Visiting Lake Louise in Banff National Park

Visiting Lake Louise is pretty dang magical. Lake Louise, best known for its glacier blue waters has a lot to offer from accommodations, day hikes, canoeing on the lake and much more!

I visited Lake Louise in the Fall, during shoulder season (although you wouldn’t know that from the amount of people there). Lake Louise, like Moraine Lake, is very popular and a little tricky to visit. If you want to drive and park in the lot, be prepared to get there before sunrise. Even when visiting in shoulder season, I arrived at 5:30am to an almost full parking lot. There are also shuttle services offered to bring you to and from the lake throughout the day. Go to the visitor center for more information on how to book shuttles.

One of the best things to do at Lake Louise is to watch the sunrise over the lake. Check the weather for sunrise times and get there EARLY to stake out a spot. I was truly shocked by the amount of people that were there for sunrise when I arrived.

If you are up for a hike, there are many and they connect with one another so it is possible to hike multiple in one day - brings snacks and water and take breaks when you need to!

I hiked a lot of trails at Lake Louise:

• Little beehive

• Agnes Lake

• High Line Trail

• Plain of Six Glaciers

I recommend them all! Check the length and skill level to make sure you are up for the trek and I do not recommend doing all these in one day like I did. I was just short on time and didn’t want to miss anything.