Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta

Lake Louise is a famous area of Banff National Park.  The setting of the alpine lake is stunning, although the large hotel and crowded parking lots prevent it from being a tranquil place. There is also a small hamlet of Lake Louise that provides some basic services.  Cristin and I stayed here 2 nights, several days apart. We camped at the Lake Louise Campground  early in the week as a 1-day base camp to check out Yoho National Park to the west of Lake Loise in British Columbia (see blog entry on Yoho NP). We did not explore the Lake Louie area until we returned later in the week.

An electric fence surrounds the campground's perimeter to keep out the bears.

A good day starts off with a perfectly done piece of
camping toast ready for peanut butter.

We spent our last full day in the area day hiking  the marvelous trails around Lake Loiuse on a perfect day - sunny, 70's, calm.  We stayed the previous evening at the impressive Lake Louise Hostel.  We liked this hostel, more so than the one in Banff.  The Lake Louise area is popular and crowded this time of year but that's small price to pay to experience the spectacular trails and scenery 

We hiked about 2 miles from Lake Louise to Lake Agnes (above)
and the famous Tea House.

The Tea House.  Supplies are packed in by foot and one annual load is dropped by helicopter.
The staff live in the dorm upstairs.

The good life: tea and biscuits right on the trail!

Lake Agnes directly opposite the Tea House, which is visible in this picture.

A very steep trail winds it way up from Lake Agnes to the Bee Hive.
In this picture you are looking at 4-5 sections of  switchbacks
which are placed closely because of the steep slope. 

The reward for enduring this STEEP trail is this view of Lake Agnes!

This Spruce Grouse was posing for pictures.

There are many intersecting and overlapping trails in the Lake Louise area
so there are many options to get to any given location.

The mountainous area that drains to Lake Louise.

Lake Louise where the melt water enters the lake.

Note the red canoe. Paddling is a popular activity on Lake Louise

Moraine Lake is smaller version of Lake Louise, located about a 10 mile drive from Lake Louise. It is another fantastic base for recreation.  We didn't hike here but just briefly checked out the lake.

Moraine Lake in the Valley of 10 Peaks, a few of which are visible here. 

The outlet of Moraine Lake is just to the left of the large rock pile.
Many kids were scrambling up it.

Click here to return to the overview blog for our trip to Banff and Jasper http://jacksoutdooradventures.blogspot.com/2012/08/overview-of-banff-and-jasper-trip.html