As we near the peak of wildflower photography season in Banff and Jasper, I thought I’d share a few of my favourite spots with you. I’m going to start off with Molar Meadows in the Banff backcountry, which provides some of the best wildflower photography in the entire Canadian Rockies. You can expect some solitude in Molar Meadows as well, as it’s a good 9 kilometers in before you really start to get to the best flower photo locations.
The trailhead begins at Mosquito Creek on the Icefields Parkway and splits after approximately 8 kilometers towards Molar Pass and North Molar Pass. Either route takes you into Molar Meadows at different entry points and there are close to 10 square kilometers worth of beautiful alpine meadows full of gorgeous photo-worthy wildflowers. Check out the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide for more information on the trail. To best photograph the meadows at dawn or dusk, plan to camp at the MO5 campground at kilometer 5 of the Mosquito Creek trail and then use a headlamp to get up into the meadows in the pre-dawn light.
Be aware that this area is home to a lot of wild grizzly bears, so please be careful.
Happy shooting!
John
