Marble canyon - Kootenay British Columbia

If you're feeling like a mini adventure without much hiking, but still lots to see, Marble Canyon on highway 93 on the way to Radium is for you.

Marble canyon

It's really easy to get to as it's only 30 minutes from banff, and the hike is more of an interpretive trail with viewing points the whole way. There are a few other much longer hikes from the same trail head, but this is perfect for a lazy day in the mountains. The trail isn't very long, and most of it is fenced off as I'm sure people have fallen down the gorge at some point. In the winter the snow is so deep it covers the fences - and ice climbers scale the rock wall of the canyon. There's just something about that 'blue' that all of the rivers and lakes in the Rockies have. It's magnificent.

Once you get to the end of the trail, you can skip over the fence (technically against the rules) - be careful the rocks are slippery. I wouldn't want you to get hurt.

True story

We gave the blue colour of the water a name (working for the local tourist authority). Lake Louise Turquoise Blue, and it even now has its own pantone reference. So you too can paint anything you want exactly that colour blue. It's true - if you ask Pantone, they'll connect you with the right chip.

Funny story

Many people (mostly from the US) think the water colour is fake. We've heard it all from "do you paint the bottom of the lakes and rivers?" to "are the lakes/rivers dyed?" We laugh pretty hard. For april fools day one year we decided to play along.

You can read all about the joke here if you want. http://shortyawards.com/8th/travel-alberta-lake-louise-turquoise-blue

Many many people thought we were serious. Which we thought was hilarious. If you have a minute check out the pictures at the bottom of that link. We even photoshopped a version of someone painting the lake 100 years ago to really go the extra mile on the joke.

I digress. At the top of the trail, there's a great waterfall (tough to get pictures of because of all the mist).

If you're looking for a quick place to visit for some great photos not too far from banff. Marble canyon is the right place for you. Oh...and the water is natural, if you had to ask :)