Larch Valley is one of the biggest draws of the season. Larches are one of the only conifers that lose their needles each year, turning gold for a few weeks in fall before dropping them. That short window is what draws people to the Rockies every September. Hikers make the trip up to Sentinel Pass hoping to catch them at their peak, and for good reason, it's one of the best payoffs in the Rockies. The problem is the shuttle. Reservations sell out within minutes of opening in

If you're thinking about booking a trip to Moraine Lake this fall, don't there's no reason to wait. The Moraine Lake access road is schedueled for closure on October 12, and once that happens, that's it until next June, no exceptions for guides, shuttles, or anyone else. That means there's only 30 days left to get there this year! Moraine Lake and the Valley of the Ten Peaks, this view is off the table after Thanksgiving Wait, How Does a Lake Close? Fair question, and the ho

You know the rut has properly started when the elk stop looking bored. All summer they stand around town cropping grass like oversized deer, and then sometime in late August a switch flips. Suddenly bulls in the valley are bugling in parking lots, sparring with parked cars, and trailing cows across the golf course like the rest of us don't exist. And to be fair, to them, we don't. That's the elk rut in Banff and Canmore right now, and it's going to hold through October. Rut s