Where Is Peyto Lake And How Do You Get There?
Peyto lake is a spectacular glacier fed lake at Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies Of Alberta, Canada. Peyto Lake is relatively easy to get to once you make it to Banff or Lake Louise. From the town of Lake Louise, Peyto Lake is about 45km up the IceFields Parkway toward Jasper National Park. There is a small parking lot near the main overlook. The hike from the main parking lot is a fairly steep well worn trail up to a wooden overlook platform. The view from the overlook is absolutely stunning. Along with Moraine Lake and Lake Louise, it is one of the most famous and spectacular views in Banff National Park.
What Makes Peyto Lake A Spectacular Photo Opportunity?
While the views are spectacular anytime, the mountain glows and reflects in the lake at sunrise. If you can catch Peyto Lake in the late fall or early winter after an early snowfall and before the lake freezes, you can get incredible Peyto Lake Winter Panoramic Wall Art Quality Photos. Even if you can’t make it to Peyto Lake at sunrise, sunset, after the first snowfall of the season or during a Northern Lights storm, it is an incredible sweeping mountain view with a brilliant blueberry blue lake in the valley below. It is easy to access and it is probably in the top-5 well known photo spots at Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada.
When Should You Go To Peyto Lake For Great Sunrise Photos?
Since the Peyto Lake viewpoint is a bit of a drive from Lake Louise and a bit of a hike from the parking lot, you’ll want to watch the hourly weather forecast for the hour before and after sunrise before you head all the way up there. On an ideal morning you’ll want to see a forecast for calm winds. Certainly under 10mph and ideally as close to zero as possible. It seems to take very little wind to cause enough ripples on Peyto Lake to wipe out the reflections. Ideally you’ll want a day when minimal cloud cover is forecast. If you want a chance at seeing and photographing reflections, go when the lake is not frozen. That would probably put your window between late April and sometime in November.
If conditions seem like they will be less than ideal and you still want to go out for sunrise shots and you are staying in Lake Louise, Lake Louise and Moraine Lake are much closer sunrise photo opportunities with little to no hiking involved. If the sunrise shots at those two don’t pan out, you’ve probably gotten a little more sleep and haven’t driven as far.
What Is The Best Gear For Photographing Peyto Lake at Sunrise?
Like most of the photo spots in the Canadian Rockies in Banff and Jasper, most any camera will do. The sights are incredible and any camera will get a good shot. If you want a nice wall art quality print, you’ll probably want more than a camera phone or a cheap point and shoot camera. Any DSLR or mirrorless camera with a zoom lens that goes up to about 100mm will get a print worthy shot. For Peyto Lake, you’d probably want to be able to go from 24mm or even 18mm for a real wide angle shot to 100mm if you want to zoom in on a portion of the landscape. Like Bow Lake, the landscape at Peyto Lake is pretty wide if you want to get it all in one shot. For that you’ll want to stitch a series of photos together for a panoramic shot or use a camera that will shoot panoramic images and put them together in the camera as an iPhone can.
What Is The Story Behind This Panoramic Wall Art Photo Print?
I’d been to Banff and even Peyto Lake many times before taking this shot. When staying in the Lake Louise area it is MUCH closer and easier to get up for sunrise photos at Moraine Lake or Lake Louise. The drive to those two spots is much shorter and their is really no hike involved. From the Lake Louise Village, the Peyto Lake parking lot is a bit more than 40km and the hike up to the viewing area is about another half mile or so up a fairly steep hill. In the past, I’d opted to go for the shorter drives with no hike so I could get a little more sleep on those summer mornings when the sun comes up at an ungodly hour.
Finally, I decided it was time to try my luck at getting photos of Peyto Lake sunrise. I check the weather forecast the night before and looked for low winds and low cloud cover. Both were forecast right around the sunrise hour.
I drove up and parked. As opposed to the mobs every morning at Moraine Lake, there was nobody else at Peyto Lake for sunrise. It is not that well known as a sunrise photo spot and it takes a much longer drive to get there. I parked, put the photo gear for panoramic shots and single shot photos in the backpack and made a beeline up to the Peyto Lake overlook.
The skies were almost perfectly clear and the winds dead calm. Shortly after sunrise I was able to snap off a few giant panoramic Peyto Lake sunrise photos. It’s a tricky panoramic shot because it takes several minutes to shoot all the frames. In that time the winds down at the lake level can kick up and ruin the reflections. After what seemed like one successful panoramic shot I stuck around and took a bunch more; both panoramic shots and single shots.
Aside from driving all the way from Philadelphia out to Banff, getting lodging, and heading out a the crack of dawn, shooting panoramic photos at Peyto Lake was pretty easy. I lucked out getting a mostly clear and calm day the first time I tried for this shot. It is one of those areas you could go 10 or more times, experience unfavorable winds or cloud cover and come away with nothing.
In What Formats Is This Peyto Lake Panoramic Sunrise Wall Art Print Available?
This particular print is available in sizes up to 108 inches wide. If you prefer a shiny metal print, it tops out at 84 inches wide which is still HUGE. In a low or diffused light area, a shiny metal or acrylic print would look awesome. In brighter areas and areas with natural light a more subdued matte print would be a better choice.
This image is available as a puzzle, shower curtain, phone case and numerous other home decor products. Due to the panoramic nature of the photo, it will end up cropped somewhat on anything other than a print with the natural dimensions of the image.
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