Where? Yes, Valemount. I had never heard of it either but it was our stop-over for the night after driving all the way from Vancouver to the Rocky Mountains in Canada. We were heading for Jasper and needed a pit stop somewhere so Valemount was it, making it a 7 hour drive. A lot of people stop at Kamloops but its only 3 hours out of Vancouver and we wanted to smash out the travel so that the next day we only had to spend 2 hours driving to Jasper. So what did we get up to in Valemount? You will be very surprised!
Valemount is basically the start of the Rocky Mountains. Its not a big place. Just a couple of hotels either side of the highway but it is quite pretty with the snowcapped mountains surrounding it and you get a real alpine feel! We ended up arriving at about 5:30pm in the afternoon, checked into our hotel and went off exploring for a location for sunset and sunrise. Unfortunately we didn’t have a lot of time before the sun started to drop so we ended up on the side of the road again photographing sunset. Luckily we had some beautiful mountains to focus on!
Valemount is surrounded by the Rocky, Monashee and Cariboo mountain ranges and is a short drive to Mount Robson Provincial Park. The highway location and close proximity to the park makes it easy travel and access to incredible outdoor activities. These include hiking, camping, fishing, whitewater rafting, snowmobiling, and cross-country skiing.
After sunset was over we went looking for a spot for sunrise. We came across Lake Kinbasket and I have to say in the Autumn this is one of the prettiest lakes I have ever seen. Driving down a dirt road with the lake to the right of you with golden coloured trees, aqua blue water and snowcapped mountains. Its seems like this place is a real hidden gem with not another soul in site.
Next morning, I begrudgingly got myself out of bed. I really wanted to keep sleeping but Andrew made me get up. So I threw on 15 thousands layers of clothes and my new fluff lined snow boots which was probably a bit of overkill for October but I really loathe the cold. It was an hour before sunrise when we walked outside to the car and the sky was already starting to turn pink. Thats a good sign. That usually means it going to be a cracker.
As we were driving down the dirt road towards Lake Kinbasket the sky was getting pinker and pinker and I was starting to get nervous that we were going to miss it. All thoughts of being attacked by a bear in this remote location had dashed my mind as soon as I saw the lenticular cloud handing over a mountain. I yelled at Andrew (grandpa driver) “Let me out!” and i grabbed my camera bag, tripod and I sprinted towards the edge of the lake.
You can see how dark it is still in the photo above with just the lenticular cloud lit up pink. It was crazy and as the sun began to rise, the whole sky turned fluorescent pink. It was insane and I was running all over the place like a crazy banchee because I didn’t know which way to shoot. I wanted to capture every inch of this amazing spectacle.
After the craziness of this sunrise had all but subsided I continued to shoot for another 30 minutes because it was just such a breathtakingly beautiful place. The yellow autumn trees against an aqua blue lake with a snowcapped mountain covered in pine trees was everything I dreamed Canada would be. I just couldn’t get enough of it.
All I can’t say is “Hallelujah” that I actually made the effort to get out of bed and witness this. It will forever be etched on my memory now and Im so grateful that we stopped for the night in this tiny little town otherwise I would never have discovered this amazing lake. Im sure the locals aren’t happy that I am writing about this place. If I lived here I would want to keep it a secret too! I never would have thought driving down this dirt road that this beauty would unfold before me and I am so thankful that I have a curious nature and have to explore everything!
The next part of the journey was to Jasper. WOW! The beauty just continued from here. Stay tuned for the next chapter.
I hope you enjoyed my little post about Valemount and have inspired you to go exploring next time you’re out and about. Have you been to or heard of Valemount before? I would love to know so leave a comment below! ๐
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Loving your roadtrip stories and pics Larissa! Just stunning ๐
Thanks so much Lisa! So glad you are enjoying them! ๐
Wow – Valemount looks great. I would have never thought of going there until I read your blog!
hahaha, I had never heard of it either Ella. Its great little find. Lots of beautiful scenery that you wouldn’t expect! ๐
Your holiday looks great – can’t wait to read about Jasper!
Thanks Andrew. It was a pretty special holiday. So nice to relive it all over again through my blog. ๐