Moraine Lake in Banff National Park, Alberta Canada is probably the most photographed lake within the national park. With very limited parking, we arrived at 4:30 am and the parking lot was almost full. Climbing to the top of the rock pile north of the parking area gave us an amazing view of the brilliant blue water of this glacier feed lake. The unique color is due to the refraction of light off the rock flour (fine particles of rock) deposited in the lake by the surrounding glaciers.

A few images before sunrise and a little waiting before the sun begins to light the Valley of the Ten Peaks was time well spent. In Canada this is known as the twenty dollar view as the ten peaks and Moraine Lake appeared on the back of the Canadian $20 bill in the late 60’s through the 70’s. Be sure to walk the trail in front of the lodge and down to the docks. The bright red canoes make a striking contrast to the turquoise water and lake level view of the surrounding mountains. Watching the sunrise reflect off the mountains was like sitting and watching a painting being created before you. Although it’s an iconic image this location never gets old and should be on the bucket list of almost all landscape photographers traveling through the Canadian Rockies.