Emerald Lake is about 10 km. further off Hwy 1 on the same road as the Natural Bridge... see post June 5, 2014.

We love this spot and have been here several times before.  We love the beautiful clear emerald water... and the red canoes.  We were a little late in the day, so the last of the canoe rentals were returning to the dock as we arrived.

Two large tour buses unloaded just before we arrived.  This is a very popular spot to visit... and everyone is impressed with the solitude and beauty.

It was a trick to get this photo of my sweetheart with so many other people on this bridge.

They have 24 individual cottages and can accommodate up to 200 guests... and the price keeps getting higher over the years.  My sister Rose told me they stayed here when it was $17 a night... and now it's more than 10 times higher.

What a gorgeous fire pit for the guests to use.

Just past the last cottages on this road the trail around the lake begins.  I didn't take a picture of the couple sitting on the deck of their cottage, each with their smart phones in hand. I turned to Shirley and said isn't it wonderful to come to this secluded place and enjoy the natural beauty of your phone.

We were surprised to still see snow along the trail.  My CUC room mate, Roger Moren, told me he worked here at this park for a year and did a lot of the work to build this trail around the lake some 45 years ago.  All the more reason for us to do this hike.

Across the lake we could see the avalanche path.  Apparently every year this area gets an avalanche.

Shirley liked the parts of the trail where they had set out heavy planks so we didn't have to walk in the mud and wet places.

There was a major stream coming into Emerald Lake, hence a major bridge.

Why do we always have to take pictures of pussy willows? Does anything say spring better than a fuzzy pussy willow?

These yellow blossoms had both Shirley and me laying down on the ground to get in tight for some close-ups.

When ever we met people on the trail we asked them where they were from.  We met people from Germany, Belgium, Ireland and Melbourne, Australia.

When we came around the lake we could see the avalanche path up close.  Interesting how good things come from the avalanche.  This creates a new environment where predators can more easily hunt for their dinner... and different plants grow to provide berries for the animals.

Do you remember when there used to be pictures on our paper bills?  Did you know that the mountain on the Canadian $5 dollar bill was this mountain at Emerald Lake? 

 As we came around on our final leg of the hike I captured Shirley again with this amazing emerald blue-green lake behind.  The hike took us about two hours... but anyone not stopping to take photos could likely do it in 90 minutes.

I would rate this hike around Emerald Lake as one of the Ten Best Hikes we have taken this year.
It is not every day one gets to walk in this magnificent beauty with the one you love most.

 "Not every lake dreams to be an ocean. Blessed are the ones who are happy with whom they are." -Mehmet Murat Ildan