Lovely Day at Lake Louise and Moraine Lake
Lake Louise and Moraine Lake are popular tourist destinations in the Canadian Rockies, especially in the summer months. The lakes are famous for their turquoise water that is due to fine rock dust carried by melted water from overlooking glaciers. It is also one of UNESCO World Heritage sites. To see more of our favorite places in the Canadian Rockies, check out our Ultimate Canadian Rockies Summer Adventure.
Family-Friendly Summer Activities
There are so many things to see and do around Lake Louise in the summer. Here are our favorites.
This place can be filled with crowd as early as 9 am, when the tour buses start coming in. We arrived around 6:00 am and enjoyed the tranquil lake and the water’s morning reflection of the surrounding peaks.
We took the trail leading up to the beautiful Lake Agnes. The hike was relatively easy, even for the kids, and we were able to make stops along the way to get a bird view of Lake Louis. Read more about our hike to Lake Agnes in this post.
The hike to Lake Agnes was rewarded with delicious snacks and tea at the historic Lake Agnes Teahouse. We arrived just before noon, and only had to wait a short time to get a table. However, by the time we were done eating, the line was longer.
Before we reached Lake Agnes, the trail took us to the charming Mirror Lake, with a view of the Beehive. You can also continue to hike to the Big Beehive after reaching Lake Agnes, but the kids were tired so we decided to hike back down.
After we came back down from the hike, we enjoyed a pleasant canoe ride in Lake Louise while soaking in the magnificent mountain views.
You can make a reservation for afternoon tea in the iconic hotel with the beautiful architecture.
We took the short and easy Rockpile Trail to the panoramic viewpoint of Moraine Lake. The brilliant blue water of the glacially-fed Moraine Lake is absolutely stunning, almost artificial-looking!
The best time to visit Moraine Lake is in the early morning because parking is limited and the road is closed when there’s no parking available, which can be by as early as 5 am. We did not plan to visit Moraine Lake on the same day, but we lucked out. On the way back from Lake Louis, we passed the road to Moraine Lake and it seemed that a car just left the parking lot to open up a space. Our car happened to be first in line, and a traffic control worker gave us a sign to enter, so we did.
Before heading back to our hotel, we decided to take the Sightseeing Summer Gondola ride. We took a chairlift to the summit with amazing mountain views, and grabbed a tasty bite at the Whitehorn Bistro mountaintop restaurant. During the ride, keep an eye out for grizzly bear sighting!
You may also like:
I'm a happily-married mom of two. Our family enjoys an active lifestyle and spending quality time together. We love creating memories through travel, learning about different cultures around the world.