If you buy a souvenir magnet from Banff National Park, there’s a 70 percent chance it’ll feature an image from the Vermilion Lakes. (Yes, that’s a made-up statistic—but you get the point: This spot is beautiful!) Located just under 2.5 kilometers (about 1.5 miles) from the town of Banff, the lakes are accessed via a roadway that is lined with gorgeous views and docks that jut into the lush wetlands. Behold the tranquil reflection of Mount Rundle on the surface of these bodies of water, then stick around until dusk to watch the sky change colors. If it’s wintertime, stay even later and you may catch the aurora borealis during the darkest hours of the night.
