Banff National Park - Lake Louise

Banff National Park - Lake Louise 

Lake Louise is located in Banff National Park and is one of the most popular places to visit within the park. After visiting, I believe that it lives up to its hype! There are several hikes that you can do, canoeing on the lake, and there is a gorgeous resort, Fairmont Chateau, that is fun to explore if you aren't already staying there. We couldn't decide which hike to do, so we did as many as we could fit into 1 day! We decided to save canoeing for Lake Moraine, however it is worth the money ($85 an hour) to do it at Lake Louise too. Either way you can't go wrong, both lakes are amazing! Below are tips and the hiking loop we decided to do! We loved every minute! 

Tips: 

• If you want to avoid the crowds you must GO EARLY! We arrived at Lake Louise at 6AM and had the lake to ourselves! It was worth the early morning!
• If you want a place to park you can't go past 9AM. The parking lot will be completely full. 
• Get views of the lake in both the morning and afternoon. The color of the lake changes based on the amount of sunlight and it is worth seeing the amazing color change!
• If you plan on hiking, bring a lot of water! 
• There are 2 teahouses on the hiking loop. They serve both food and drinks. We also brought our own snacks on the hike as well. 
• Bring cash for the teahouses. They don't normally take credit card. We brought Canadian money, so I am not sure if they take American money. 
• Dress in layers. It can be chilly on various parts of the hike!
• Wear the proper shoes. I do not recommend wearing a typical tennis shoe. A sturdy hiking shoe or boot is worth it in the long run! I was definitely glad I wore my hiking shoes and even wished I had hiking boots. 
• You can make the loop as long or as short as you want it. We saw many older people just hike to the first teahouse which is very doable. You can also do the entire thing, which will take you anywhere from 6-10 hours depending on if you stop at the teahouses or not. 
• If you do the entire hike, it is a long strenuous hike! But VERY worth it for the different types of views you get!
• Before you go, visit the visitor center in Banff to get a map! Bring the map with you! This was very helpful for us on the hike!

Lake Louise Loop Hike

 When we arrived at Banff, the first thing we did was go to the visitor center to get a map and some advice on what hikes to do. The individual at the visitor center was VERY helpful and highlighted on the map what he called the Lake Louise Loop. He starred the best places to stop at for views, food, and things to see. He said he had personally hiked the loop and highly recommended it. So we decided to go ahead and do it and we didn't regret a thing! We LOVED the hike and the views were incredible! The entire loop; including stopping for lunch, pictures, stopping at the highest teahouse, breaks, etc., took us about 10 hours. But you could easily make it shorter with less stopping time or you can cut certain parts of the hike out. Below are the different hikes we did in order that made up what we called the Lake Louise Loop. The loop was made up of Mirror Lake, Little Beehive, Lake Agnes, Plain of 6 Glaciers, and the view of Fairmont Chateau. If you want to make the hike even longer, you can also add in Big Beehive. Big Beehive adds about another 45 minutes or so that takes you to a steep uphill trail to some beautiful views of Mirror Lake and Lake Louise. We chose not to do this one simply because we were exhausted!

Below is a rough map of our hike that the individual at the Visitor Center provided us with. We started at the circle and continued on to 1, 2, 3, 4, and back to the start! This map was so helpful!

Mirror Lake

When you first start your hike, look for signs that will take you to Mirror Lake. The hike to Mirror Lake is an easy enjoyable hike that shouldn't take you long. We didn't stay at Mirror Lake for longer than 5 minutes. Instead, we snapped a few pictures and kept going. 

View about 5 minutes into the hike!

Starting our hike!

Mirror Lake

Little Beehive 

After Mirror Lake, we continued on to Little Beehive. The hike to Little Beehive is strenuous and uphill the entire way, but you barely notice it because you are constantly stopping to snap pictures and take in the views. Be sure to stop and take pictures at the turnout where there is a clear unobstructed view of Lake Louise. That is one of the best views of Lake Louise, do not miss it!! Then continue on to the end of the trail for beautiful views of surrounding mountains in all directions. This is also a great spot to stop and rest for lunch or a break to just breathe and take in the views. We enjoyed an early breakfast here with the views all to ourselves! 

On our way to Little Beehive!

Stunning views every step of the way!

Unobstructed view of Lake Louise!

