In shortThe core things to do in Lake Louise are the flat lakeshore path, summer canoeing from the Chateau boathouse, the Lake Agnes and Plain of Six Glaciers teahouse hikes, and the sightseeing gondola to 2,101 m. Add Moraine Lake to the list only if your dates fall between early June and mid-October, and only by shuttle or licensed operator. In winter the frozen lake becomes a rink, lit after dark, with Ice Magic on February 3-7, 2027.
1,731 mLakeshore elevation
2.5-3 hLake Agnes round trip
2,101 mSummer gondola top station
Feb 3-7, 2027Ice Magic at the Chateau
Things to do in Lake Louise, and how long each one takes
The lake is about 2.4 km long and sits at 1,731 m, and the flat path along its northern shore is the one activity that asks nothing of you. Every view down onto the turquoise involves climbing, whether that is the teahouse trails behind the Chateau, the Big Beehive above them, or the gondola on the far side of the valley.
Pick one anchor for the day and let the rest fill in around it. A teahouse hike plus a slow lakeshore walk is a full summer day. The gondola, Moraine Lake or a run out to Emerald Lake each wants its own half day, which is why so many visitors try to combine two of them and end up rushing both.
| Activity | Time to allow | When it runs |
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| Lakeshore path in front of the Chateau | Short and flat, as long as you want | Year-round; lakeshore open all year |
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| Canoeing from the boathouse | Rentals by the half hour or the hour | June through October, docks usually from mid-June |
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| Lake Agnes Tea House | 2.5 to 3 hours round trip, 3.9 km one way, 495 m gain | Teahouse mid-June to early October, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
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| Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House | About 4 hours round trip, 5.9 km one way, 595 m gain | Summer season, teahouse 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
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| Both teahouses in one loop from the Chateau | About 14.5 km on foot | June through October only |
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| Sightseeing gondola to 2,101 m | Half a day with the drive across the valley | 2026 summer season ran June 5 to October 11; scheduled to return spring 2027 |
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| Moraine Lake | Half a day, shuttle or licensed operator only | Early June to mid-October |
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| Skating on the frozen lake | An hour or an evening | After the lake freezes solid, usually around mid-December |
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| Ice Magic at Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | An afternoon or evening | February 3-7, 2027, inside SnowDays |
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The lakeshore path and the Chateau
Walk the shore path first, before you decide anything else. It runs level along the water with Mount Victoria and its hanging glacier at the far end, and it gives you the only honest look at conditions: whether the ice is still on, whether the colour has come up, whether the upper trails are white. Parks Canada credits that colour to rock flour, the fine sediment glacial meltwater carries in, which refracts the light; the load arrives in spring and early summer and the shade shifts through the day.
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, not Parks Canada, runs the canoes in summer and the natural rink in winter, so the hotel frontage is where most of the activity is organised. The hotel has been in that business since 1890, when CPR general manager Cornelius Van Horne drew up a base for outdoor travellers; what opened as Chalet Lake Louise had two bedrooms. The lake got its English name in 1884, for Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, two years after a Stoney guide led CPR worker Tom Wilson to a place whose Stoney name means lake of the little fishes.
Activity planning starts in the village, where the Lake Louise Visitor Centre beside Samson Mall keeps 9 am to 5 pm hours most of the year, stretches to 6 pm from June 6 to August 26 and shuts on December 25. Stop there for the trail report before any hike above the lake. There is a dedicated page on this site for the lake itself and the Chateau if you want the background in more detail.
Four days from Vancouver
If your trip starts in Vancouver with no Alberta flight, this 4-day tour is the way the lakeshore, seasonal Moraine Lake access and a night in downtown Banff fit into one itinerary instead of three separate transfers.
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Lake Louise activities in summer: canoeing, teahouse hikes and the gondola
Paddling is a June through October activity: the boathouse shuts from November to May, and the docks usually go in around mid-June. A boat holds three adults, or two adults aged 16 and over with two small children under 25 kg between them. Half-hour and full-hour slots are both sold at the boathouse, and the half hour is enough to get clear of the hotel and turn around.
The teahouse hikes are the reason to give Lake Louise a whole day rather than a photo stop. Lake Agnes is listed by Parks Canada at 3.9 km one way with 495 m of gain, moderate, 2.5 to 3 hours return, finishing at a teahouse at 2,135 m above a lake 70 m deep; the building you sit in dates to 1981, the original opened in 1904. The Plain of Six Glaciers runs 5.9 km one way with 595 m of gain and 250 m of loss, around 4 hours return, past views of the Victoria Glacier and Mounts Victoria and Lefroy to a teahouse the Canadian Pacific Railway built in the mid-1920s. Both take cash only, no cards and no digital payments, which catches people out at 2,100 m.
Carry layers whatever the valley forecast says. Snow can fall on these alpine trails even in July, and Parks Canada rates the Plain of Six Glaciers area for spring avalanche conditions in May and June. The trails are listed with a June to October season for a reason.
The summer sightseeing gondola is a separate outing on the opposite side of the valley, carrying riders to 2,101 m. Through 2026 it turned daily from June 5 to October 11, 9:00 am to 4:30 pm, and spring 2027 is the operator's scheduled restart, so treat a ride as something to check availability for rather than plan on. The Wildlife Interpretive Centre sits in Whitehorn Lodge a short walk from the top station and is included with a summer gondola ticket. Grizzly and black bears, lynx, moose, mountain goats, elk and deer are the species promoted for viewing from the cabins and open chairs, with bear viewing running early April through November and the heaviest feeding from September to November.
