Lake Louise & Moraine

After we left Banff, we headed straight to Lake Louise. Our plan was to hit the lake first thing in the morning (if you arrive later, good luck parking) and then spend the night before exploring the Icefields Parkway on the way to Jasper. After some investigating, we decided the most fun thing to do would be to take a horseback riding tour (my aunt and I are both equestrians) to Lake Agnes Tea House.

We booked a tour with Brewster Adventures, which is conveniently located near the main parking area for Lake Louise. The horses were awesome and the guide was fantastic. We road through the larch trees at their optimum time of year, when the needles are turning a vibrant yellow (we had no idea this was a thing). Apparently this phenomenon is quite the attraction, and people travel around the world to see the larch trees at this time of year.

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We had a (very quick) cup of tea in the Lake Agnes Tea House and were rushed back to enjoy the scenery at Lake Louise. Here we popped into another beautiful Fairmont, Chateau Lake Louise and proceeded to the Fairview Bar and Restaurant for lunch with a stunning view.

After taking in the scenery here, we went to Moraine Lake. Visiting this lake required us to park in an overflow lot and bus-in, but it was lovely and well worth the effort. We embarked on a short hike around the lake (we couldn’t go far without a larger group do to bear activity), had a lovely coffee at the lodge and headed to our accommodations for the night.

Because the Fairmont is the ONLY hotel near the lake, we stayed at the Lake Louise Inn down the road in the town of Lake Louise. This was a very comfortable hotel with clean rooms and nice indoor pool and (multiple) hot tubs. We enjoyed a pleasant night here before embarking on our drive up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper.