hiking and camping in order to have the full wilderness experience. The views were spectacular: Milky blue glacial lakes, craggy mountain peaks, and fields of alpine wildflowers. Averaging about 30,000 steps a day, I took several hikes to reach panoramic vistas and destinations deep within the park. Highlights included the Ink Pots hike in Banff – a stroll along the rushing waters of the Johnston Canyon to spring-fed bubbling pools – as well as Maligne Lake in Jasper, where you can view three different glaciers from a single point at the center of the lake.
Aside from the stunning views, the Landscape Architecture inspiration was primarily found while traveling the Trans-Canada Highway. Every couple of kilometers, forested bridges provided crossings for wildlife in the form of vegetated berms (with tunnels passing through for vehicles). They were beautiful and have reduced the car-to-animal collision rate by 80%. Incredible! The Town of Banff was also inspirational in how it has responded to the enormous increase in tourist traffic. Surrounded by public parking areas at public transit hubs, people are funneled into the town’s greenway system, or encouraged to take the absurdly convenient buses/trams around town. I parked in one of these areas and took the quick 10-minute walk to the downtown core, which was alive with pedestrians (and less so with cars). I love this approach to traffic control.
