Bow Lake is the first of the big, quiet beauties on the northern half of the Icefields Parkway, and it comes at you from the right as the road climbs, a long sheet of pale green water backed by the grey rock and white ice of the Crowfoot Glacier. The lake lies at about 1,900 metres and is the source of the Bow River, which runs out of it, east past Lake Louise, Banff and Calgary, and on to the prairies. So the water that sits here, still and cold, will in a few days be in the middle of a city. The thought makes a pause on the shore more interesting.
On the lakeshore sits an old log lodge built in the 1920s by Jimmy Simpson, a guide and outfitter who came to the Rockies from England as a young man and spent his life leading parties through the mountains on horseback. He built the lodge at the water's edge with logs hauled from the surrounding forest, and it still stands, a low timber building with a red roof. A path leads from the car park along the shore, flat and easy, and on a calm morning the reflections of the peaks in the water can be perfect.
The road here is the first real taste of the high parkway. From Lake Louise, thirty-odd kilometres to the south, it climbs steadily along the Bow River valley, with the peaks standing close on both sides, and wide, generous bends that make for easy riding at the legal limit. Beyond the lake, the road climbs to Bow Summit, at over two thousand metres, where the air thins and the trees get stunted. Traffic in July and August is heavy, with coaches and rentals, and passing is limited, so patience is part of the ride. The surface is good, but frost heaves and patches appear in spring.
Wildlife may show itself at any time, including grizzly bears on the roadside slopes in early summer, so keep your distance and never stop in the road. Weather changes quickly, with cold wind and sudden showers, and snow can fall in any month, so carry a warm layer. Early morning gives the best light on the glacier and the best chance of a quiet shore.