Oh Peyto Lake, how beautiful you are! Yes, the color of the water is real! It’s caused by the glaciers scraping tiny particles of the limestone, thus suspending these particles, known as rock flour, in the water. That is how it gets that unique turquoise color.

You’ll notice something else at Bow Summit. It’s at a higher elevation than Lake Louise to the south, so temperatures are much cooler, and it’s more likely you’ll run into ice & snow, as I did in late September.

It was mostly cloudy at this point in the morning, but a brief break in the clouds revealed a spotlight onto the mountains for the perfect shot!