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Lake Louise - the highest community in Canada with its many secrets

At 1600m (5200ft) above sea level, Lake Louise is the highest community in Canada. Established in 1884 as an outpost of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), it is now home to around 700 people. Lake Louise is located in the Banff National Park, 180 km west of Calgary. Before the Europeans and the CPR arrived in the area, the indigenous Stoney Nakota First Nations people hunted and lived there. They called it the Lake of the little fishes (Ho-run-num-nay).

The frozen Lake Louise

Perfect for ice skating on the lake - Lake Louise. There are benches to sit down and put on your skates or just enjoy the scenery. Make sure to dress warm!

The Lake was named Emerald Lake by Tom Wilson in 1882, a worker for CPR who was shown the site by a Nakota guide. After several name changes including Holt City, and Laggan, the community was finally named Lake Louise. Lake Louise consists of the Lake itself with the Chateau Lake Louise, the community with the Samson mall at its core, and the Lake Louise ski resort. Even though it is just a small outpost, there are many hidden gems and secrets to be discovered in and around Lake Louise.

One of the gems is the Chateau Lake Louise. The hotel was built around 1920 by the CPR. The castle-like luxury alpine resort overlooks Lake Louise and is, with its many features, a little village in and of itself with restaurants, shopping, a whirlpool, fitness, wellness area and spa. There are several dining options within the Chateau Lake Louise; the Fairview Bar and Restaurant, the Lakeview Lounge, the Walliser Stube, the Alpine Social, and the Lago Italian Kitchen.

https://www.chateau-lake-louise.com/

Like any old hotel from the 1900s, the Chateau Lake Louise has its fair share of ghost stories that somehow surprisingly surface every year around Halloween. Not as spooky as those from the Banff Springs Hotel- after all the Chateau was built 30 years later than the Banff Springs Hotel so it can’t have as many ghost stories….yet. If you are interested in the supernatural, check out our article about Banff where we cover the ghost stories of the Banff Springs Hotel.

https://www.barcdigital.com/blog/banff-summer

We stayed in the Banff Springs Hotel and the Chateau Lake Louise and during our stay there were no ghosts around. As a luxury option for your stay in Lake Louise, we can recommend the Chateau Lake Louise. Just be sure to get a room overlooking the lake.

Chateau Lake Louise

Warm up on the heated benches across from the bakery by the side entrance.

Winter activities in Lake Louise:

There are many activities you can do in and around Lake Louise in the winter including:

Skiing or Snowboarding
Snowshoeing

Ice Skating (on the lake)

Cross-country skiing
Ice climbing
Dog sledding
Sleigh rides
Winter hiking

Have a drink at the Lake Louise Ice Bar

See the Ice Castles

Walk on the frozen Lake Louise

Tubing

Skiing, Snowboarding and Snow tubing in Lake Louise

The Lake Louise ski resort ist with over 4200 acreas one of the largest ski resorts in North America. The longest run is expanding over 8km. The ski resort has 57 runs and 11 lifts that bring you up to 2637m. Wheter you are a beginner or an expert, there is something for everybody.

https://www.skilouise.com/explore-winter/

And if you are not a skier or snowboarder you can try Snow Tubing - where you slide down the slopes on a big tube.

https://www.skilouise.com/activities/winter-fun/tube-park/

If you are visiting to see the Ski world cup, this year 2022 might have been your last chance to see the race in Lake Louise since it has been removed from the FIS world cup calender:

https://www.snow-online.com/skimag/ski-races-in-lake-louise-removed-from-world-cup-calendar.htm

Dog sled tours

An activity where you don’t need a lot of equipment or a lift and enjoy the winter wonderland sitting is with a Dog sled tour.

We can highly recommend the Great Divide Tour with Kingmik. On this tour you start at a little parking lot on the way up from the village to the Chateau and the dogs pull you for about 45min to the great divide (the border between Alberta and British Columbia) and back. We did this tour with Kingmik and it was amazing the see and feel how fast these dogs can run and how much fun they have in the snow. Check out our shop for the photos.

Kingmik also offers a shorter tour called the Narnia Tour (30min).

Check out Kingmik’s website for more information and booking:

https://kingmikdogsledtours.com

Great divide dog sled tour with Kingmik

Check out our shop for a framed full size photo.

Cross-country skiing

If you are enjoying the sliding and gliding on the cross-county skies - there are several trails in and around Lake Louise from 1 to 20km. There is something for every level of ambition. Make sure to check the snow and weather conditions since some of the trails are in avalanche terrain.

A list of trails and the avalanche safety information can be found here:

https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ab/banff/activ/skidefond-xcski/lakelouise

We can recommend the Great Divide trail since it is very scenic and mostly flat - but quite long (20km). There are usually two tracks and some extra room for the dog sleds or snow shoers. Bring some snacks and hot chocolate or tea - at the great divide is a shelter which is perfect for a rest stop.. Chances are high that you will see some dog sleds along the way.

The Great divide trail

The trail to the Great divide is mostly flat and the scenery is beautiful - surrounded by mountains and evergreen trees.

Lake Louise Ice Sculptures and the Ice Magic Festival

In January there is the Lake Louise Ice Magic Festival. As part of the Banff Snow Days Celebration (12 days) there is the 3 day ice carving competition. Over 34 hours the international teams are competing for the most incredible ice sculpture. Unfortunately the 2023 event has been postboned - the new dates for the 2024 event will be announced in the summer.

However, not to far away from Lake Louise in Banff, in January - usually around the third week of the month -, you can enjoy the Snow and Ice Sculptures of the SnowDays. The 2023 SnowDays festival takes place from January 18 - 29th.

Seeing the Snow Sculptures in Banff is free of charge.

https://www.travelbanffcanada.com/snowdays-banff-festival/

Ice castle in front of the Chateau Lake Louise.

And if you wonder how those perfectly clear ice cube are made - you can find that secrets in this article here:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/lake-louise-ice-magic-festival-1.4495312

Lake Louise is 200km west of Calgary. The drive from the Calgary Airport to Lake Louise on Highway 1 takes about 2 hours.

Parking:

At the base of the Summer Gondola, you can find free parking, another secret not known by many, since the parking at the Chateau Lake Louise is filled up quickly as is the overflow parking along Highway 1. There is a free shuttle bus from the Chateau Lake Louise and Lake Louise townsite to the base of the Summer Gondola.

https://www.skilouise.com/getting-here/by-car/

Park Pass:

For your stay in Lake Louise with the car, you will need a Park Pass. These are available online (see link below) or at the entrance to the Banff National Park on Highway 1. Or if you book your car with us (see below) you can add the Park Pass as an extra to your rental car and save 2 CAD/day.

https://www.banfflakelouise.com/park-pass-purchase

Rental cars:

The last secret you should be aware of when you plan your trip to Lake Louise is Turo, the peer-to-peer car-sharing platform. You can pick exactly the make and modell you like and usually for a better price.

We list our cars also on Turo. Most of them have been to Lake Louise many times and know the way. We offer a early bird discount for bookings 7 or more days in advance, a discounts for any bookings longer than 3 days, or 7 days.

When booking one of our cars we will plant a tree in North America and issue you a Tree Gift Certificate (see here for more information) - and we offer several extras, from child seats, snow shoes to the Park Pass for a discount price.

2017 BMW X1 xDrive28i AWD (Midsize SUV, 5 seats)