What if I told you that rain is a good thing? And you can still have an adventure in the mountains with the rain? 

Jamie & Julian reached out to me wanting to experience the best of the best in the Canadian Rockies. Coming from the east side of Canada, they asked me for any recommendations that I could offer, and wanted to document this stage of life they were experiencing together- their engagment! 

We bounced around ideas, and as I got to know them both more and more, I knew that there was 2 priorities that we needed to hit on this adventure: alpine lakes, and views. Luckily in both Banff & Yoho National Park (they border each other, Banff is in Alberta while Yoho is in BC!) its pretty easy to get both! So, we made a plan.. 

We planned to meet at Emerald Lake Lodge, and we would have some coffee, hang out for a bit before the Emerald Lake Boathouse opens, and then make our way out onto the emerald coloured lake (heh heh … get it…) 

There was juuuusttt one thing:

As you can see in these pictures- it was a pretty gloomy, rainy day. The Rockies experienced a crazy long winter, and sometimes when that happens, we get hit with a very wet spring. With mountain weather already being pretty hard to predict, I told Jamie + Julian that there was a high chance that we’d get rain during our adventure..

Luckily, Jamie + Julian were badasses, and totally didn’t mind if it rained. They knew this was something out of our control, and that even if the rain did affect our plan, we would make the best of it and have an epic engagement adventure regardless (big tip for your sessions: embrace the weather and know that we have no control over it! There’s no point in dwelling on something that we have no control over!) 

I’ve canoed on several of the lakes in Banff, but I gotta say Emerald Lake is one of the best. Not only is it one of the cheaper options compared to Moraine Lake & Lake Louise, but its also less busy during the week, the views are still just as stunning, and there’s even fish in the lake that you can catch! (as long as you have a fishing license!) 

Of course, Jamie + Julian’s dog Kobe got 5 star treatment and just got to enjoy the ride… 

(also yes- dogs are ALWAYS welcome on adventures with me!!! I encourage it!) 

Funny enough, a lot of the couples I end up adventuring with love the idea of canoeing, so this wasn’t my first time! IF you want to see another canoeing adventure engagement session in the rocky mountains, check out one at Moraine Lake here! Or one in Kananaskis Country here!

Watching Jamie + Julian loosen up, and start to actually enjoy the rain really showed me that your adventure will never turn out exactly like you imagine it- but there’s so much beauty in that. So much beauty in not being able to predict everything… 

Canoeing on Emerald Lake was just the beginning of Jamie + Julians adventure session for their engagement. After our morning trip around the lake, we headed back into Banff National Park to share some lunch, and hit a spot that’s been on Jamie + Julian’s bucket list for a long time… can you guess where this is? 

If you guessed Moraine Lake, you’re right! Moraine Lake is a huge spot for engagements, adventures, elopements, you name it. Its become one of the most popular spots for people to visit in Canada, and that’s saying a lot considering how big Canada is! And originally, I said that this spot wouldn’t probably make it on our itenerary for this adventure considering how busy it actually is. 

But after looking at the weather and seeing the rain coming in, and strategizing a good mid-day week for this adventure, I figured we’d give it a shot. Moraine Lake can be a gamble to get into the parking lot, especially on weekends and during good weather. Make sure if you do plan on visiting Moraine Lake, you plan ahead! Make a back-up plan if you don’t get in, and you can look into taking the shuttle into the parking lot (no, you can’t walk the road- its 14km one way!) 

Don’t worry, Kobe was there too to enjoy the view, and watch his parents get soaked in the rain while he was happy in this rain jacket… 

The other beautiful thing about Moraine Lake is that there’s not one epic view, but two! The view opposite of the lake is a stunning mountain valley, and truly is a picturesque view of the rocky mountains in Canada. 

I tell all my couples ‘I might give you a pose, or a prompt to do for the photo, but its the in between moments that I love capturing the most! So don’t be afraid to be silly, laugh, kiss, do whatever you want to make it your own! The little moments help tie the story together!’ These little rainy moments above and below are what they tend to result in…

The view at Moraine Lake never gets old. And its different every time I get to visit and adventure! If you want to see more of my adventures from Moraine Lake, you can see my own personal canoeing adventure on Moraine Lake here, a different adventure session that started at sunrise at Moraine Lake here, and more adventures on the blog here!

If this rainy day rocky mountain adventure inspired you to plan your own, and want to documented in a way that feels true, but also fun and amazing- don’t hesitate to reach out! Even if you need guidance on what to do, where to go, what you need, or just have an idea and don’t know how to run with it. I’m happy to help! Reach out here!