Moraine Lake Sunrise Tour with Lake Louise and Breakfast

What the Moraine Lake sunrise tour includes

The tour carries a maximum of 12 guests, leaves Banff or Lake Louise in the dark and walks you by head torch to a viewpoint over the Valley of the Ten Peaks for first light. It runs 7 hours, costs from CAD 400 and is rated 4.9 ★ (312 reviews). Moraine Lake and Lake Louise access, hot drinks, water refills for your own bottle, a head torch, a Polaroid souvenir and a croissant with ham, egg and sauteed vegetables are all in the price; dietary alternatives are arranged on request.

Moraine Lake Road is closed to personal vehicles all year. A licensed commercial operator may drive it under a Parks Canada Licence of Occupation, which is how this tour stands at the lake before dawn, and why plans that involve driving up at sunrise do not work.

The start is very early, and the time depends on which pickup point you use and when in the season you travel. Between June 1 and July 15 pickups run from about 3:25 am to 3:55 am; between October 1 and 12 they run from about 5:25 am to 6:55 am. Be ready 10 minutes before your listed time.

Moraine Lake itself is managed as backcountry. There is no cell service, no Wi-Fi, no running water and no road lighting, and the only facilities at the lake are pit toilets, so bring a bottle to refill, warm layers and a jacket. Day temperatures average 17 C in June and 8 C in October, and nights at the start of the tour are colder than that; snow can fall on the alpine trails even in July.

The day step by step

1. Banff National Park 45 min
   Pickups are staggered from 3:30 am in Banff and 4:50 am in Lake Louise. You ride towards Moraine Lake in the dark while the guide sets out the morning, and deer and elk are often grazing close to the road at that hour.
2. Moraine Lake 120 min
   Your guide leads the group by head torch to a viewpoint over the Valley of the Ten Peaks and hands out hot chocolate, coffee or tea while the peaks light up one at a time. Expect 1.5 to 2 hours here, with the valley's history and ecology, photography tips and time on the lakeshore trails.
3. Lake Louise 20 min
   Breakfast comes out when you want it: a local cafe croissant with ham, egg and sauteed vegetables, plus freshly brewed coffee or another hot drink.
4. Lake Louise 120 min
   Two hours on the second lake while the shore is still calm. Walk the lakeshore path, look for the quieter viewpoints away from the hotel, or take a canoe out on the glacier-fed water in the June to October rental season. Your guide stays with the group.
5. Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise 15 min
   Time on the hotel grounds at the lake's edge, with the walking paths and the view up to Mount Victoria and its hanging glacier. The Chateau traces its origin to 1890, when CPR general manager Cornelius Van Horne planned a hotel for outdoor adventurers, and the original Chalet Lake Louise had two bedrooms.
6. Banff 5 min
   Drop-off back in Banff. Because the whole tour fits into 7 hours from a pre-dawn start, you are back with most of the day still ahead of you.

What is included

Meeting point, pickup and cancellation

• Pickup points: hotel fronts on Banff Ave, the Roam Bus Stop on Tunnel Mtn Rd, the Bus Loading Zone on Elk Street by the roundabout, the Bus Loading Zone outside Fairmont Shops, and the bus loading zone in the Samson Mall parking lot at Lake Louise. Hotel pickups wait at the front of the hotel.
• Pickup times move with sunrise across the June 1 to October 12 season, so check the time for your own point when you book.
• Banff Ave hotel fronts (30 minutes before tour start): June 1 to July 15 at 3:30 am, July 16 to 31 at 3:45 am, Aug 1 to 15 at 4:00 am, Aug 16 to 31 at 4:30 am, Sept 1 to 15 at 5:00 am, Sept 16 to 30 at 5:15 am, Oct 1 to 12 at 5:30 am.
• Roam Bus Stop on Tunnel Mtn Rd, the earliest pickup (35 minutes before tour start): June 1 to July 15 at 3:25 am, July 16 to 31 at 3:40 am, Aug 1 to 15 at 3:55 am, Aug 16 to 31 at 4:25 am, Sept 1 to 15 at 4:55 am, Sept 16 to 30 at 5:10 am, Oct 1 to 12 at 5:25 am.
• Elk Street Bus Loading Zone by the roundabout (same time as tour start): June 1 to July 15 at 4:00 am, July 16 to 31 at 4:15 am, Aug 1 to 15 at 4:30 am, Aug 16 to 31 at 5:00 am, Sept 1 to 15 at 5:30 am, Sept 16 to 30 at 5:45 am, Oct 1 to 12 at 6:00 am.
• Samson Mall parking lot at Lake Louise (50 minutes after tour start): June 1 to July 15 at 4:50 am, July 16 to 31 at 5:05 am, Aug 1 to 15 at 5:20 am, Aug 16 to 31 at 5:50 am, Sept 1 to 15 at 6:20 am, Sept 16 to 30 at 6:35 am, Oct 1 to 12 at 6:50 am.
• The latest hotel pickups run 55 minutes after tour start, up to 6:55 am in the October 1 to 12 band.
• Be ready 10 minutes before your pickup time.
• Group size: maximum 12 guests. Ages 6 and over.
• Cancellation: full refund if you cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Other Moraine Lake sunrise departures compared

This page covers the 7-hour premium departure with breakfast, a head torch and a group capped at 12, which is the choice if you want photography coaching and the smallest group at the viewpoint. The 8-hour option from Canmore or Banff gives 2.5 hours at Moraine Lake and 2 hours at Lake Louise, and the shared sunrise or daytime departure runs 5 to 8 hours with Lake Louise as an add-on, which suits travellers who want a shorter morning or a later start.

Tour details from the operator's listing, checked 24 October 2026. Prices and times can change; the booking page has the current ones.

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Moraine Lake: access, season and what is at the lake

Moraine Lake: access, season and what is at the lake

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