This autumn, Laura and I have been exploring the Canadian Rockies from Calgary as much as we can. Autumn in the Rockies can bring an unpredictable mix of slippery snow, or beautiful sunny days – a time of year often referred to as the “shoulder season” between summer and winter.

At the beginning of October we made a canoeing and hiking trip to the Upper Kananaskis Lake with friends.

The next weekend we experienced a dramatic change in weather as we headed back to the Kingston, Ontario area for Canadian Thanksgiving at the cottage.

Later in October we had a visit from our friend Jo. We began by exploring the town of Banff and some local trails, and popped into the famous Banff Springs hotel for a cup of tea. To finish up the day, the girls went for a hike around Lake Minnewanka, while I got some early season skiing in Canmore before returning to meet the girls back at the lake.

On Sunday, we drove a bit west of Banff and headed up towards Lac Bourgeau, which to our slight disappointment was already frozen over and snow covered.

For the last weekend of October we stayed a bit closer to home and explored the Kananaskis area around Barrier Lake and Yamnuska.

In early November we headed to Lake Louise for a hike up to the Plain of Six Glaciers teahouse (unfortunately closed) and the lookout (unfortunately largely cloud obscured) a bit past there.