Mountain Views

Lake Agnes

To get to Lake Agnes, you must retrace your steps but then keep to the right to go to Lake Agnes. The signs will guide you! Lake Agnes is a stunningly clear lake with a mountain backdrop. There is an adorable little teahouse called the Lake Agnes Teahouse that you can stop at for some food and of course tea! We chose to keep on going and save our appetite for the Plain of 6 Glaciers Teahouse. If you are not continuing on, then I suggest stopping at the Lake Agnes Teahouse. However, if you are continuing on it might be worth it to wait! Either way you truly can't go wrong! There is nothing quite like tea with a mountain view! One of the best parts about Lake Agnes is that there isn't a bad view in sight! You are completely surrounded with a 360 degree view of gorgeous lakes, mountains, and just unbelievable scenery. If you don't do anything else at Lake Louise, make sure you do this one! This is not one to be missed!

Lake Agnes

Lake Agnes Teahouse

So clear!

Plain of 6 Glaciers 

From Lake Agnes we decided to continue onto the Plain of 6 Glaciers via the Shoreline Trail that goes behind Lake Agnes. This trail takes you right by Big Beehive and if you have it in you, you can do the short uphill hike to the Big Beehive lookout. We chose not to do this and continued right on the trail. This eventually turns into the Highline Trail that takes you to the teahouse. This trail can be steep in some places and strenuous, but the views are worth every second of pain! There are gorgeous views of mountains, wildflowers, and even some wildlife. One of my favorite parts of this hike was what I can only describe as a snow cave in the middle of a field of wildflowers! When you walk inside, you can instantly feel the drop in temperature! It was so neat and I have never before seen anything like it! When the trail comes to an end, it opens up to a meadow where the 2nd teahouse is. There is a nice area with a stream and numerous benches where hikers can relax, soak their feet, and just enjoy the mountain views. We chose to forgo the temptation of sitting down and relaxing and instead pushed on to the Abbot Pass viewpoint. This is an additional 1.3 km and takes about an hour roundtrip from the teahouse.  This additional hike provides views of the hanging glaciers on top of Mount Victoria and a view across the crevasses of the Lower Victoria Glacier. We kept going further along the moraine to get to a small waterfall that was runoff from the glacier. It does get pretty steep and has a lot of loose rocks. At the end of the trail you can hike up the loose rocks and get right next to the glacier runoff. I made it up about halfway before deciding it was much too slippery for me. I felt like I was going to slide all the way down right off the cliff! So I parked myself on a nice sturdy rock while my husband continued on a little ways to put his head under the freezing cold water! There is also a view of the hut on the top of Abbot's Pass that was constructed by the CP Swiss guides in 1922. It still stands in its original form.

After hiking the Abbot Pass, we retraced our steps back to the teahouse where we enjoyed soaking our tired feet and taking in the views. We had a 30 minute wait to eat at the teahouse, but we didn't mind relaxing in sun and resting from the long hike. The teahouse was pricey for very average food, but we were so hungry and tired that we would have paid a fortune for a tick tack! You also pay more for the experience. It isn't everyday you get to have tea in a house surrounded by mountains that took 5 hours to hike to. It is also interesting to talk to the staff at the teahouse. They have to hike to the teahouse as well, and they carry up the supplies (food, water, etc.) that are needed. This information somehow makes the food that much more enjoyable! I highly recommend stopping at the teahouse even if you just get tea!

What a view!

Beautiful Meadows! 

The "Snow Cave" 

Continuing on to Abbot Pass Viewpoint

The trail is still pretty easy at this point

Where things start to get a little dicey 

Stunning views of the glacier

This was my stopping point! The rocks were
very loose and hard to walk on!

Sam continued on to the glacier runoff!

Finally back to the teahouse to relax
and take in the views.

Cooling off our sore feet!

The beautiful teahouse!

Enjoying a well deserved cup of tea!

Lakeshore Trail - The Final Leg of the Hike 

After enjoying our cup of tea, we headed down on our final leg of the journey on the Lakeshore Trail. This was all downhill and fairy easy, but a little rough on the knees. It went through beautiful meadows with many wildflowers. When we reached the very bottom, around 4pm, we stopped for some pictures on the opposite side of Lake Louise from where we had started. This side of the lake provides a stunning view of the Fairmont Chateau. There is also a fair amount of sand, giving it a more tropical feel! The color of the water this time of day is completely different then when we had started our hike. The direction of the sun at this time turned the water into a beautiful light blue, making you feel like you are in the Bahamas and not Canada! After stopping for some remarkable photos, we continued on Lakeshore Trail that takes you along the lake until you reach where you started the hike. We stopped for another 5 minutes to watch some rock climbers, which was really amazing to see! The trail along the lake is absolutely breathtaking, as it provides incredible views of Lake Louise every step of the way! 

Fairmont Chateau

Incredible Rock Climber!

Lake Louise 

Final Thoughts

This hike took us about 10 hours and we LOVED every minute of it! This was one of our favorite hikes in Banff National Park! Lake Louise truly lived up to its hype! We gave this 5 out of 5 stars and we highly recommend it!