Snowy Mountains, Frozen Lakes, Methane Bubbles, Ice Falls, and Northern Lights
Nothing could have prepared me for how magical my five days in the Canadian Rockies would go. My core mission was to revisit this region (having been there this past Summer) and explore the unique Methane Bubbles that form on Abraham Lake. While making the journey out there, I thought I might as well revisit some of my favorite spots from Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay National Parks. There was also the ambition in the back of my mind to try and see the Northern Lights.
Despite this being an area I revisited, and just for five days, the LENGTH of this blog tells you everything about how much I loved it.
Safety Tips and Advice
Weather in this region is always of concern, as snow and high winds in the mountains can make the roads unpredictable. Please research, plan, and travel responsibly in this region and do not underestimate the mountains. Check road conditions here at 511 Alberta. Take their notes seriously, I found it to be very accurate. Roads in black/yellow are ok, but I had a 40 mile patch between Lake Louise and Saskatchewan Crossing that was pink (Cvd/Snw/Ice) and it was a bit intense - The entire highway was covered in compact snow that was very slick. Do not park on the sides of roads in this situation, or you will get your car stuck in 1ft loose snow like I did and then hope to get lucky with a good samaritan to pull you out. Always have a satellite device for emergency communications and tell someone where you are - as most of these regions have zero phone signals.
Five Day Itinerary
Well, to say the least, the trip more-or-less played out to perfection and met (nay - exceeded!!!) ALL expectations. I was in this region in late January of 2026, which on January 19th we experienced a very large solar flare from the sun - and yes I was sitting on a frozen lake in the dark taking photos as it swept and danced directly over my head with 360 degree views of mountains and the sounds of creaking ice.
A photographer's dream! I have travelled so much in the past decade all over North America - But this trip will rest firmly as one of my favorites.
For those that want to recreate this journey, I will break down my entire itinerary and share my favorite photos from each location as I go.
SUMMER IN CANADIAN ROCKIES - I highly recommend visiting in Summer, and I have a full guide to this entire region in summer as well.
Calgary to Banff
I highly recommend flying into Calgary, renting an AWD SUV with Winter Tires (NOT Mud/Snow tires like they will try and sell you on), and then drive your way through Banff (hitting the highlights along the way).
Banff (Part A) -
This is your first area from Calgary. I actually chose to sleep one night in Banff, which allowed to to explore some of this list before being way out in Nordegg.
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Town of Banff - The town itself has an iconic view along Banff Ave with the town and nearby mountain looming overhead.
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Vermillion Lakes - Not to be missed, this spot directly outside of the town is a stunning spot that seems VERY unknown to most people and you are often alone at these lakes with mountains as a backdrop.
Town of Banff
That stunning mountain viewed from Banff Avenue, bring a good 150mm zoom or so to get a shot like this.
Vermillion Lakes
Beautiful and remote, despite less than 5 minutes from the Town of Banff.
Wildlife Crossing
My last day back had some nice clouds breaking up the mountains and I was able to get this shot really highlighting the trees on top of this animal crossing.
Kootenay (Detour)
This region departs off the main highway that runs through Banff, so I put it here in chronological order.
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Marble Canyon - A beautiful and intimidatingly deep slot canyon that you walk from above as it gets deeper and deeper.
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Numa Falls - Roadside basically, with a bridge over a canyon next to a frozen waterfall and mountain backdrop. All the things we like!
Marble Canyon
The main falls at the end completely frozen over, with just the right amount of haze on the mountains.
Numa Falls
This is the view of the main falls from the walking bridge, the mountains fading into clouds.
Numa Falls - The Other View
From that same bridge, you can turn around and see down the endless river.
Castle Mountain from Kootenay Highway
The highway here gives a great view of Castle Mountain.
Frosty Trees
This region had the best sections of pine trees packed full of fluffy white snow.
Banff (Part B)
Now you can finish up more of the Banff locations, the BEST ones to be frank.
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Lake Louise - The most beautiful frozen lake with mountains all around. Winter is a lot less busy and you can get a close parking spot if you get here before sunset. Very different from summer, where it is SO busy that you HAVE to get a shuttle from a different area.
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Morant’s Curve - One of my favorite places, near Lake Louise. This small spot overlooks the rivers/mountains where the train runs along. Wait patiently for a train and get an epic shot!