- Big Beehive as a side trip from Lake Agnes: 1.5 km with 150 m of gain and 115 m of loss, or 5.4 km one way and 731 m of gain as a full hike rated difficult, 4.5 to 5 hours return
- Stay at least 30 m from deer, elk, sheep and moose and 100 m from bears, wolves, cougars and coyotes; feeding or disturbing wildlife is illegal and carries fines of up to CAD 25,000
- Where Parks Canada applies Group Access for bear safety, hike in a tight group of four or more; the Moraine Lake area trails are among those with routine seasonal restrictions
- Larch season is the narrowest window on this list: the turn begins mid to late September, and the colour tops out from the last week of September into the first week of October
Skating, skiing and Ice Magic once the lake freezes
The Chateau reports the lake usually freezing solid around mid-December, once temperatures stay below zero. From then the natural rink on the ice is the main thing to do at Lake Louise, and Banff & Lake Louise Tourism flags evening skating in particular, with the rink lit after dark. Dress for it: January averages lows of -15 C in the area, with -30 C the coldest reading on record.
Skiing takes over the valley from early November. Lake Louise Ski Resort has November 6 as its tentative opening for the 2026-27 season, with passes valid to May 2, 2027, and in winter the lifts keep 9:30 am to 4:30 pm hours while the sightseeing gondola runs 10:30 am to 4:00 pm, conditions permitting. The mountain stats are a summit at 2,637 m, 991 m of vertical, 1,700 hectares, 170 named runs, 13 lifts and an 8 km longest run. Cross-country trails operate November 1 to April 30, with dogs banned on certain tracks.
Write off the teahouse hikes between November and mid-May. Avalanche risk is why Parks Canada calls them unsafe in that window, and it adds that a winter route being signposted does not make it safe to walk. Build winter days around the lakeshore path, the rink and the ski resort instead.
Ice Magic is staged at Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise on February 3-7, 2027, inside the wider SnowDays festival of January 21 to February 7, 2027. It is ticketed for 2027, and every ticket holder has to use the provided shuttle because there is no parking at the event site; extreme weather can modify or cancel it. The ice castle built on the lake needs the ice 16 to 18 inches thick. The separate Art of Ice carving competition runs in Banff on February 5-7, 2027, with no tickets required.
Moraine Lake and the nearby stops worth adding
No activity at Moraine Lake begins with your own car, because the road in is shut to personal vehicles in every month of the year. The permitted traffic is Parks Canada shuttles, licensed commercial operators, holders of an accessible placard and guests of Moraine Lake Lodge, and a coach without a Parks Canada Licence of Occupation cannot use the road either. The lake itself is accessible only from early June to mid-October, which is the single biggest constraint on any Lake Louise itinerary. Plan the time there as a backcountry outing: pit toilets are the only facility, with no cell service, no Wi-Fi, no running water and no lighting on the road.
Beyond the two lakes, the attractions people add on are all a drive away. Emerald Lake in Yoho is 39 km from Lake Louise with a 5.2 km lakeshore loop of about 2 hours return and a road open year-round, and its canoe rental is first-come, first-served with personal watercraft prohibited. Johnston Canyon sits 34 km away on the Bow Valley Parkway, where since October 13, 2026 the trail has been closed to the Lower and Upper Falls viewpoints for rock slope remediation, with the Upper Falls and Ink Pots still reachable via the Moose Meadows Trail. Peyto Lake lies 46 km north, its lookout about a 10-minute walk on paved path from the car park.
This is where the tours on this site earn their place: a guided day links the lakeshore, Moraine Lake and one or two of those outlying stops in a single booking, with Moraine Lake access handled for you inside its season. Park admission is required for all of it, however you arrive, and each stop has its own page on this site with the trail figures and seasons.
- Moraine Lake: accessible early June to mid-October by shuttle or licensed operator, with no services at the lake
- Emerald Lake: 39 km from Lake Louise, 5.2 km lakeshore loop, about 2 hours, listed accessible every month
- Johnston Canyon: 34 km from Lake Louise, Lower Falls 1.2 km one way and about 1 hour return, guided ice walks November to April
- Peyto Lake: 46 km north, short paved lookout path, blue from rock flour ground off by the Peyto Glacier
Questions people ask
Is Lake Louise worth visiting in winter?
Yes, but come for different things. The community and the lakeshore are open all year, and once the lake freezes solid, usually around mid-December, the natural rink on the ice becomes the main activity, lit for evening skating. The teahouse trails are avalanche terrain from November through mid-May, and Moraine Lake cannot be reached at all outside its early June to mid-October window.
Do the teahouses take cards?
No. Both the Lake Agnes Tea House and the Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House are cash only and accept no cards or digital payments. Bring Canadian cash before you start walking, because there is nothing to withdraw from above the lake. Lake Agnes opens 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in its mid-June to early October season and the Plain of Six Glaciers 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in summer.
Which weeks are best for the golden larches at Lake Louise?
Aim for the last week of September or the first week of October, when the colour is at its height; the trees begin changing mid to late September. That overlaps with the end of the season for Moraine Lake and the teahouses, both of which close after mid-October, so the gold window is short and busy. September averages about 15 C by day and 0 C overnight, October 8 C and -5 C.
Do I need a park pass to do these activities?
Yes. Lake Louise is inside Banff National Park and admission is required however you arrive, whether you drive, take public transit or ride a reserved shuttle. A daily pass or the annual Parks Canada Discovery Pass both cover it, and the daily pass stays valid until 4:00 pm the day after purchase. Emerald Lake sits in Yoho National Park, which the Discovery Pass also covers.
How many people fit in a canoe on Lake Louise?
Three adults fit in one boat, or two adults aged 16 and over plus two small children under 25 kg. Rental is handled by Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise at the boathouse rather than by Parks Canada, in half-hour and hour slots. The season runs June through October, closed November to May, with the docks typically opening in mid-June.
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