It’s quiet at the bottom of Lake Minnewanka — but that doesn’t mean there's nothing to discover in its depths.
In May 2025, three divers resurfaced with photo evidence of a Lake Minnewanka legend: a car, permanently parked beneath the surface.
“I've always known the possibility of stuff being out there, but Minnewanka is a big lake,” says Alan Keller, one of the divers who made the discovery. “This is the first time I've done a dive where I've been one of the first people to actually see something with my very own eyes.”
As the story goes, the car — believed to be a 1928 Hudson Essex Saloon — was driven onto Minnewanka's frozen surface for a winter photo op. But as the owner set up his camera tripod nearby, the ice beneath the car gave way and “Mighty Minnewanka” swallowed it whole.
Keller first heard rumblings of the car's existence in 2020 when side-scan sonar imaging captured an automobile-shaped object deep in the lake. From there, he says, word spread quickly through the local diving community.
Five years later, with conditions just right, research complete and training dialed, Keller, alongside Brian Nadwidny and John Ryan, dove off a boat and into the lake. It took them just seven minutes to find their target.
The long-lost vehicle sits 55 metres (180 feet) below the surface, with parts — including a hood emblem, spare tire and a Saskatchewan licence plate — largely intact. The trio of divers returned with photographs and video footage of the find, and just like that, a Minnewanka rumour became part of the lake's storied past.
“It's pretty cool to be able to confirm a story,” says Keller. “To add to something that was once just a rumour.”
Keller is no stranger to Lake Minnewanka. The Calgary-based diver has 17 years of experience beneath Banff's largest lake, having completed dives in every season. In fact, it's where he earned his open water scuba certification back in 2008.
In the nearly two decades since, Keller has explored several of the sites that make Minnewanka a unique diving destination, including the remnants of two dams and 1912 bridge pilings within swimming distance of the shoreline.
Further out, Keller has also dove the famous Minnewanka Landing “ghost town.” Once a bustling resort destination, Minnewanka Landing was home to a log hotel, shoreside cottages and several sailing outfitters. But in 1941, the construction of a hydro-electric dam caused irreversible flooding, raising water levels by 30 metres and submerging the entire townsite.
Today, scuba divers are Minnewanka Landing's only visitors. Thanks to the lake's glacial temperatures and protected status, artifacts like an oven, house foundation and hotel ruins remain perfectly in place, and have become sought-after dive targets.
“What I like about Minnewanka is that it's in a national park, so putting stuff down there isn't allowed. Taking stuff out isn't allowed,” says Keller. “It's pretty cool to see the history preserved in cold water.”
As stories are uncovered below the surface, they're being shared above it aboard Lake Minnewanka Cruise tours.
“The history of the Minnewanka area is so rich — far deeper than the beauty you see every day,” says Travis Mann, general manager of the Lake Minnewanka Cruise.
“While we love sharing how unbelievable forces shaped our mountains millions of years ago, we're even more passionate about the stories you can't always see.”
The human history of Minnewanka reaches back nearly as far as any site in North America. Archaeologists have found evidence of early Clovis occupations along the lake's shores and beneath its surface — including spearpoints and other prehistoric artifacts dating back more than 10,000 years.
Pre-colonial stories also endure, such as the Stoney Nakoda Nations' cautionary tales of a monster living in Lake Minnewanka. Fact or fiction, the stories kept children away from the lake — and safe from drowning — for generations.
Today, Lake Minnewanka boat captains take part in annual training sessions with Stoney Nakoda educators, learning treasured stories like these before sharing them with guests from around the world.
“These stories go beyond what the eye can see, and they truly come alive with a local tour guide,” says Mann. “This valley holds layer upon layer of history.”
More stories remains beneath the surface, too. Keller says he's heard rumours of boxcars from nearby mines and other vehicles still waiting to be found in Minnewanka's depths. While discoveries are enticing, he says it's his personal connection to the lake that will keep him coming back.
“It's just going to be the short little dives to see the pilings all the time — saying hi to them, seeing how they're doing,” says Keller. “Or it'll be the trips out to the townsite, wondering if we go off in another direction, is there something else that we can find?”
Explore Minnewanka's magic for yourself above the surface aboard a Lake Minnewanka Cruise. Curious what lies below? You can learn more about scuba diving on the Parks Canada website.
Insider tips, inspiration and deals — delivered straight to your inbox.