Lake Louise Blue Hour
I actually loved being here RIGHT before sunrise, as the little cabin to the left had lights visible. This entire area is the lake, which now looks like a very very flat field of snow.
Lake Louise Sign
I loved the intensity of frost on the ice sign - ironic :)
Morant's Curve
It is 1000% worth waiting for the train. It is 'supposed' to be roughly every 45 minutes. I got very very lucky and it showed up within 5 minutes.
Yoho (2nd Detour)
Like Kootenay, this region departs from the main highway and has one of my FAVORITE spots to see.
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Emerald Lake Lodge - The ‘most photographed lodge’ apparently, and I get it! It rests against the pond with a mountain right behind it. I love photographing this spot at sunrise as sunbursts breach the horizon.
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Natural Bridge - Literally passed on your way to the lodge but easy to miss if you don’t know it is here. This spot has a stunning waterfall breaking through a narrow crevice. You can enjoy exploring around the river as well.
Emerald Lake Lodge
Right at sunrise you can get greeted with the lodge and a nice sunburst.
Emerald Lake Lodge
Looking the other way at the lodge as the sunrise has taken a stronger effect on the surrounding mountains.
Yoho Highway Views
I can't get over roadside views looking like this.
Natural Bridge
This region was very frozen over, with beautiful golden light right after sunrise.
Banff (Part C)
Banff continues along deeper and you can hit up some amazing spots as you continue deeper towards Nordegg.
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Peyto Lake - A stunning overlook high above this huge lake fed directly by a glacier and fully surrounded by…you guessed it…snowy mountains!
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Saskatchewan River Crossing - Your last spot before departing towards Abraham Lake. This spot splits towards Jasper National Park.
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Jasper - I will admit I LOVE Jasper, however in winter this region seems the LEAST maintained and my vehicle was not equipped to go into that direction. If you do find roads to be clear this direction, I highly recommend both Sunwapta Falls and Athabasca Falls.
Peyto Lake
An unforgettable overlook, but note this parking lot is very very small in winter (they don't clear it all of snow). But it isn't a terribly long hike (less than a mile).
Deep Snow
It is super fun seeing rooftops with 3-4 feet of snow!
Saskatchewan River Crossing #1
This bridge had amazing mountain views in ALL directions.
Saskatchewan River Crossing #2
View from same bridge looking a different way.
Abraham Lake / Nordegg
Finally, my MAIN destination. For my itinerary, I spent the other four days here. That was a lot for just Abraham Lake- But it WAS my main goal. I actually had very little downtime and found it a good relaxing amount of time.
You can work your way to the Town of Nordegg. As you get closer to Abraham Lake, you pass through Kootenay Plains, which I found to be very beautiful with different mountains to photograph.
Nordegg is a very (very) small town rests outside of Abraham Lake and has several hotels - and a stunning little hostel as well. I had a number of great long conversations with the owners and other travelers (many of which were photographers). Now you are just a 20-30 minute drive from Abraham Lake each and every day.
Not only are the methane bubbles of Abraham Lake their own wonder, but the general ice formations and rocks around the lake are stunning in their own right. Daytime, sunrise, sunset, see it all!
While you are in the area, you can’t miss out on the Crescent Falls Recreation Area. The main hike here leads to a stunning view of two frozen waterfalls. For those even more ambitious, you can hike along a frozen riverbed to the secret Ice Fall known as Isaac’s Wet Dream.
For two nights, the Northern Lights revealed themselves to me in their full glory. On the 1st night, being a solo traveler, I was not planning to walk ON the frozen lake… at night … alone. I opted for a coastline spot I had scouted. However, I made some connections with two other photographers at my hostel and on the 2nd night we all went out on the frozen lake together for the lights. This is when we saw them approach from the horizon, before sweeping overhead at such an intensity it is hard to describe. Out of nowhere the lights were 3 times as bright, with full curtains and waves of all colors. They shifted all around us and it was hard to keep up taking photos, as every directly was changing! Then, just like that, they passed overhead and kept moving along. It truly was a moment that took my breath away.
Before I go into more practical safety tips about getting onto Abraham Lake safely (including where to go and NOT go), here are my favorite photos from Abraham Lake and the nearby sights.
Broken Ice
A great example of other amazing sights on the lake, beyond frozen bubbles. This is from the 'coast' where the water level has dropped and the ice now has fallen to the ground.
Ice Bubbles!
It is a lot of fun wandering the lake looking for the perfect patch of bubbles. I highly recommend sunrise and sunset.
