The Natural Bridge, Yoho National Park

After a few quiet winters spent close to home, we finally planned a weekend getaway to the mountains. Pat was excited to spend the time snowboarding, but I am not much of a skier yet, so I messaged my friend Megan and asked if she wanted to go hiking and exploring. We all piled in the vehicle and drove up to Lake Louise, dropping Pat and his brother off at the mountain for the day while Megan and I planned to cram in as many ‘mini adventures’ as we could before the skiers were done for the day. Our first thing on the list was the Natural Bridge.

The Natural Bridge is a spectacular stop near Field, BC and on the road to Emerald Lake that is just as breathtaking in the winter as the summer months. This natural rock formation is a popular stop and I highly recommend getting there early in the morning before the parking lot fills up.

I have visited this spot quite a few times, but usually only in warmer months. The bright blue water that rushes and swirls all summer freezes in to a peaceful ice cave when the temperatures drop.

As there is still water moving under the ice, we took a few tentative steps out to make sure that it would be thick enough for us to walk on before getting a better look.

It was incredible to be able to walk under the rock formations that only months before would have been impossible to get to, and see the way that rushing water can sculpt and change rock.

We snapped a few photos and then stepped back to enjoy the view while the dogs enjoyed rolling in all of the fresh snow. While we have had a fair amount of snow back at home this year too, it is no match for the delicious and fluffy mountain snow.

A lot of snow in Saskatchewan is of course, no comparison to a lot of snow in the mountains. It was most evident when walking across the man-made bridge and realizing that the railing only reached our knees.

By the time we made our way back to the vehicle a few other people were starting to arrive in the parking lot, we were lucky to have the space all to ourselves first thing in the morning but it was time to move on to our next mini adventure.

Happy Exploring!