Piece of Ice
You can get creative, finding these pockets of snow, and in this case I placed the ice block on it.
Coastline Collapse
A perfect visual of how high the water level was in early winter, now collapsed as the water level dropped.
Ice Fishing
What appears to be an ice fishing hole OR someone testing the ice thickness. Either way, I'm happy they did!
More Ice Bubbles
After sunset on one night, we got some beautiful colors in the sky.
Northern Lights
This composite was my favorite shot from the whole trip, capturing the ice bubbles and stunning light show on January 19th, 2026.
Curtains of Light
The waves and curtains shift very quickly and when they are strong enough, are very visible with the naked eye (admittingly the colors are much less intense).
Spotlight over Mt Michener
Mt Michener is the mountain across from the lake and is often the backdrop. I was very happy to capture the pink northern lights creating this spotlight from its peak.
Aerial View of Lake
I opted to pack in my 249g DJI Mini 2, which impressed me in its ability to handle the wind and cold.
Top Down of Coastline
It was super fun seeing this angle of the lake and the ice broken on the coast.
Path to Island
There are a couple of little islands offshore, which result in all sorts of cracks and light white patches of ice.
Hiking on Lake
A fun perspective showing the scale of the lake with someone walking across it (not me - note I do NOT recommend walking on that hazy part of ice).
Crescent Falls
Beautiful multi-tier frozen falls. There have been deaths here in the past before a proper walkway was built. To be clear, do NOT WALK off of the walkway. It is a very hazardous area outside of the walkway.
Isaacs Ice Fall
Walking up this little creek/river was a fun challenge! But it was worth it, and I had the whole place to myself.
Kootenay Plains - Highway #1
The region between Abraham Lake and Saskatchewan River Crossing was filling with great mountain views - captured on my drive back to Calgary on my last day at sunrise.
Kootenay Plains - Highway #2
Another great road / mountain view - and look how clear this section of road is (lucky me!).
As promised, I’ll leave you with some safety tips I learned from locals for exploring the ice lake safely.
Safety Tips Walking on Abraham Lake
First of all, you need to do your own research and follow all obvious precautions. I can only share what I learned so you might also learn from this. There are obvious risks walking on a frozen lake. However, Abraham Lake has good spots and BAD spots to walk on. The official Abraham Lake Ice Bubbles Viewpoint and nearby Abraham Slabs on Google Maps are good spots. You don’t want to walk on the ice where river inlets occur.
So, use those two spots and stay in that region. You will be walking on ice that is hopefully 6+ inches thick. Since the ice stays mostly CLEAR, you can physically and easily see the ice thickness with your eyes. It is recommended that you stay on the clear ice. Foggy or covered ice may be unstable. If you are nervous, you can also just stay close to the coastline where the water is only a few feet deep below the ice. Just know the edges of the lake ARE the most fragile.
This is actually because Abraham Lake is a manmade lake. The water level does fluctuate - just not like social media describes (with some claiming it can drop 40ft in 1 day and you are then on a dangerous ice sheet over nothing). This is NOT TRUE. I have talked with locals there in depth. What actually happens is that through winter, the water level slowly lowers as the water is used (no up/down levels, just a slow decrease). As a result, the edges are what end up ‘floating’ above nothing and then break off. So you are unlikely to be on any ice with empty air below (at least not more than 1-2ft). Again - do NOT just walk on ‘any part of the lake’ based on that information. Beyond using common sense and checking ice thickness, only certain areas are considered safe (such as the two Google Maps links I provided above).
That being said, getting onto the lake itself is the hardest part, since those edges are a good 30 to 40 degree angle of pure ice. Good proper ice cleats are essential! There are stories of some people sliding down and then having trouble getting back out! There are no ‘easy’ routes back out, so if your shoes can’t go back up that ice slope - you could be in trouble!
Last - WIND can be a BIG obstacle. I got lucky with both warmer weather (mostly in the 20’s to 30’s) AND very little wind. But it can get so windy it will literally blow you ACROSS the ice. This is why the ice stays so clear of snow, pros and cons :)
When should you visit - Summer or Winter?
So at the end of the day, I absolutely have fallen in love with this region. If you haven’t been to the Canadian Rockiest before, I highly recommend a summer adventure first. But after that, I would NOT miss out on winter. If these photos haven’t sold you on that - I don’t know what else to say.
Comment below which region was your favorite in winter!
